Baked Spinach and Cheese Manicotti

Two spinach and cheese manicotti on a white plate topped with basil.

Baked Spinach and Cheese Manicotti

A three cheese blend and fresh spinach are stuffed into manicotti noodles before getting covered in marinara sauce and even more cheese to make an easy and filling vegetarian dinner.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Italian

Keyword baked manicotti, cheese manicotti, spinach manicotti

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 36

Total Time 46

Servings

Calories 481kcal

Author Lindsay Moe

Ingredients

8 ounces manicotti noodles
3-4 cups mozzarella cheese divided
1 ½ cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh spinach roughly chopped
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
5-6 large basil leaves torn
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
24 ounces marinara sauce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the manicotti noodles 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle.
While the pasta is cooking, combine 1 ½ cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, spinach, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.
Spread about ⅓ cup of sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Working one at a time, fill the noodles with the cheese filling (I usually just use my hands to stuff it in there). Arrange the stuffed noodles in the baking dish, trying not to have too much overlap.
Top with the remaining sauce, spreading it over the noodles as needed.
Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, using as much mozzarella as you’d like on top.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly. Let the manicotti rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Tips for customizing cheese manicotti

Mix and match your favorite cheeses, using more or less of what is listed here and mixing in fontina, provolone, or cheddar

Use pesto or refrigerated basil in a tube instead of fresh basil if it's hard to find or out of season

Meat eaters can add cooked ground beef or shredded chicken

Mix in your favorite cooked vegetables such as mushrooms, bell peppers, eggplant, onions, or zucchini

Use one clove of finely minced garlic in place of the garlic powder

Nutrition