There's a whole lot to love about this Cheese & Roasted Vegetable Baked Manicotti recipe.
1. Roasted vegetables! The best kind of vegetables! I like cheese manicotti, but it's never been a favorite of mine because the filling is a little bit boring. Cheese, cheese, and more cheese. Roasted vegetables make this baked manicotti recipe more flavorful, more filling, and they up the nutrition a little bit too.
2. It can be made a day in advance. I'm a fan of any recipe that will let me assemble everything the night before and then pop it in the oven to cook the next evening. Sometimes I know I'm going to have an especially busy day and won't have time to make dinner--I love that we can still have a filling homemade meal and don't have to rely on takeout or frozen pizzas. (I'm not hating on frozen pizzas, of course, but if I eat ⅓ like the package always says, I'm hungry 20 minutes later. Also, dividing your pizza into thirds just isn't right. It's not!)
3. It can be frozen too. Yes! You have 3 options with this recipe! Assemble and bake right away, assemble, refrigerate and bake the next day, or assemble and freeze. And the best news is that it doesn't just freeze (because technically, you can freeze anything, right?), but it freezes well. When I was testing this recipe out, we had it all 3 ways and it was nearly impossible to tell the batch I baked right away from the frozen or refrigerated batch.
This post was originally published on March 7, 2013.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. cremini mushrooms trimmed and quartered
- 1 small or baby eggplant, diced
- 1 small zucchini diced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- salt + pepper to taste
- 1 package manicotti shells 14 shells
- 15 oz. ricotta cheese I use low fat or fat-free
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ c. shredded parmesan cheese divided
- 1 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese divided
- 2 c. jarred marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time, or until vegetables are softened and just starting to brown. Set aside.
- If you're planning on eating the manicotti the same day you make it, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Otherwise, turn oven off.
- Cook manicotti shells al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and run under cold water until shells are cool enough to handle.
- While shells are boiling, in another large bowl, stir together ricotta, egg, salt and pepper. Fold in roasted vegetables, ¼ c. parmesan cheese, and ½ c. mozzarella cheese.
- Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish (use a freezer-to-oven safe dish if freezing). Using a small spoon, carefully fill each manicotti shell with cheese and vegetable mixture. Place finished manicotti in baking dish. Once all manicotti are filled, top with remaining sauce and cheese.
To make right away:
- Cover casserole dish with foil. Bake manicotti at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake 10 minutes more.
To refrigerate:
- Cover casserole dish with foil and refrigerate for up to one day. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until heated through, then remove foil and bake 10 minutes more.
To freeze:
- Place plastic wrap directly on top of manicotti to minimize freezer burn, then cover casserole dish with lid. Freeze for up to 1 month. To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees; remove lid and plastic wrap and cover with foil. Heat for an hour, then remove foil and bake about 15 minutes more or until manicotti is heated through and cheese has melted.
Lori @ RecipeGirl says
Manicotti is definitely one of our favorite family dinners. I'm excited to try your recipe. Think I can sneak those roasted veggies by my veggie-hating kiddo??
Kiersten says
I have always been a veggie lover, but I think this is one of those recipes that even a veggie hater would enjoy. 🙂 Well, the eggplant might be a tough sell, but you can always replace that with something else!
Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says
Seriously awesome idea! I'm going to skip the shells - I know you're shocked - and just melt some sauce and cheese over this.
Kiersten says
Someone mentioned on my Facebook page that she's gluten free & she was going to make "noodles" from eggplant or zucchini slices, so you could try that too!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Awesome idea, that sounds really good that way too!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
LOOKS SO good! I could dive in
Emily Scarborough says
Speaking of frozen pizza (which we just had last night), you can have half of the Paul Newman's Roasted Vegetable Thin Crust Pizza for only 9 Weight Watchers PP if anyone else is trying to track what they eat.
Kiersten says
Thanks for the tip!
Diane {Created by Diane} says
this looks WONDERFUL!!!!
Anne - Mommy Has to Work says
Wonderful comfort food!!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
I really love how this is freezer-friendly and a make-ahead type meal! Jason doesn't eat much when he's in SF so this here is just perfect for him!
Ella says
Wow! This looks so great! Gotta try them. Tomato and cheese is an unbeatable combo!
Megan says
One of my best friends just had twins, so I made this tonight to bring them tomorrow. So great that it can be frozen for up to 1 month. A great dinner option for them on a busy night with the boys!
Kiersten says
I hope they enjoy it--with newborn twins, having a meal ready-to-go will come in handy, I'm sure! 🙂
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
I love anything that I can make ahead!
Jenn @therebelchick says
These look amazing! I am getting ready to visit Italy for the first time next month and I am on an Italian-food kick...totally making this next week!
Kiersten says
I hope you like them! I have a feeling they probably aren't very authentic. 😉
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
I love to stuff manicotti with all kinds of fillings! Lovely recipe and lovely way to serve pasta!
Amanda says
This looks great! I'm all about make ahead meals and love the addition of roasted vegetables to this!
Kathy says
That looks amazing!!!
HilLesha @To the Motherhood says
I love manicotti. Great recipe!
debra pearlstein says
I always get hungry when I come here! Everything looks delicious and I'm bookmarking the Manicotti and hope to make it soon. Thanks!
Genevieve says
I find that cheese filled pasta dishes are usually a bit too rich for me, so I like how you lightened this up a bit with lower-fat ingredients. My dad just made a baked pasta dish for a family dinner last night that had lots of ricotta, parmesan and fontina cheese, and even though it also had some herbs in it, I found that it just didn't have that much flavour. So I agree with you that the roasted veggies would be just what a dish like this needs to add more flavour and substance!
Kiersten says
Have you tried using tofu instead of ricotta? My husband isn't a big ricotta fan, so his mom used to make him stuffed shells with tofu. You still need to do something to add more flavor, but it takes care of some of the richness...
Kimberly says
I just made this and placed in the freezer to enjoy next weekend. 🙂 After my veggies cooled, I gave them a few quick pulses in the food processor and then mixed them into the cheeses. I put that entire mixture into a Ziploc bag and piped it into the manicotti shells. I'm excited to serve these to my family! Thanks for the healthy post!
Kiersten says
Oh yes, manicotti is definitely easier when you pipe the filling! I didn't want to smash the veggies though, so you're idea to pulse them is the perfect solution. 🙂
Notorious Spinks says
I love manicotti! I will def try this and love that you can freeze them.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I've never tried roasted veggies in my manicotti, what a great idea!
Brenda Williams says
Wow the Cheese & Roasted Vegetable Baked Manicotti recipe is awesome! You have the best ideas in the world.
Pam Green says
I can't wait to make this soon! I love a reliable make-ahead meal. Awesome!
Kiersten says
I hope you like it! 🙂
Cierra says
My boyfriend won't eat mushrooms. Do you have any suggestions for other veggies I could add?
Kiersten says
You could add more of one of the other veggies or maybe try broccoli broken into small (manicotti-stuffing sized!) florets. 🙂
Janice says
The information I have is that parmesan cheese is never vegetarian due to the particular enzymes used. Is that right?
Kiersten says
Do you live in Europe? In the EU, there's a labeling law that says that only cheese made with rennet can be called Parmesan. There are substitutes available, but they're not called Parmesan. In the US, this law doesn't apply, so domestic vegetarian Parmesan is easy to find. My favorite is Organic Valley: http://www.organicvalley.coop/products/cheese/parmesan/parmesan-shredded-4-oz/
Chantal says
I replace some of the cheese with tofu, and my tofu "haters" didn't know it was tofu. They loved it. Also, I don't bother anymore with boiling the shells. It's so much easier to fill them uncooked. I've done manicotti both way, and no one could tell the difference. I like the idea of adding veggies. I'll definitely try it next time. Thx
Stephanie says
This looks good!
Question: I've never had or cooked with eggplant.
Is there anything special I need to do with it for this recipe, or just dice it up?
I remember reading that there were right and wrong ways to prepare eggplant...