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With a little advance prep, this Make-Ahead Manicotti will be ready to pop in the oven when you’re ready for dinner. With a little advance prep this Make-Ahead Manicotti will be ready to pop in the oven when you’re ready for dinner. This no-boil, make-ahead method is a real lifesaver on busy days! Manicotti and salad on a white plate. Once I discovered this method, this super satisfying, meatless meal appeared frequently on our table when my guys were involved in high school sports. During water polo season, I was spending my early evening hours on the pool deck and needed dinner, pronto, when we walked in the door.
The guys were hungry and tired and Make-Ahead Manicotti was always a happy thing to come home to. Manicotti, salad and toast on a white plate. Walk in the door, pop it in the oven, and while it’s baking you can get to work on a salad or veggie side. A warm, satisfying pasta meal is on your table in under an hour. I’m sharing the base recipe for a vegetarian 3-cheese and spinach filling, but you could really change things up here and add or substitute a variety of ingredients to suit your taste. See the recipe below for my suggestions. I’ve done this recipe lots of different ways and they’ve all been delicious.
All the ingredients needed to make Manicotti with text overlay. You will need 12 uncooked manicotti shells for this recipe. Use your favorite store-bought or homemade marinara sauce. Look for a reduced sodium sauce to significantly reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe. Keep things light by using part-skim mozzarella and ricotta cheese. Look for a box of chopped frozen spinach in the frozen veggie section of your grocery store. Prep the Ingredients Wring out and drain the excess liquid from the completely thawed spinach by wrapping it in a double layer of paper towels and squeeze it tightly with your hands over the sink.