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Manicotti are thin pasta crepes that are rolled around a meatball seasoned meat mixture, topped with marinara and baked. They are easy to make and can be served for special occasions, holiday dinners or on any given weeknight.
This pasta crepes are versatile and can be filled with just about anything. The manicotti are delicious filled with meat and equally good when stuffed with a ricotta and spinach mixture. If you have points to spare they can easily be covered with shredded mozzarella before popping them into the oven to bake. They are a favorite at my house.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
- A batch of homemade manicotti shells (crepes)
- Ground turkey (93% lean) or your favorite ground meat
- Grated romano cheese
- Homemade seasoned bread crumbs
- Garlic cloves
- Egg white
- Fat free ricotta cheese
- Dried parsley flakes or chopped fresh parsley
- Marinara sauce – I used no sugar added Prego.
- Black pepper
- Salt to taste
Sodium Alert: The sodium content of the Prego I used was 1380mg per 1.5 cup. If sodium is an issue for you, you can use Francesco Rinaldi no salt marina that has 120mg of sodium per 1.5 cup or Victoria low sodium marinara that has 360mg sodium per 1.5 cup. Links to both products can be found in the ‘Low Sodium/No Salt’ product list under ‘Resources’ in the top menu bar.
Making the Meat Stuffed Manicotti
- Place the ground turkey, grated romano cheese, minced garlic cloves, bread crumbs, black pepper and egg white into a mixing bowl. Use your hand to mix all the ingredients together.
- Pinch off a piece of meat the size of a quarter and microwave on high for 25 sec. Let cool slightly and taste. Add salt and/or more garlic if you think it’s needed. I find that the romano cheese is salty enough on its own and the mixture doesn’t need any extra salt but you may prefer additional salt.
- Break the meat mixture up and place it in a skillet. Add some water to the skillet and cook the meat.
- Use a meat chopper if you have one or a wooden spoon to break up the meat into crumbles as it cooks. When the meat is cooked, drain off the water and any fat that was rendered.
- Transfer the drained meat into a clean mixing bowl. Use a fork to further break it up. Add the ricotta cheese, grated romano, marinara and parsley flakes to the meat mixture.
- Mix all the ingredients together until they are uniformly distributed.
- Spread some sauce on the bottom of a baking pan.
- Place some of the meat mixture onto a manicotti shell. Shape it into a log.
- Roll the pasta shell around the meat and place it in the pan seam side down. Repeat until all the shells are filled. If I have any left over meat, I shape it into a log and stick it in the pan along with the manicotti. Spoon some marinara over each manicotti.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake. Remove from the oven when they are done. Place some manicotti on a plate, top with additional marinara and some grated romano or parmesean and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Note: The manicotti can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated until it is time to bake them.
Serving Ideas
- Manicotti can be served for dinner on week nights or on special occasions or holidays.
- This pasta dish pairs well with a side salad or roasted vegetables. If you have the points to spare, a piece of garlic bread is a nice touch.
- These manicotti shells can be filled with a ricotta and spinach mixture instead of meat.
WW 1 pt per filled manicotti; 5 pt per 4 filled manicotti; 6 pt per 5 filled manicotti
Servings: 23 manicotti
Calories: 78.2kcal
Equipment
- garlic press
- 2 mixing bowls
- skillet
- measuring spoons and cup
- baking pan. 9" x 13"
Ingredients
Meat Mixture
- 20 oz package of 93% lean ground turkey or your favorite meat
- 5 tbsp grated romano cheese
- 4 tbsp bread crumb, I make my own from low carb bread
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1 egg white
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- ½ c water
Manicotti
- 1 batch of manicotti shells, recipe previously posted
- 1 batch of cooked meat mixture
- ½ c fat free ricotta
- 2 tbsp grated romano
- 1 tsp crushed dried parsley or 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1½ c marinara, I used no sugar added Prego or you can make your own
Instructions
Preparing the Meat Mixture
- Finely mince the garlic clove or run it through a garlic press.
- Put the ground turkey into a mixing bowl along with the bread crumbs, grated romano cheese, minced garlic, black pepper and egg white. Use your hands to mix all of these ingredients together.
- Pinch off a piece of the meat mixture about the size of a quarter. Microwave it on high for 25 sec. Let it cool slightly and then taste it. If you can't taste the garlic, add more minced garlic or boost it with garlic powder. I find that the romano cheese is a sufficient source of salt. If you feel the meat mixture needs additional salt, add some to your taste.
- Break the meat mixture up into a skillet. Add the water to the skillet and begin to cook the meat. As it cooks use a meat masker if you have one or a wooden spoon to further break up the meat.
- When the meat is cooked , transfer it to a strainer to remove any remaining water and grease. You can rinse the meat with cold water if you wish to remove additional grease.
Preparing the Manicotti
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Transfer the meat mixture to a clean bowl. Add the 2 tbsp of grated romano cheese, fat free ricotta cheese and 4 tbsp of marinara. Use a fork to mix everything together.
- Place 6 tbsp on the bottom of a baking pan and spread it around to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Take a full tbsp of the meat mixture and place it on a manicotti shell. Shape the meat into a log. Roll the manicotti shell around the meat mixture.
- Place the filled manicotti in the pan, seam side down. Repeat the process until all of the manicotti shells are filled and placed in the baking pan.
- Note, the meat mixture makes filling for 24 manicotti and the manicotti shell recipe makes 23 shells. One of my shells ripped so I had some meat mixture left over. I rolled it into logs and stuck it in the pan and baked it along with the stuffed manicotti.
- Spread marinara over the top of each manicotti. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven and bake for 30 min.
- Remove the manicotti from the oven when done. Transfer a serving of manicotti to a plate. Spoon some additional hot marinara over the top and sprinkle grated romano cheese over the top. Serve and enjoy.
- Refrigerate any left overs. They reheat well.
Notes
The sodium in one manicotti is 183mg. While that doesn't seem so bad, the sodium in a serving of four is 732mg. The sodium content can be significantly reduced by using a low sodium marinara such as Francesco Rinaldi no sodium added marinara (120mg/1.5 cup) or Victoria low sodium marinara (360mg/1.5 cup). The Prego I used had 1380mg/1.5 cup of sodium.
No salt or low sodium products can be found in the Resources Section found in the top menu bar on the home page.
This dish is amendable to preparing ahead of time and sticking in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it for dinner.
Nutrition
Serving: 1manicotti | Calories: 78.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 7.4g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.8g | Sodium: 183mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 1.2g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
