Baked Stuffed Manicotti
Submitted by meatball
Baked stuffed manicotti the old-school way: pasta tubes packed with a beef and mozzarella filling, blanketed in a homemade tomato sauce simmered an hour with fennel seed and herbs, then baked bubbling under more cheese.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
100 minThis is manicotti the way McCall’s Cooking School taught it back in the 1970s, and the technique holds up. Unlike the ricotta-stuffed versions, these tubes get packed with a savory mix of browned ground beef, onion, herbs, and shredded mozzarella, so every bite is hearty rather than soft and milky.
The sauce is where the time goes, and it’s worth it. Onions and garlic sweat in olive oil before canned plum tomatoes and puree go in, then it simmers a full hour with oregano, basil, parsley, and a teaspoon of fennel seed. That fennel is the quiet signature, the same warm note you taste in good Italian sausage.
Stirring some of the sauce and a handful of mozzarella right into the meat keeps the filling moist instead of dry and crumbly. Bake covered so the shells steam tender, then uncover at the end to brown the cheese on top. Let it rest before serving so it slices instead of sliding apart.
Chef Tips
- Cook the manicotti just to al dente; they finish in the oven and turn mushy if boiled too long.
- Rinse the cooked shells under cool water so they’re easier to handle and don’t tear when stuffed.
- A piping bag or a zip-top bag with a snipped corner makes filling the tubes far less fiddly than a spoon.
- Don’t skip the 10-minute rest; it lets the layers set so portions hold their shape.
Variations
- Mix Italian sausage in with the beef for extra spice, or add ricotta for a richer, softer filling.
- Stir chopped spinach into the meat mixture for color and greens.
- Use no-boil manicotti with extra sauce to skip the par-cooking step.
Ingredients
Directions
For the tomato sauce:
Heat ½ cup of olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Sauté 2 cups of onion and 2 cloves of garlic for about 5 minutes until tender.
Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce plus 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil then lower the heat.
Cover and simmer for one hour, stirring frequently.
Cook manicotti shells according to the package directions, al dente.
Heat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add 1 cup of onion and 2 cloves of garlic and sauté until translucent and tender. Remove to a large bowl.
Add the ground chuck, ground beef or mince to the skillet and brown until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the bowl with the onion.
Add egg, salt, herbs, pepper and 1½ cup of the tomato sauce. Stir to combine.
Add about ¾ of the shredded mozzarella and mix into the meat mixture.
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Stuff the meat mixture into the Manicotti.
In a 17 x 9 inch baking dish , add 4 cups of tomato sauce (and any remaining meat mixture, if any).
Arrange 3 rows of Manicotti lengthwise and cover with the remaining sauce.
Sprinkle with the Parmesan and remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake covered with foil for 60 minutes.
Uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.
Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.
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