Recipe

How to Make 6-Ingredient Manicotti

By Vernell Dunams at LSU

Unless you have a century old cookbook that your Italian grandmother wrote, you’ve probably realized just how versatile pasta recipes can be. For every college student, pasta is a staple food: simple, filling, and it’s always a comfort food. So when you’ve eaten spaghetti or rigatoni four times each in one month, manicotti is the next best thing.

This recipe is so simple and so versatile that you can make it specific to fit your own craving. You can even make this recipe to be vegetarian if you’re not down with the consumption of meat. However, if somehow you’re not sold, this recipe can be done in an hour, so you can get started and it’ll be out of the oven before Real Housewives of New Jersey starts.

Photo courtesy of wiifflegif.com

Fool Proof Manicotti

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Servings: 8
  • Easy
Ingredients
  • 4 oz al dente Manicotti
  • 16 oz cooked ground beef or veggie beef
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozarella
  • Spinach leaves
  • Bacon (optional)

Photo by Vernell Dunams

Step 1

Brown and season the ground beef to your liking.

Photo by Vernell Dunams

Step 2

Replace ground beef with veggie beef and spinach if you want a vegetarian-friendly dish.

Photo by Vernell Dunams

Step 3

Mix (veggie) beef with mozzarella and wilted spinach leaves.

Photo by Vernell Dunams

Step 4

Stuff the manicotti with whichever filling you like.

Photo by Vernell Dunams

Step 5

Wrap the manicotti with turkey bacon for a little extra flare.

Photo by Vernell Dunams

Step 6

Distribute tomato sauce about a baking dish and place the manicotti on top.

Photo by Vernell Dunams

Step 7

Bake the manicotti in a 350°F oven or broil three minutes for a nice toast.

Photo by Vernell Dunams

Step 8

Serve atop a bed of fresh spinach leaves.

Photo by Vernell Dunams

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