This baked manicotti is stuffed with a three-cheese blend and topped with a flavorful Italian sausage tomato sauce. It’s easy to make using a mix of fresh and pantry ingredients, giving the pasta a homemade taste in a fraction of the time.
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Ingredients you'll need
🌭 Meat – Italian sausage, use mild, hot, or sweet depending on taste.
🧅 Produce – Onions and garlic give the sauce a homemade taste without a lot of work. Fresh chopped parsley is optional but a nice touch for garnish at the end.
🥫 Pantry – Convenience ingredients like canned diced tomatoes and jarred pasta sauce help make the sauce quickly. Use a meatless sauce since we're adding the sausage.
🍝 Pasta – Manicotti is a large, tube-shaped pasta that should be available at most larger supermarkets. Look for it where you would find lasagna sheets.
🌿 Seasoning – using Italian seasoning and black pepper is an easy way to enhance the jarred pasta sauce.
🧀 Dairy/Refrigerated – The pasta tubes are stuffed with a three-cheese mix of ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. We also need an egg to bind the mixture.
🫒 Oil – We use olive oil to sauté the onions and garlic. Use your favorite oil if it's suitable for sautéing.
📖 See the recipe card for quantities and preparation.
How to make baked manicotti
Make the Italian sausage sauce
- Cook the onions in olive oil over medium heat for 3–4 minutes.
- Add the garlic and Italian seasoning, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the sausage to the skillet and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir while breaking up large pieces.
- Cook the sausage for about 5 minutes, or until browned, stirring frequently.
- Add the pasta sauce and diced tomatoes to the sausage and stir well.
- Cover, and simmer the sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Taste the tomato sauce and add salt, if needed. As a reference we did not add extra salt to ours.
Prepare the remaining ingredients while the sauce cooks. Leave the meat sauce on low if you are still getting everything ready.
Prepare the cheese mixture
Add the ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, parsley, and black pepper to a large bowl.
Stir well to combine. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to stuff the pasta tubes.
Build the casserole
Preheat the oven 350°F
- Add about ⅔ of the meat sauce to a baking dish (9x13-inch dish).
- Work with one tube at a time, use a large piping bag to fill it with the three-cheese mixture.
- Place it in the baking dish, side by side, fitting them in tightly without overlapping.
- Repeat with the remaining ingredients, arranging them so they fit snugly.
- Spoon the remaining sauce over the stuffed pasta.
- Top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly around the edges. Uncover the dish and cook another 5 minutes.
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Make ahead instructions
You can assemble the casserole ahead of time to make dinner prep easier.
Follow the recipe through assembly, but do not bake. Allow the sauce to cool slightly before layering with the cheese and arranging everything in the baking dish. Once assembled, cover the dish tightly with foil or a fitted lid and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
Before baking, let the dish sit at room temperature for 30–45 minutes to remove the chill. Some bakeware doesn’t do well with sudden temperature changes and could crack. Plus, it helps the food bake more evenly. You may need to add 10–15 minutes to the baking time to ensure it’s heated through. For food safety, use an instant-read thermometer to confirm the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Storing and reheating
Refrigerator: Allow the food to cool completely before storing. Transfer leftovers to an airtight container or cover the baking dish well. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: Cool the pasta and sauce then transfer individual portions (or the entire dish) to freezer-safe containers. Leave about 1 inch of space at the top to allow for expansion. Label with the contents and date. Freeze for up to 2 to 3 months. For best results, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheating:
- Oven: Place the pasta in an oven-safe dish, cover loosely with foil, and bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes, or until heated through.
- Microwave: Transfer a portion to a microwave-safe plate or bowl. Heat in 1-minute intervals, stirring gently in between, until hot throughout.
- Skillet: Add a splash of water, broth, or milk to loosen the sauce. Cover and heat over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.
Food safety: Perishable foods should not sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if the temperature is above 90°F.
Always reheat leftovers to an internal temperature of at least 165°F. For more information on food storage and safety guidelines visit U.S. Department of Agriculture and foodsafety.gov.
Recipe tips and notes
- Do not add salt to the sauce until the end. Taste it then decide if it is needed because the sausage, pasta sauce, and canned tomatoes all contain salt already.
- If you are using sausage links use a sharp knife tip and run it along the length of the sausage. Remove the casing then tear it into small pieces to make it easier to break up once it hits the skillet.
- Make this recipe without meat by following the same instructions leaving out the sausage. After sautéing the onions and garlic add the sauce and continue with the recipe.
Frequently asked questions
No, you don't need to cook them before stuffing. In fact, it's much easier to fill them while they are uncooked, and they'll soften perfectly as they bake in the sauce.
Manicotti goes great with simple side dishes like garlic bread, a fresh salad, or something like fried zucchini or roasted broccoli. For salads, try a homemade Caesar dressing or a creamy French dressing to round out the meal.
The easiest way to fill the shells is with a large piping bag (or a resealable plastic bag with the corner snipped off). Make the opening large enough for the filling to flow easily but small enough to fit inside the pasta tube. It keeps the process neat and simple.
If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out our vodka sauce pasta bake, it’s rich, cheesy, and just as easy to put together. Other favorites include this hearty meatball pasta bake and our easy lasagna casserole—all crowd-pleasing dinners made with simple, affordable ingredients.
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📖 Recipe
Baked Manicotti
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion finely diced
- 3-5 Garlic Cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage casings removed and torn into pieces or use bulk sausage
- 1 (24 ounce) Jar Pasta Sauce meatless (use your favorite brand and variety)
- 1 (14 ounce) can Diced Tomatoes (we use petite dice)
- 8 ounces Manicotti Pasta uncooked
- 15-16 ounces Ricotta Cheese
- 3 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese divided (2 cups for the filling and 1 cup to top the pasta)
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese grated or shredded (plus extra for serving, if desired)
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Chopped Parsley plus extra for garnish
Instructions
Cook the sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the onions, cook 3-4 minutes, until they start to soften and become translucent. Stir them frequently so they don’t burn.
- Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Next, add the sausage to the skillet and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir the sausage while breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or a spatula. Cook for approximately 5 minutes until browned.
- Add the pasta sauce and diced tomatoes to the sausage and stir well. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower heat to medium-low and cover. Cook the sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep the sauce at a simmer. If it starts boiling too vigorously, lower the heat a little bit.
- Taste the tomato sauce and add salt, if needed. As a reference we did not add extra salt to ours.
- Prepare the remaining ingredients while the sauce cooks. Leave the meat sauce on low if you are still getting everything ready.
Make the cheese mixture
- Add the ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, parsley, and black pepper to a large bowl. Stir well to combine. Refrigerate until you are ready to stuff the pasta.
- Preheat the oven 350°F
Build the dish
- Add about ⅔ of the meat sauce to a baking dish (2.5-quart 8x12 inch dish).
- Stuff the pasta with the cheese mixture. Work with one tube at a time and fill it with the ricotta mixture. Place it in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Arrange them so that they fit snugly.
- Spoon the remaining sauce over the stuffed manicotti.
- Top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Bake
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly around the edges. Uncover the dish and cook another 5 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Silvia Vital
Delicious !!
Elizabeth
Thanks, happy to hear it!