Baked Ricotta Beef Manicotti
If you’re in the mood for a cozy pasta dinner, might I suggest this beef manicotti? It’s all about comfort: tender pasta shells stuffed with a savory beef-and-cheese filling, nestled in marinara sauce, and baked under a topping of bubbling provolone and Parmesan cheese.
This baked manicotti is a classic family-friendly pasta bake – one of those “everyone goes back for seconds” kinds of dinners. It checks all the comfort-food boxes – it’s hearty, filling, and so delicious in a nostalgic sort of way.
And the best part? No fussy prep. You don’t have to cook the manicotti first – just spoon the filling into each shell, add the sauce, and the pasta softens beautifully as it bakes.
It’s also a great make-ahead option. Assemble the dish earlier in the day, pop it in the fridge, and bake it when you’re ready for dinner.
Leftovers reheat perfectly, too… assuming there are any.
Ingredients
- Manicotti: What I love best about this recipe is that you don’t have to boil the manicotti before you stuff them with the filling. Makes things easy!
- Ground beef: I like to use 90% lean since the filling also has cheese. If you want to switch it up, try ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Marinara sauce: Use your favorite jarred sauce to keep things easy.
- Ricotta cheese: You can use low-fat ricotta or whole milk ricotta cheese.
- Provolone cheese: There’s some in the filling and the rest goes on top of the pasta and sauce.
- Parmesan cheese: A little goes on top!
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper
- Chopped onion and garlic
- Olive oil
- Chopped parsley
How to Make Beef Manicotti
☑️ Make the Beef Filling
Brown the beef with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper until crumbly and flavorful. Add onion and garlic and cook them with the beef until the moisture cooks off.
Mix in ricotta, provolone, and parsley to create the cheesy beef filling.
☑️ Fill the Manicotti
Spread some sauce in the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish.
Fill each dry manicotti shell with the beef mixture. The easiest way to do this is with a small spoon. You don’t need to pack the mixture in the pasta – the should be filled end to end, but loosely packed. You can always go back and add more filling if you have extra.
☑️ Bake
Pour the rest of the sauce over the manicotti. Spread the sauce in an even layer so all of the pasta is covered. Sprinkle the rest of the provolone cheese and all of the Parmesan cheese over the sauce.
Cover the pan with foil and bake the pasta for 50 minutes at 375°F. Take the foil off and bake for 10 minutes or until the sauce and cheese are bubbling hot.
☑️ Garnish and Serve
Sprinkle more parsley over the top for garnish. Use a wide spatula to lift the manicotti out of the pan and enjoy!
Baked Ricotta Beef Manicotti
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded provolone cheese divided
- ¼ cup chopped parsley plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
- 1 (8-ounce) box manicotti shells
- 32 ounces marinara sauce divided
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Brown the beef, breaking it apart as it cooks.
- Add 1 cup chopped onion and 2 tablespoons minced garlic. Stir and cook them with the beef for five minutes or until most of the moisture in the pan has cooked off. Take the pan off the heat.
- Stir in 1 cup ricotta cheese. Once it’s mixed in with the beef, stir in 1 cup shredded provolone cheese and ¼ cup chopped parsley.
- Spread 1 cup of sauce in a 9×13” baking pan. Use a small spoon to spoon the beef and cheese filling into each manicotti. Place the manicotti on the sauce in the pan.
- Pour the rest of the sauce over the manicotti. Spread it into an even layer so all the manicotti are covered. Sprinkle 1 cup of provolone cheese and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese over the sauce.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake the manicotti for 50 minutes. Take the foil off and bake the manicotti it for 10 minutes uncovered. Rest the pasta for a few minutes before serving it.
- Garnish the baked pasta with parsley for serving.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
More Winter Comfort Food
Happy cooking,
This baked manicotti post was updated from the archives. It was first published in December 2015.
So good! 🙂
Can you add spinach?
Yes, I think it would work well! I would add it towards the end of the cooking time for the beef. Cook it until it wilts down into the beef.
Would mozzarella be okay instead of the provolone?
Yes, that will work.