Manicotti from Scratch

There’s nothing quite like manicotti made totally from scratch. Making your own shells is actually a lot easier than you might think!

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I had made my homemade manicotti for my family several times over the years, and everyone always loved it. So, it only made sense that it would be the first meal I ever prepared for my (now) wife. That was over 30 years ago, and I’ve continued to make it for her at times.

But I’d always purchased the manicotti shells at the grocery store. Recently, I decided it was finally time to take it to the next level with homemade shells. After some research, I discovered that traditional shells are actually crêpes. This is great for the sake of authenticity, but also because I’m just tired of dealing with broken packages of store-bought manicotti noodles.

These came out fantastic! I ended up with 5 extra shells (crêpes) after all was said and done, so it was a great opportunity to make breakfast manicotti the next morning.

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Manicotti from Scratch

Course:
Cuisine:
Difficulty:
Servings
6
servings
Prep time
30
minutes
Cook time
30
minutes
Total time
60
minutes

Ingredients

  • 1.5
    cups
    all-purpose flour
  • 1
    cup
    whole milk
    may need more
  • 4
    lg
    eggs
    divided
  • 0.5
    tsp
    sea salt
  • 16
    oz
    ricotta cheese
  • 3
    cups
    mozzarella cheese
    shredded, divided
  • 0.5
    cup
    parmesan cheese
    grated
  • 1
    cup
    fresh spinach
    chopped
  • 1
    tbsp
    Italian seasoning
  • 16
    oz
    marinara sauce
    homemade preferred
  • 0.25
    cup
    fresh Italian parsley
    chopped

Directions

  • In a bowl, combine the flour, milk, 3 eggs, and salt until smooth. Add more milk to thin the batter down to a saucy consistency, so your crêpes will be thin.

  • Lightly grease a small skillet over medium heat. Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of crêpe batter onto the center of the skillet then quickly swirl it around into a thin 5″ round shape. Cook until set; if you have some thicker spots that didn’t cook through, flip briefly. Place onto wax paper then repeat until you have 12-18 crêpes. Set aside.

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  • In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, Italian seasoning, and the remaining egg.

  • Pour half of the sauce into an ungreased 9″ by 13″ baking dish and spread evenly across the bottom of the dish.

  • Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of filling down the center of each crêpe, then roll up. Place into the prepared baking dish, seam side down. Pour remaining sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.

  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until mozzarella cheese is golden brown in spots. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes. Top with fresh parsley and serve.