Stuffing Manicotti Is A Pain Unless You Use This Clever Method

Stuffed manicotti is an excellent choice when you need to feed a crowd. It's less work than lasagna, but it still has all the flavor. Also, like lasagna, it can be made ahead of time. This Italian-American recipe is a classic in many homes, not only because it's delicious, but because it's easy. It may be a simple dish, but one step in the manicotti-making process is anything but quick: filling the pasta. When the time comes to stuff the pasta tubes, many people resort to a pastry bag filled with ricotta, or they use a long spoon to reach inside each tube. Both methods are messy, frustrating, and time-consuming.

There's an easier way to fill that pasta that will leave you wondering why you didn't think of it before. When the tubes are cooked and ready to be stuffed, cut them lengthwise with a sharp knife or a pair of culinary scissors. This will open up the tube, allowing you to easily fill it with cheese. This hack may seem counterintuitive, as anyone who's made manicotti will tell you how difficult it is to keep the fragile pasta tubes intact as you fill them. So, why would you ever cut them on purpose?

There's a method to this madness. Once you've filled one of your pasta tubes, you can gently roll it over so the cut side is on the bottom of the pan. Make sure the tube isn't overstuffed, and be sure to remove any excess filling before baking. After your delicious manicotti is cooked, no one will be the wiser. It's so easy, it almost feels like cheating.

This method will work with any kind of manicotti (like our recipe for cheese and spinach manicotti with meat sauce), but it's especially helpful if you typically mix chunky ingredients into the ricotta — like zucchini or mushrooms — as these fillings can get stuck in a piping bag. This hack will allow you to unleash your inner chef by creating new filling ideas. Want to include mozzarella cubes or chunks of meat? No problem.

After you've assembled your manicotti, you can pop the dish in the oven for dinner or put it in the fridge for another night. Manicotti can even be frozen for up to two months without sacrificing its flavor or texture. All the work is done, and there's nothing left for you to do but put it in the oven, toss a classic Italian salad, and set the table.

If you want a few more helpful tips for making the perfect pan of manicotti, we've got you covered. First, you only want to parboil the pasta until it's almost al dente. The tubes will continue to cook in the sauce while it's baking, and cooking them too thoroughly could result in a mushy texture. If you choose to add spinach or mushrooms to the filling, make sure you remove any excess water to avoid introducing too much moisture to the dish.

To help the pasta soak up the dish's flavor — and to keep it from sticking — spread some sauce at the bottom of a 13 x 9 glass or metal pan. This will make serving easier when the time comes. From there, just stuff the tubes using the cutting hack, top them with more sauce and cheese — both mozzarella and Parmesan work well — and put the manicotti in the oven to bake.

Whether you make a pan of manicotti for tonight's dinner or next week's potluck, this clever filling method should take the pain out of the preparation. This means you can enjoy delicious, creamy manicotti more often — and who doesn't want that?