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This Easy Dump and Bake Manicotti Has a Genius Shortcut: String Cheese

This Easy Dump and Bake Manicotti Has a Genius Shortcut: String Cheese
Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
10 mins
Bake Time:
50 mins
Stand Time:
5 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 15 mins
Servings:
6
Yield:
1 (3-quart) casserole

Sticking string cheese in uncooked pasta may seem like an unusual start to dinner but it's the first step of making this easy dump and bake manicotti. Add the stuffed pasta to a baking dish, top with broth and sauce, and bake until tender and bubbly—that's it! The finished dish is a total crowd-pleaser, especially when served with an extra sprinkle of fresh basil. Get the whole family involved in the prep; kids will love unwrapping the cheese and stuffing the pasta.

What Is Manicotti?

Manicotti is both a pasta shape and an Italian dish. The traditional recipe is made with tubular pasta shells stuffed with a ricotta cheese mixture and topped with a tomato sauce. To make the classic, pasta is pre-cooked, stuffed with filling, added to a casserole dish, and baked until bubbly. Here, we're making no-boil manicotti with meat sauce.

Dump and Bake Manicotti Ingredients

This dump and bake casserole relies on a few shortcut ingredients to speed up the prep time. Here's a brief look at what you'll need to make the viral recipe.

  • Pasta: You'll need one 8-ounce package of dried manicotti for this dump and bake casserole.
  • Filling: Rather than the classic ricotta filling, we're stuffing each pasta tube with one piece of string cheese.
  • Broth: To cook the pasta and add flavor, you'll need to add broth to the dish. Our Test Kitchen used low-sodium beef broth, but you could swap in low-sodium chicken broth instead. If you'd like to make a vegetarian manicotti, use vegetable broth.
  • Sauce: For a true dump and bake dinner, you can use a 24-ounce jar of meat sauce for this recipe. Our Test Kitchen is also sharing a quick shortcut meat sauce made with Italian sausage, jarred pasta sauce, and seasonings. To make this manicotti recipe vegetarian, use your favorite jarred marinara sauce.
  • Cheese: A sprinkle of shredded cheese on top is the perfect finish.

How to Make Dump and Bake Manicotti

There's no need to pre-cook the pasta for this manicotti recipe. Instead we're adding broth to the baking dish to help cook the pasta while it bakes. Here's a quick look at how to make this dump dinner.

  1. Place one string cheese inside each piece of pasta and place in a greased baking dish.
  2. Pour broth over the pasta.
  3. Cover the pasta with the prepared or purchased sauce and cover with foil.
  4. Bake until the pasta is cooked through. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until bubbly and melted.

Ingredients

  • 1 (8 ounce) package dried manicotti

  • 14 pieces string cheese

  • 1 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth or reduced sodium chicken broth

  • 1 pound lean ground beef and/or bulk italian sausage

  • 1/2 cup chopped onion

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

  • 1 (24 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese

  • Chopped fresh italian parsley or basil (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a 3-qt. rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place one string cheese inside each manicotti tube and arrange stuffed shells in a single layer in the prepared dish. Add broth to the dish.

  2. In a large skillet cook ground beef and onion over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and discard fat, if needed. Add garlic and crushed red pepper (if using). Stir in spaghetti sauce. Spoon meat sauce evenly over pasta shells. Cover tightly with foil.

  3. Bake about 40 minutes until pasta is just al dente. Uncover and sprinkle with Italian blend cheese. Return to oven and bake 10 minute more or until cheese is melted and pasta is tender. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with Italian parsley or basil (if using).

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

685 Calories
48g Fat
22g Carbs
41g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6
Calories 684.5
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 47.6g 61%
Saturated Fat 22.3g 111%
Cholesterol 136.8mg 46%
Sodium 1947.6mg 85%
Total Carbohydrate 22.4g 8%
Dietary Fiber 3.1g 11%
Total Sugars 10.5g
Protein 40.6g 81%
Vitamin D 1.2mcg 6%
Vitamin C 4.4mg 5%
Calcium 618mg 48%
Iron 2.8mg 16%
Potassium 840.6mg 18%
Fatty acids, total trans 0.2g
Vitamin D 50.4IU
Alanine 1.6g
Arginine 1.6g
Ash 8g
Aspartic acid 3g
Caffeine 0mg
Carotene, alpha 0mcg
Choline, total 106.3mg
Copper, Cu 0.2mg
Cystine 0.3g
Energy 2862.6kJ
Fluoride, F 7.8mcg
Folate, total 48.7mcg
Glutamic acid 6.9g
Glycine 1.5g
Histidine 1g
Isoleucine 1.8g
Leucine 3g
Lysine 2.3g
Methionine 0.9g
Magnesium, Mg 67.2mg
Manganese, Mn 0.3mg
Niacin 9.4mg
Phosphorus, P 582.5mg
Pantothenic acid 0.4mg
Phenylalanine 1.6g
Phytosterols 3.4mg
Proline 3.2g
Retinol 220.3mcg
Selenium, Se 42.7mcg
Serine 1.4g
Starch 2.3g
Theobromine 0mg
Threonine 1.6g
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 4mg
Tryptophan 0.6g
Tyrosine 1.5g
Valine 2g
Vitamin A, IU 1718.4IU
Vitamin A, RAE 269mcg
Vitamin B-12 2.9mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.6mg
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 25.2mcg
Water 288.5g
Zinc, Zn 5.4mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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