Delicious gluten free manicotti is stuffed with your favorite spinach and dairy free ricotta cheese and other yummys to create a perfect dinner.
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr10 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 4servings
Author: Eating Gluten and Dairy Free
Ingredients
Pasta Sauce Ingredients
1Tablespoongrapeseed oilolive or vegetable oil work too
½oniondiced
1clovegarlicminced
½poundground beefItalian sausage or ground turkey work, or you can omit
14ouncesmarinara saucesuggestion in post
Ricotta Filling Ingredients
6gluten free manicotti pasta noodlessuggestion in post
8ouncesdairy free ricottasuggestion in post
1large egg
¾cupfresh spinachcut into thin pieces with kitchen shears
1Tablespoongranulated sugar
½Tablespoonground parsley
dash salt
dash ground pepper
¼cupoptional-- add in your favorite dairy free shredded parmesan or mozzarella cheese to the ricotta filling.
optional garnish-- fresh Italian parsley, more dairy free cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent.
Add in the ground beef and brown.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the manicotti noodles according to the package. Prepare noodles slightly undercooked.
Drain noodles and wash under cold water. Transfer noodles to a plate and arrange noodles side by side without overlapping or touching each other. This will prevent them from sticking together and tearing.
Once the meat has cooked all the way through and no longer pink, drain the fat. Stir in the marinara sauce, and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes while you prepare the ricotta. Stir occasionally.
In a small mixing bowl combine the ricotta, egg, spinach, sugar, ground parsley, salt, and pepper. Optional: add in ¼ cup of your favorite dairy free parmesan or mozzarella cheese.
Then transfer the mixture to a half gallon Ziploc bag. Cut a corner off and pipe the ricotta mixture into each end of the tender manicotti pasta shell.
Reserve ½ c. of the marinara meat sauce for a topping, and place the remaining sauce in the bottom of the baking pan. Then arrange each manicotti noodle on top of the meat sauce.
Next top with the remaining meat sauce over over the noodles. Top with more dairy free cheese.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling on the sides.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes as you garnish with more dairy free cheese, fresh spinach and Italian parsley. Serve and enjoy.
Cover and refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days. This does taste best right out of the oven.
The pasta sauce can be prepared ahead of time; we would not suggest freezing this dish as the pasta noodles become soggy.