Who loves cheese?! I DO!!
For whatever crazy awful reason, I used to never even touch cheese let alone eat it. What the heck was I thinking?! I was missing out on the good stuff for far too long. Obviously moderation is important along with anything in life, but you better believe cheese will continue to be a regular part of my diet from here on out.
We fully embraced some cheese lovin’ last night with one of my favorite homemade meals – Easy Cheesy Manicotti! There’s lots of ricotta and mozzarella cheese stuffed in the manicotti shells along with a bunch of mozzarella sprinkled on top. Talk about one delicious cheesy meal!
Easy Cheesy Spinach Manicotti
Servings: 7 (2 stuffed manicotti = 1 serving)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: ~55 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 (15-16 oz.) container of ricotta
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (8 oz.) package of manicotti
- 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350* F. and spray a 13”x7” baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together first six ingredients.
- Carefully stuff each manicotti shell with cheese mixture and lay them in baking dish.
- Cover manicotti shells with pasta sauce.
- Cover baking dish with tin foil and bake for about 50 minutes.
- Take baking dish out, sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese (1 cup), and bake uncovered for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Questions:
- Do you like cheese? If so, what is your favorite kind?
- Have you ever been “anti-cheese”?
- What is your favorite pasta dish?
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
Goat cheese is definitely my favorite! hmmmmm
goat cheese is most definitely one of my top favorites too!
holy easy and holy yum! i def love cheese and am not sure if i could choose a favorite! i do really like brie though. my hubby and i were just talking about using ricotta cheese in recipes lately, so maybe i’ll have to whip this up!
I LOVE cheese & so does my husband, so it’s quite often incorporated into our dinner! I love all kinds… cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, feta… you name it!
i have a feeling you’ll LOVE this recipe then!
Love cheese! I like goat cheese with fruit and crackers or a good havarti on a panini.
I have never been anti cheese but definitely have always ate in moderation , but no I am embracing it more
Veggie lasagna or mac& cheese!
I am weird when it comes to cheese. I really like it when it’s cooked/melted, but not when it’s “raw.” Does that even make sense? So I have no interest whatever in something like cheese and crackers. I don’t like cubed cheese or slices straight from the deli. But put it on pizza, or baked pasta (like this one), or in a panini … and I LOVE it. I know, so weird. But this manicotti looks delicious. And I’m sure Brandon would love it, too!
i totally know what you mean. i could take or leave “raw” cheese, but it’s best when it’s all melty!
This sounds delicious! I love stuffed shells, the cheesier the better!
Oh yum that looks amazing. I LOVE cheese! Lately I’ve been enjoying crumbled feta cheese on my salads. It’s so tasty
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I love cheese – all kinds! However, just like Lindsay, I’m enjoying crumbled feta on my salads! I can’t get enough!
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i agree, feta adds SO much to a salad! yum!
Cheese is one of my favorite foods. I definitely eat it everyday! I love all kinds, but feta has always been a favorite of mine. I also love Brie cheese baked in puff pastry for an appetizer when I make a fancy dinner!
Looks delish! I’m going to have to add some serious meat for the hubby though
my husband is a HUGE meat lover too, and he kept going on and on about how much he loved this meal! so maybe try it without some time, and you might surprise him.
otherwise you can always add ground beef/turkey to it!
Lol good plan. If he says something about needing meat I’ll just slice up a hot dog and nuke it for him to toss in or something! Ha j/k
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Oh my goodness. I used to make manicotti all the time. Yours looks DELICIOUS!!!! (Your pictures are really good too.) Thanks for the recipe. I may have to impress the hubby with this. Hugs friend!!!!!!
thank you kristin! i’m sure your hubby will love it!
I love cheese so much! lol. Goat cheese is my absolute faaaaavorite. The more cheese the better
mmm, I love cheese! the best kind is goat cheese, imo
yumm!! I love manicotti!!
I’ve actually never had manicotti! and I love cheese although I never think to buy it at the store! My parents would always have a cheese platter and wine before a nice dinner on friday nights, I learned to appreciate good cheese early on!
oh you should definitely try it some time! it’s SO good, especially if you enjoy other stuffed pastas. or you should just fly out to utah and i’ll make it for us.
haha trust me, I’ve looked to see how expensive flights are!
This looks so good! I’m pinning it! (:
I love cheese! It should seriously be its own food group. I can’t even choose a favourite… sharp cheddar, goat cheese, feta, and brie are all amazing!
And this recipe looks to die for! I love any pasta that can be stuffed… spinach and ricotta ravioli is my favourite!
I Looooovvveee cheeeeesssseee
I am Swiss, afterall! I don’t love American type cheese though. At all. I’d rather a good, stinky cheese with lots of flavor! I love gouda, Grueyere (Swiss), Muenster, goat cheese, laughing cow!
muenster and goat cheese are two of my top favorites too!
My favorite cheese is hard mozzarella, shredded. For some reason it taste better shredded. If not that then goat cheese.
Mmmm, this looks super tasty! I love goat cheese the best I think! So creamy and delicious! I don’t eat much cheese besides goat cheese, so I guess I’m not the best choice to answer that question. Hope you had a great weekend
Heck yes I like cheese! But like you, I went a very long time without letting myself indulge in it. Everything in moderation is right
back in my restrictive days I used to eat “Fat Free Cheese”…sad, really, that I missed out for even that year
LOVE cheese. It’s the one thing I couldn’t give up. And probably the reason I should to move to France (or at least visit!)
I love cheese, but I never eat it. That is one of the foods I gave up completely when I started eating clean and probably the hardest one to give up too!
Mmmm! I haven’t made a good baked Italian dish in way too long. This looks fantastic!
I used to be very anti-cheese…. I don’t know how/why I did it!! I’ve very happily welcomed cheese back into my life, though… my favorite is goat cheese! So delicious!
This looks so good! I am allergic to milk.
No cheese for me!
That looks delish, I’m a total cheese lover too!! I make a very similar dish but use 2% cottage cheese instead of ricotta…it’s so good and packed with protein!
i should try the cottage cheese some time! thanks for the idea!
What?! Yuuuummmmm!!! Now I’m going to have to make these too
. My husband is going to love you! PS I love Swiss cheese and freshly grated Parmesan and baby mozzarella…..all cheese is grrrreat!!
PS your blog is fantastic…I check it every morning now
I am 100% certain that cheese is my favorite food of all time. It always has been and it always will be! (Shh, don’t tell peanut butter I said that!).
I love that it’s so versatile; that it comes in a million varieties; that it can be enjoyed sweet or savory; that it’s healthy (hello protein and calcium!)…but most importantly, that it’s so gosh darn ooey gooey delicious! I honestly can’t pick a favorite; I eat it in several forms every day (even though I have a mild intolerance…I just can’t give it up!), and always get excited when I discover a new variety. I even love the stinky ones! :-p But if I *had* to pick a few favorites, they’d be: smoked gouda, goat, feta, cottage and American (only because it’s the BEST in grilled cheese!).
Your manicotti is absolutely drool-worthy! Thanks for sharing a great recipe; this is one of my very favorite Italian dishes! xoxo <3
I made this last night. It was a hit