4-Cheese Sausage Manicotti

This cheesy comfort food will win you over.

Back in the day when I ate a lot of frozen dinners, my favorite one was cannelloni with tomato sauce.

I think it was that frozen dinner that actually inspired me to come up with this manicotti recipe.

This recipe includes cottage cheese to go along with the traditional ricotta cheese filling.

But if preferred, more ricotta cheese can be used in place of the cottage cheese.

It also includes a quick homemade marinara sauce that tastes especially good along with the cheese filled manicotti shells.

The filling in this recipe has Italian sausage in it.  Feel free to change up the meat to ground beef or ground turkey.

Or it can be made meatless too.

Serve this manicotti as a main dish with salad and garlic bread for a delicious meal.

Here are more cheesy pasta recipes you may like “Green Chile Macaroni and Cheese“, “Sloppy Joe Macaroni and Cheese” and “3-Cheese Stuffed Shells with Marinara“.

Let’s check out the ingredients.

For the Marinara Sauce – olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce, dried basil, dried oregano, ground black pepper, dried red pepper flakes and salt

For the Pasta and Filling – manicotti pasta, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, chopped spinach, green onion, parsley, Parmesan cheese and…

…shredded mozzarella cheese…

…and cooked Italian sausage

A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.

Here’s how to make it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Marinara Sauce:

Dice the garlic and set aside for a moment.

Heat a medium size saucepan on low to medium heat.

To the pan add olive oil and…

…chopped garlic.

Stir for a moment before adding the tomato sauce.

To the pan add tomato sauce,

…oregano,

…basil,

…pepper,

…dried red pepper flakes,

…and salt.

Stir the sauce.

Turn the heat down to the lowest heat possible and cover the pan with a lid.

Let simmer for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.

For the Filling:

In a medium size bowl add cottage cheese,

…ricotta cheese,

…Parmesan cheese,

…spinach,

…green onions,

…parsley,

…mozzarella cheese,

…and cooked and crumbled Italian sausage (or your choice of ground meat).

Stir together.

For the Manicotti:

Stuff the manicotti shells with cheese filling.

In a casserole dish (either one large oven proof casserole dish or serving size oven proof dishes),

add a layer of the sauce to the bottom.

Lay each stuffed manicotti in the casserole dish.

For the Toppings:

Spread the sauce over the top of the manicotti.

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven until the shells soften and the filling heats up (45 minutes).

Serve warm and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Then…

…enjoy…

…each and every delicious bite.

Thank you so much for stopping by CCC!

More Pasta Recipes You May Like:

Italian Sausage and Radiatore Pasta with Homemade Sauce

Mostaccioli Pasta with Blue Cheese and Bacon

Tangy Marinara Sauce and Angel Hair Pasta

Mexican Fideo Pasta with Vegetables

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Print Recipe

4-Cheese Sausage Manicotti

A delicious main dish that can be served with a salad and garlic bread.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Cheese Manicotti, Manicotti, Sausage and Pasta, Sausage Manicotti

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 6

Author [email protected]

Ingredients

For the Marinara Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
• 2 cans (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 3 dashes salt

For the Filling:

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped spinach
• 2 green onions chopped, including the green tops
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley Italian or curly parsley
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup cooked and crumbled Italian sausage (broken up in small pieces with a spatula when cooking) can substitute with ground beef, ground turkey or ground pork

For the Manicotti Pasta:

• 1 box (12 to 14 count) manicotti shells

For the Toppings:

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Marinara Sauce:

1. Heat a medium size saucepan on low to medium heat.  To the pan add olive oil and chopped garlic.  Stir for a moment before adding the tomato sauce.  

2. To the pan add tomato sauce, oregano, basil, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt.  Stir together. 

3. Turn the heat down to the lowest heat possible and cover the pan with a lid.  Let simmer for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.

For the Filling:

1. In a medium size bowl add cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, spinach, green onions, parsley, mozzarella cheese, and cooked and crumbled Italian sausage (or your choice of ground meat).  Stir together.

For the Manicotti Pasta:

1. In a large shallow oven proof casserole dish, or serving size oven proof dishes, add a layer of the warm sauce to the bottom. 

2. Stuff the manicotti shells with the cheese filling.  Then lay each stuffed manicotti in the casserole dish.

For the Toppings:

1. Spread the sauce over the top of the manicotti.  

2. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese. 

3. Bake in a preheated oven until the shells soften and the filling heats up (45 minutes). 

4. Serve warm and top with grated Parmesan cheese.