Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

Bring restaurant quality (or better) food to your table with this easy Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti dish. Pasta Noodles, sauce, Italian Sausage, mixed vegetables, and cheese all combined into one fabulous dish. Perfect for any weeknight meal or special occasion.

It is summertime now as I am writing this recipe. At the moment, I am looking at 6 zucchinis I picked from my garden. Growing up in an Italian family, we often had zucchini mixed with our spaghetti sauce. Zucchini and spaghetti sauce just go together. So tonight, I am mixing zucchini in with this recipe.

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Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti with text overlay.
Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

The great thing about this dish is you can add your favorite veggies. If you like zucchini-add some, if you would rather have grated carrots- add them. If you don’t like mushrooms- leave them out. This recipe is flexible to your likings. Plus, you are able to sneak vegetables into this dish for your kids.

Ingredients Needed for Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

1 Box Manicotti Noodles

1 Can/Jar Spaghetti sauce
1 # Ground Italian sausage
1 medium onion-diced
1 medium zucchini-diced small (optional)
1 small jar ( 10 oz.) mushroom pieces (optional)
1 cup chopped spinach (optional) frozen or fresh
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon each garlic powder, salt and pepper

How to Make Stuffed Manicotti

Cook Manicotti, according to package directions. Drain, cool slightly.
Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with nonstick spray.
Add 1 cup of spaghetti sauce to the bottom of the dish. Set aside.
Crumble Italian Sausage and add to skillet.
Add diced onion and zucchini.
Cook until sausage is cooked through and browned. Add mushrooms and spinach. Cook until spinach has wilted about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add 1 cup cheese, egg, and seasonings.
Drain noodles. Stuff the noodles with the meat mixture and place in the casserole dish on top of the spaghetti sauce. This is usually a tight fit.
Cover the top of the noodles with the remaining spaghetti sauce.
Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Uncover and add the rest of the mozzarella cheese to the top.
Continue to bake for another 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

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Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

Tips for Making Stuffed Manicotti

I prefer to use ground Italian Sausage for this dish instead of hamburger meat. Italian Sausage is already perfectly seasoned and is great for spaghetti, Lasagna, or Manicotti dishes.

Boil noodles while you are cooking the meat mixture. Follow the package directions for preparing the noodles. Allow the noodles to cool slightly to make them easier to handle. Make sure to add salt to the boiling water, so your noodles are not sticky.

Chop your vegetables small. You want them to cook evenly along with the meat. This also makes it easier to stuff your noodles with smaller veggies.

I stuffed my noodles full, and this recipe, as followed above, made 12 noodles. Remember, if you add or subtract the ingredients, your noodle totals may vary.

Use your favorite spaghetti sauce for this recipe. Homemade spaghetti sauce is an option, but for weeknight meals, it doesn’t fit into my schedule. There are some very tasty spaghetti sauces to choose from at the grocery store.

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Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti with text overlay.
Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

How to Stuff Manicotti

The easiest way I have found through the years is to use my hands and a spoon.
Hold the noodle in one hand, get a heaping spoonful of meat mixture in the other hand and start stuffing the noodle. Continue to stuff and push the mixture through the tube until you see it come out the other end. I like to fill my noodles from one end to the other. Who wants a skinny noodle on their plate? Not me! 🙂

What to Serve with Stuffed Manicotti

The options are endless as to what you can serve with this dish. Green beans and corn on the cob are always a great side, but crusty garlic bread and a side salad are always winners at my house.

This Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti tastes so much better than eating it at a restaurant. Not only can you control the ingredients–you can also eat dinner in your pajamas! 🙂

Be sure to check out these other dinner ideas that will be a hit with your family. 

Pan Cooked Sticky Chicken

Creamy Chicken Casserole

Classic Meatballs

Chili Mac and Cheese

Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

Gina Abernathy
Bring restaurant quality (or better) food to your table with this easy Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti dish. Pasta Noodles, sauce, Italian Sausage, mixed vegetables, and cheese all combined into one fabulous dish. Perfect for any weeknight meal or special occasion.
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 box Manicotti noodles
  • 1 can/jar spaghetti sauce your favorite
  • 1 pound Ground Italian Sausage
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 medium zucchini diced
  • 1 10 ounce jar mushroom pieces
  • 1 cup spinach fresh, chopped
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon each garlic powder, salt, and pepper

Instructions
 

  • Cook Manicotti, according to package directions. Drain, cool slightly.
  • Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with nonstick spray. Add 1 cup of spaghetti sauce to the bottom of the dish. Set aside.
  • Crumble Italian Sausage and add to skillet.
  • Add diced onion and zucchini. Cook until sausage is cooked through and browned. Add mushrooms and spinach. Cook until spinach has wilted about 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add 1 cup cheese, egg, and seasonings.
  • Drain noodles. Stuff the noodles with the meat mixture and place in the casserole dish on top of the spaghetti sauce. This is usually a tight fit.
  • Cover the top of the noodles with the remaining spaghetti sauce.
  • Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Uncover and add the rest of the mozzarella cheese to the top. Continue to bake for another 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving
Keyword Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

4 Comments

  1. Looks like this will be a great meal that I will make for my family. This is going to be another family favorite! Making this on Friday. Thanks for the recipe!

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