Stuffed Manicotti with Italian Sausage, Spinach & Three Cheeses
Yield: 4 stuffed manicotti shells
Filling Ingredients
• ½ cup cottage cheese (full-fat recommended)
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup shredded whole milk mozzarella (wet-style)
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup cooked Italian sausage (crumbled and drained)
½ cup cooked, drained spinach (squeezed dry and chopped)
Seasoning for Cheese Mixture
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp dried basil
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
• ¼ tsp kosher salt I used garlic salt (adjust based on saltiness of sausage and cheese)
Assembly Ingredients
• 4 manicotti shells, cooked al dente
• 1 cup homemade pasta sauce (or marinara)
• ¼ cup shredded mozzarella (for topping)
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan (for topping)
• Fresh parsley or basil for garnish (optional)
Instructions
1. Prepare Filling
o In a food processor, blend cottage cheese, Parmesan, mozzarella, egg, and all seasonings until smooth.
o Transfer to a bowl and fold in cooked sausage and spinach.
2. Stuff the Shells
o Carefully fill each manicotti shell with the cheese mixture using a piping bag or spoon. Avoid overstuffing.
3. Layer & Bake
o Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
o Spread half the pasta sauce in the bottom of a small baking dish.
o Arrange stuffed manicotti over the sauce.
o Spoon remaining sauce over the top.
o Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan.
4. Bake
o Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
o Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
5. Rest & Serve
o Let rest for 5–10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.
Tips
• Nutmeg: Add a pinch to the cheese blend for warmth and depth.
• Fresh herbs: Swap dried basil/oregano for fresh if available—use 1 tsp each.
• Cottage cheese: If it’s very wet, strain slightly before blending to avoid a runny filling.
Hello diners and friends. Welcome to Solo Dining with Karen Marie. Today we will be making stuffed manicotti. We’ll stuffing it with Italian sausage, Italian cheeses, and spinach. I’m also going to be stuffing this with cottage cheese. I’m using cottage cheese instead of ricotta and a few other things. So, you’ll see, follow along with me. Right now, I am making the I am cooking the Italian sausage. I’m browning it. Looks like I’m burning it, but I’m browning. I’m not going to hide too much from you guys sometimes. You know, stuff happens in the kitchen. We make mistakes, but guess what? We can clean them up. We can clear it up later. But I had my my pan up a little too high and trying to set up some other things and end up browning it a little too much. But hey, it’s going to be all right because it’s going to be mixed in, blended in anyway. you know. So, get that finished up. And now we’re getting started on the stuffing. Um the So, right now, I’m just using, like I said, I’m using cottage cheese. It’s a little wet, but I prefer cottage cheese always, even when I’m making lasagna. I rarely use ricotta. Uh it’s a little dry and I know that’s why we end up uh you know, we add egg to it or something to moisten it up. I don’t know why they add egg, but hey, there it is. Okay, these are different seasonings and things that I got. Onion powder, garlic powder, um so many different things in there. Um and it’ll be in the description uh box. And then there’s some Italian cheese. Now, normally I like to shred my own cheese, but um I bought the uh packaged Italian cheese that was already shredded and I I think that’s um parm and um uh whatever a couple of other cheeses. Oh my goodness. But anyway, I bought the packaged cheese um and it’s just Italian cheese that I got out of the local grocery store. So, I’m getting this all set up um to uh get ready to blend all of my things together in the food processor. And actually, I didn’t have a lot of the things that I really did want cuz I wanted to use the wet style mozzarella cheese. Um and you know, they come in the little balls in the little packets. So, I wanted to use that and uh along with this cottage cheese, but I didn’t even have that. But that’s all right. You know what I mean? You can do is this dish is so versatile, you know? And so, um it’s going to it’s going to come out come out good. So, there’s that sausage and I want to blend that in. So, I think I put a egg in here. And then I’m going to add the spinach. Little bit more cheese. That’s that Italian cheese that come out the packet. And then blend it all together. Yeah, I put crushed red pepper flake. I used uh some garlic salt, all of that in that little blend that I had. I had some basil and um just so many different little little things in there to season that that cheese mixture to make it nice and flavorful. Okay, now I’m getting ready to put this in a a piping bag. It doesn’t look appetizing. I know because it’s green, but hey, it’s delicious. And normally, like when I do this, I like to do it on the lasagna. I like to do lasagna. Um, yeah. So, it’s ready. Okay, I got my little 7 in casserole pan dish and I’m adding a layer of pasta sauce to the bottom of the pan. And uh my manakotti I overcooked it a little bit so they’re a little bigger than they should be. I’m going to be transparent. Yeah, I cooked them a little too long. I dropped them in cold water once they were uh done to stop that cooking process cuz they were getting out of hand. But that’s all right. We’re going to make something happen with this cuz we don’t like to throw food away no matter how we mess it up. I would have layered it in the pan and not stuffed it to lasagna of it or something, but uh yeah, I’m not wasting food. But I’m going to show y’all my little mistakes. So, you know, you don’t have to make them, but I did cook them a little too long. Trying to set everything up. But anyway, I’m stuffing them. Get them nice and full so you can have a nice cheesy bite. When you’re done, just don’t cook your shells as long as I the the manakati shells as long as I did. I had that water boil and then I put a lid on there and I just got to got busy. I said, “Oh, shoots.” And I had to go back and and try to get it. But I said, “I’m going to try to make what I can out of it.” And so I’m just going to add a little bit more pasta sauce on this. And like I made a few mistakes um while doing this. And and this is really actually an easy dish. Um but I did make a few mistakes and uh like I said with with over cooking that and and I really wish I could have just had some of the good cheese. I should have grated my own cheese. Um but I didn’t. Uh this time I did everything quick and in a pinch. I’m going to add a little bit of basil on there on top of that Italian cheese. And it’s ready for the oven. And there it is. Oh, it’s ugly. She’s ugly. But guess what? Say it with me, friends. It’s going to eat good. It’s going to eat good. That’s all right. It might be ugly. Yeah, but it’s going to eat good. Well, yeah, it don’t look appetizing, but it’s delicious. Hey friends, thanks for joining me. Have a great day.
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