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$5 Dinners | Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, Freezer Meals

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No-Boil, Freezer Friendly Three Cheese Manicotti Recipe

November 16, 2011 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 24 Comments

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three cheese manicotti

Do you want to make a casserole without a bowl, a spoon or a pot?

You do?

three cheese manicotti

Then this is the delicious pasta casserole for you.

Three Cheese Manicotti Recipe is so scrumptious! 

I make this often and double to have extra in my freezer to give away to a friend in need, or for a busy weeknight meal.

You DO NOT cook the manicotti prior to filling and freezing, and that’s what makes this recipe so easy.

The other easy part is the method to mix the filling ingredients. You mix the filling in a freezer bag by kneading it.

Here’s how it works…enjoy! 

P.S. See photos below recipe for a visual of how to make this meal.

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Three Cheese Manicotti

You'll love how easy this no-boil, freezer friendly manicotti casserole tastes
Prep Time25 minutes minutes
Cook Time1 hour hour
Servings - 8 servings

Ingredients 

  • 24 oz cottage cheese
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 8 oz. manicotti pasta
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 24 oz. jar marinara sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Add about 1/2 of the marinara sauce in the bottom of the pan.
  • Add the cottage cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper into a gallon size FREEZER bag and gently knead until it is mixed up.
  • Cut a small corner of the bag, about 1/2-inch wide. You want the filling to flow easily through the opening, but you don't want it to pour out too quickly.
  • Pipe the filling into the manicotti shells, from both sides. Fill all the shells and place into the marinara lined pan.
  • Cover all the shells with the remaining marinara sauce.
  • Sprinkle the other mozzarella cheese on top. Cover with foil.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, and let stand 1 minute before serving.
  • To freeze before baking: add foil to the top and freeze in the fridge freezer to 6 months, or deep freezer for 12 months.
  • To thaw and cook: thaw for at least 24 hours in the fridge. Bake as directed.

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

 

This is a guest post recipe. Jackie Brown is a mom of four freezer cooking for her family while opening her arms to the poor and needy. She teaches and blogs at Mom on a Mission six days a week. Her posts include freezer cooking tutorials, whole foods coupons, recipes, weekly menus, 15-minute recipes using freezer items and mission opportunities.

three cheese manicotti

three cheese manicotti

269 shares
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Filed Under: Budget Friendly Recipes, Freezer Recipes and Freezer Meal Plans, Pasta Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

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Comments

  1. Gina S. says

    November 16, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    How long do you cook it and at what temperature?

    Reply
    • sandra says

      November 16, 2011 at 7:51 pm

      going by the photo–at 375 , covered for one hour

      Reply
  2. Denise says

    November 16, 2011 at 10:48 pm

    Thanks Jackie – I’ll be making this on my next freezer cooking day!

    Reply
  3. Wendy says

    November 16, 2011 at 11:37 pm

    There’s really no additional liquid needed? Other “no boil” recipes I’ve used require a bit more liquid for the pasta to cook. I’m surprised that this doesn’t. I do plan to try it, though. I love no boil lasagna and no boil mac n cheese. I’m sure I’ll love this, too.

    Reply
    • Dawnette says

      November 18, 2011 at 9:15 pm

      No-boil mac & cheese??

      Reply
      • Wendy says

        November 23, 2011 at 6:16 pm

        Yes, it’s great. Unique, but great! Here’s the link: http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/07/no-boil-mac-cheese.html

        For it to work best for me, I had my oven temp 25 degrees lower and added more liquid. The first time I made it it turned out a bit too dry and the pasta was more al dente than I like. Not sure if it was the oven temp or the smaller bowls I used (have used a larger container since), but it comes out great now!

        Reply
        • Mindy says

          September 10, 2014 at 3:47 pm

          Hi Wendy,
          I was wondering how much more liquid do you add?

          Reply
  4. Gail Becker says

    November 17, 2011 at 5:06 am

    I love how easy this is!!!! Great idea with writting cooking instructions on the foil with Blue ink. No more excuses like “I don’t know how to cook this from anyone””. LOL!!!

    Reply
  5. Gail Becker says

    November 17, 2011 at 5:10 am

    I have a question. How long can you freeze this? I don’t think it would last long in the freezer, because my family would request it once they saw it in the freezer,LOL!!!

    Reply
  6. Gwendolyn says

    November 17, 2011 at 8:16 am

    This is a really neat idea. I’m guessing it would work great with gluten free lasagna noodles for those of us that can’t tolerate gluten.

    Reply
  7. DavetteB says

    November 17, 2011 at 8:17 am

    what size jar of sauce or how much if homemade? also is the one hour baking time from frozen or thawed? thanks :o)

    Reply
    • Krystal says

      February 8, 2012 at 9:25 am

      The picture says “Thaw 24 hours. Bake 1 hour.” And I would assume you can use as much sauce as you like

      Reply
  8. Gail says

    November 17, 2011 at 8:47 am

    If you’re going to freeze this, do not use a foil pan…the tomato sauce will react with the aluminum foil and eat tiny holes in the bottom of the pan. Been there, done that 🙁 Use a plastic disposable oven-safe pan (Gladware, etc.) instead.

    Reply
  9. Barbara B. says

    November 17, 2011 at 9:31 am

    How do I just print the recipe,not pictures?

    Reply
  10. Judy says

    December 24, 2011 at 8:01 pm

    I had this in the freezer for a couple of weeks and made it tonight. Rave reviews!!! So easy it’s ridiculous. This will be made again and again!

    Reply
  11. Carmen Cavanaugh says

    January 9, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    I made this recipe but with shells and it was so good! It was more than enough for my family and had made a batch for a family that just had a baby. Love this!

    Reply
  12. Betty says

    January 16, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    Do you have baking instructions if it’s not frozen? Thank you.

    Reply
  13. Sherry says

    September 4, 2012 at 7:27 am

    I also stuff my shells with Manwich….Just cook the hamburg, add Manwich and stuff shells…Cover with sauce and cheese….Delicious~!

    Reply
  14. Steph says

    September 4, 2012 at 9:34 am

    Had anyone tried adding vegetables to this? I like to add veggies whenever possible since I have picky eaters. I’m thinking maybe carrots or zucchini/squash?

    Reply
  15. Bonnie says

    October 10, 2015 at 6:03 pm

    The first time I made this, the filling fell out when I was dishing it out. So the second time, I added an egg to the filling mixture. Worked perfectly!! The egg firmed the filling up just right. This is being added to my dinner rotation!

    Reply
  16. Jennifer says

    January 26, 2017 at 11:48 am

    So the mom on a mission link does not work anymore and your crock pot marinara is my go to receipe. Where can I find it now? Please help, I am lost without that recipe 😉

    Reply
    • Jenn K says

      January 28, 2017 at 3:08 pm

      Thanks for letting us know. I’ve updated the link to her recipe. 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

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    June 13, 2014 at 3:39 pm

    […] Packages {Simple Bites}   13. DIY Frozen Pizzas {Homemaker’s Challenge}   14. No-Boil Freezer Manicotti {$5 Dinners}   15. 40 Freezer Meals in about 4 Hours {Joel & Kitty’s Ministry Blog}   16. […]

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  2. 15 Time Saving Freezer Meal Recipes says:
    May 9, 2015 at 3:45 am

    […] [11] No boil three-cheese freezer manicotti […]

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