Hey everyone! The weather is colder and I’m craving all the warm comfort foods. And yes, this manicotti recipe adaptation is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about.

Today I want to share this recipe that I’ve been hanging onto for a while, and for whatever reason I still haven’t shared it. When my second child was born, I was on a mission to create an amazing freezer meal plan, and I must say that there were a few things that definitely stood out as “Extra amazing” items. Things that froze well and tasted great. These manicotti rolls up, my friends, was one of those winner recipes.

I had been wanting to make regular manicotti for my meal plan, but then I couldn’t find the shells when I was trying to buy them (and ordering them online was not on this last-minute shopper’s radar)… So, I opted to make these with lasagna noodles instead, and they turned out to be incredible. Also, they’re vegetarian – In case you’re looking for more meatless recipes to add to your rotation!

I usually make my own tomato sauce for recipes like this (just a bit of tomato puree with salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano), but I happened to have a jar of pre-made marinara sauce on hand to use up– and WOW. It was amazing! So that’s why I’m going the unusual route of recommending that instead of making my own. Feel free to do it either way though; I’m completely confident that these cheese-laden, lasagna-inspired rolls will still be a favourite.

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Manicotti Lasagna Roll Ups

A delicious, easy, vegetarian version of manicotti. This is a great freezer meal for planning ahead!

Course Dinner, lunch

Cuisine American, Canadian, Italian

Keyword lasagna, manicotti, ricotta

Servings 9 rolls

Author Naomi

Ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles (about 1/2 box)
• 1 large egg
• 4 oz raw spinach cooked, chopped and cooled
• 12 oz ricotta cheese (approx. 330g)
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp salt slightly rounded
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 650ml jar prepared Marinara sauce Or 2-1/2 cups of your own, seasoned tomato sauce
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded (+more if desired)

Instructions

1. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Meanwhile, sauté the spinach in a bit of oil or butter until completely wilted. Chop the spinach, and set it aside to cool. Remove the lasagna noodles from the water; set aside those as well.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, cooled spinach, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, and mix until well combined. Spread evenly over each cooked lasagna noodle, and roll the noodles up into logs.

3. In a 9x13 baking dish, pour about 1 cup (250ml) of the sauce into the bottom and spread it evenly to cover. Arrange the filled noodles in the pan, and spread the remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle generously with mozzarella cheese.

4. Cover the pan with foil, and bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 50 minutes or until bubbly and a knife inserted into one of the rolls comes out feeling hot to the touch. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake 10 minutes more, uncovered. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

These rolls can be frozen for the future. Just make sure to thaw them completely before following the baking directions, or increase your baking time if you decide to bake them from frozen.

Serve these rolls with a side salad and some garlic bread. De-lish.

I can’t wait to make these again, and I hope they serve you well!

Naomi

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