This 6-ingredient oven manicotti is the kind of weeknight magic I lean on when I’m tired but still want something that feels worthy of company. It uses dry manicotti shells—no boiling—and just five everyday fridge pulls to create a bubbling, cheesy bake. Manicotti, an Italian-American favorite, is usually a bit fussy with pre-cooking and stuffing the pasta. Here, we skip that step entirely: the dry tubes go straight into a glass baking dish, get surrounded by a rich, tomato-cream bath, and bake until the pasta swells and the cheese melts into a silky, comforting sauce.
Serve this manicotti straight from the glass baking dish with a simple green salad dressed in a sharp vinaigrette to cut through the richness. Warm, crusty bread or garlic toast is perfect for scooping up the extra sauce. A light Italian red wine, such as Chianti or Montepulciano, or a sparkling water with lemon works well alongside. If you’d like a fuller spread, add roasted vegetables—broccoli, zucchini, or asparagus—tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted on a separate tray while the manicotti bakes.
6-Ingredient Oven ManicottiServings: 4-6
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) box dry manicotti shells (about 12 shells)
2 cups jarred marinara sauce
2 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Place a 9x13-inch glass baking dish on the counter so it’s ready for layering.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the marinara sauce and milk until the mixture is completely blended and looks like a loose, pinkish tomato cream. This liquid is what will cook the dry manicotti in the oven.
Pour about 1 cup of the tomato-milk mixture into the bottom of the glass baking dish, tilting the dish so the entire base is coated. You want a visible pool of sauce under where the manicotti will sit.
Arrange the dry manicotti shells in a single layer in the glass baking dish, nestling them directly into the sauce. It’s fine if they touch; just keep them in one layer so they cook evenly.
In another bowl, stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, the salt, and the black pepper until well combined. This is your simple, rich cheese filling.
Using a small spoon or a piping bag (a zip-top bag with the corner snipped works well), carefully fill each dry manicotti shell with the cheese mixture. You can do this right in the dish: spoon some filling into one end of a tube, flip it, and fill from the other side until it feels packed.
Once all the shells are filled, pour the remaining tomato-milk mixture evenly over the manicotti, making sure the tops and sides of the pasta are well coated. The liquid should come most of the way up the sides of the shells; gently nudge any exposed edges down so they’re at least lightly covered.
Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup shredded mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan evenly over the top. This will melt into a golden, bubbly layer that seals in moisture for the pasta.
Cover the glass baking dish tightly with foil, tenting it slightly so it doesn’t press down into the cheese. Bake, covered, for 40–45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and a knife slides into a shell with only slight resistance.
Remove the foil and continue baking for another 10–15 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the pasta is fully tender when pierced with a knife or skewer. If the top is browning too quickly, loosely re-cover with foil.
Let the manicotti rest in the glass dish for 10 minutes before serving. This short rest helps the sauce thicken slightly and makes the pieces easier to lift out in neat portions.
Variations & Tips
You can easily adapt this minimalist manicotti to what you have on hand. For a meatier version, scatter 1–1 1/2 cups cooked, crumbled Italian sausage or ground beef over the dry shells before adding the remaining sauce. For extra vegetables, tuck in a layer of baby spinach or thinly sliced mushrooms between the filled shells and the final sauce pour; they’ll cook down in the oven. If you prefer a lighter dish, use part-skim ricotta and low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, though the sauce will be slightly less rich. To add more flavor without extra ingredients, lean on technique: toast a pinch of red pepper flakes and dried oregano in a dry pan for 30 seconds and stir them into the tomato-milk mixture. Food safety notes: Keep the ricotta, mozzarella, and milk refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble, and don’t leave the filled dish at room temperature for more than 30 minutes before baking. Make sure the casserole reaches a safe internal temperature of at least 165°F (74°C) in the center; a probe thermometer inserted into the middle of the dish is the most reliable way to check. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator and eat within 3–4 days, reheating until hot and bubbling before serving.
