This is a recipe I created after tasting something similar at a local restaurant. The stuffed pasta tubes freeze easily, allowing dinner to be ready faster. I generally make my pasta tubes and spaghetti sauce from scratch, but to shorten preparation time, manicotti tubes and jarred spaghetti sauce will work too.
Ingredients
- manicotti shells: 1 pack (8 ounce pack)
- Italian turkey sausages, casings removed: 1 pack (20 ounce pack)
- roasted garlic spaghetti sauce (such as Barilla®): 1 jar (24 ounce jar, divided)
- granulated garlic: 0.5 tsp
- italian seasoning: 0.5 tsp
- mozzarella cheese: 0.66667 cup (shredded)
- cooking spray:
- butter: 3 Tbsp
- all-purpose flour: 2 Tbsp
- whipping cream: 2 cups
- fontina cheese: 0.5 cup (shredded)
- mozzarella cheese: 0.5 cup (shredded)
- shaved Parmesan cheese: 0.25 cup
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
-
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook manicotti until tender yet firm to the bite, about 7 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir sausage in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain excess grease.
-
Drain manicotti tubes and allow to cool. Add 2 cups spaghetti sauce, garlic, and Italian seasoning to the sausage; simmer for about 10 minutes.
-
Cut manicotti tubes open and lay flat. Place about 3 tablespoons of the sausage mixture and some mozzarella cheese down the middle. Roll up tubes.
-
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
-
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until a smooth paste forms. Slowly pour in cream, whisking to prevent any lumps. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add fontina, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses; whisk thoroughly to blend.
-
Pour 1/2 of the cheese sauce into the prepared casserole dish. Place stuffed tubes seam-side down over the sauce. Pour remaining cheese sauce on top. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce down the middle of the casserole dish.
-
Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
