Million Dollar Manicotti
An extra creamy, indulgent version of a comfort food classic.
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Sometimes I sit and wonder to myself just how many “million dollar” versions of recipes we can make. The conclusion I’ve come to is that the possibilities are probably endless. Because “million dollar” generally just means adding cream cheese to a classic dish and why wouldn’t you want another version of something you love that’s a little extra creamy and indulgent? I can’t think of a reason why you wouldn’t. So here’s some Million Dollar Manicotti. It’s classic creamy, cheesy manicotti… but just a little extra. Because we all want something a little over the top sometimes.
The first steps are to boil the manicotti and to make your sauce. You only want to boil your manicotti for three or four minutes until they’re a little pliable but not totally soft. They bake for a good while later so you want to keep them from turning to mush in the oven.
The sauce is just a matter of browning some ground beef and then stirring in your favorite marinara. You can absolutely use your signature homemade sauce but I’m taking the easy way out here with jarred.
Then you make your cheese mixture. This is where the “million dollar” business comes in. There’s ricotta, mozzarella, an egg, garlic, Italian seasoning… you know, the things you expect in manicotti… but there’s also cream cheese, some Parmesan for good measure, and a full tablespoon of dried basil. I know that seems like a ton, but it’s not going to overpower the dish, I promise.
Transfer that mixture to a piping bag or a ziptop bag and then pipe the mixture into the par-cooked manicotti. Try to stuff them full so they don’t end up flat and sad in the end!
Line ’em up.
Then cover them with the meat sauce and cover that tightly with foil and get it in the oven for forty minutes.
At that point, it’s time for more cheese. (Of course.) So top it with a little more mozzarella and put it back in the oven until it’s nice and bubbly.
It’s manicotti as you know and love it, it’s just a little extra indulgent.
And we can all use a little extra indulgence sometimes, can’t we?
Million Dollar Manicotti
Ingredients
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated and divided
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 8 oz manicotti shells, uncooked
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
- 1 lb ground beef
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and set aside a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then cook manicotti shells just 3-4 minutes. They should be pliable, but NOT fully al dente. Drain and let cool.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, season ground beef with salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink. Drain grease, if needed, then stir in marinara sauce until simmering. Remove from heat.
- Spoon 1/2 cup of the meat sauce in the baking dish, then set the rest aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, and dried basil until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and pipe filling into manicotti shells. Line filled shells up in baking dish.
- Spoon remaining meat sauce over the manicotti, then cover dish tightly with foil and bake until shells are tender and sauce is bubbling, about 40 minutes.
- Uncover dish, top with remaining mozzarella and return to oven until cheese is bubbly and melted, about 10 minutes.
- Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Plain Chicken.
