String Cheese Manicotti

One of the challenges cooks often encounter when making stuffed manicotti is how difficult it can be to stuff the shells without breaking them or making a mess, but this string cheese manicotti eliminates that problem entirely. As you can guess from the recipe name, a stick of string cheese is all you need to fill the shells that will then sit between layers of a meaty tomato-based sauce. Sprinkle some extra cheese on top and bake, and you’ve got a delicious manicotti dish ready to go.

Ingredients for String Cheese Manicotti

• Manicotti shells: This recipe uses tube-shaped manicotti shells instead of the crepes used in some manicotti dishes.
• Ground beef: Use lean ground beef; try 85/15, if you can find it. You don’t want a mix that’s got too much fat because the final sauce will be overly greasy, but you don’t want a very lean mix, either.
• Onion: The chopped onion will add more flavor to the ground beef and sauce.
• Spaghetti sauce: Use your favorite brand of sauce for this recipe. You can use homemade spaghetti sauce if you want, but a jar from the grocery store makes this recipe so much faster to put together.
• String cheese: Forget trying to spoon or pipe soft cheese into each shell. Just add sticks of string cheese, and you’re done filling the shells.
• Shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese: Sprinkling more cheese over the last layer of sauce gives the final dish a nice bubbly golden top.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the manicotti

Cook the manicotti according to the package directions.

Editor’s Tip: See the tips below regarding cooking time and keeping the manicotti shells from flattening.

Step 2: Cook the beef and onion

In another large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef and onion together until the beef is no longer pink. Drain away any grease.

Step 3: Finish the sauce

Add the spaghetti sauce to the beef and onion. Grease a 13×9-inch baking dish and add half the meat sauce mixture to the dish.

Step 4: Assemble the dish

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drain the manicotti, and place a stick of string cheese inside each shell. Arrange the shells over the layer of meat sauce in the baking dish, then top the shells with the rest of the sauce.

Step 5: Bake the manicotti

Cover the dish and bake it until heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Step 6: Add more cheese and bake again

Remove the cover and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the sauce. Bake until the cheese has melted, an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

String Cheese Manicotti Variations

• Double the string cheese: One stick of string cheese provides a nice amount of cheese per manicotti shell, but if you want to really make this a cheesy meal, you can always add another stick or half stick (whatever fits inside the shells you’re using).
• Use ground turkey instead of beef: Ground turkey has slightly less saturated fat than lean ground beef. This makes it a good choice if you’re trying to reduce saturated fat, but it also means the meat can dry out more. When cooking the turkey, add a little olive oil to the pan to compensate.

How to Store String Cheese Manicotti

Leftover manicotti with string cheese can be refrigerated in an airtight container for about three days. If you want to freeze the leftover manicotti, let it cool, divide it into servings, then wrap each in plastic wrap and then foil. Store those in the freezer for up to three months. If you want to make only a couple of servings of manicotti so you don’t have any leftovers, try this manicotti for two recipe.

Can you make string cheese manicotti ahead of time?

You can start the manicotti a day before baking. Make and assemble the manicotti as directed, but don’t do the final baking stage. Instead, tightly cover your pan with a layer of foil and store it in the refrigerator for up to a day. Then, when you’re ready to make it, remove it from the refrigerator about an hour or so before baking to let it warm up first.

String Cheese Manicotti Tips

What can you serve with manicotti stuffed with string cheese?

This string cheese manicotti recipe has carbs, meat and dairy, so vegetables should be your first choice for a side dish. Try making this fast Italian vegetable skillet if you want something warm to go with the manicotti, or try one of these salads when you want something cool. Once you have your vegetable side dish, grab one of these garlic bread recipes to top off the meal.

Do you really need to boil the noodles first?

Do you absolutely have to boil the noodles first? Well, no. You could stuff uncooked shells, assemble the dish as stated in the recipe, then bake the manicotti for 45 to 60 minutes or so, possibly at a slightly higher temperature. But that presents a problem: The noodles need moisture to cook properly, and if you put them in dry, they’re going to get all that moisture from the sauce. That means the sauce could end up overly thick and rather dry itself because the noodles sucked out everything they could. Boiling the noodles before assembling the manicotti dish rehydrates them so they don’t absorb as much moisture from the sauce during baking.

How do you stop the manicotti shells from breaking or flattening out?

Stuffing the shells with sticks of string cheese will go a long way toward avoiding mangling the shells, which is a very common problem when making manicotti. But the cooking time plays a role too. Don’t overcook the manicotti, or it will become so soft that it rips easily. Cook it for a little less time than the package states, and remove the manicotti shells from the water with a slotted spoon or strainer, letting them dry on a baking sheet, paper towel or other flat surface. Don’t let them clump together because then they’ll stick to each other, increasing the risk of tearing. As for flattening, adding a little more filling (such as a few more pieces of string cheese) and placing the manicotti shells closer together in the pan to stop the melting cheese from leaking out may help the pasta keep more of its shape.