The secret to irresistible manicotti is to make them from scratch with homemade crespelles, which are basically Italian crepes. These are filled with spinach, egg and three cheeses and topped with homemade sauce. Filling and delicious!
Homemade Spinach Manicotti
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 2 manicotti • Old Points: 8 pts • Points+: 10 pts
Calories: 376.50 • Fat: 18 g • Protein: 24.7 g • Carb: 29.1 g • Fiber: 3.2 g
Ingredients:
- 16 oz part skim ricotta cheese
- 2 cups 2% milk reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (reserve 1/2 cup)
- 1 large egg
- 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano
- salt and pepper
- 16 crespelles
- 32 oz marinara sauce or Filetto di Pomodoro
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, egg, spinach, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Fill each crespelle with 1/4 cup spinach filling and roll. In a large baking dish, (or two smaller dishes) pour a little sauce on the bottom of the dish. Place rolled manicotti seem side down onto baking dish. Top with a little more sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake about 20-25 minutes.
Wow!! Your manicotti look beautiful!! Goodness! Thanks for this lovely recipe.
ReplyDeleteThis looks absolutely delishious! Thank you so much for sharing! I will definately be giving it a try soon!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
~Lynn
Hi Gina,
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good this looks like a keeper.
This looks AMAZING!!! YUM!!
ReplyDeleteAs I sit here at my desk eating my grapefruit and yogurt for breakfast.....I'm dreaming of Italian for dinner tonight! Thanks for the recipe :)
ReplyDeleteDinner is my favorite meal! I always have a light breakfast and lunch so I can enjoy a good dinner. Enjoy your yogurt!!
ReplyDeleteI love this!
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness! I can't even tell you how delicious that looks! Yum. Thanks for another great recipe.
ReplyDeleteGina, I love your recipes! Girl, you are an inspiration by providing the recipes - letting us know we can do it and eat good while doing it. Smacking the lips while losing some hips. Thanks so much!!! - TammyW
ReplyDeletelol, love that Tammy!!
ReplyDeleteYipee, I was thrilled to find I had everything this recipe calls for on hand. It is in the oven now and I am soooo looking forward to eating it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Let me know how they come out!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try this recipe! Check out the award I just gave you on my blog. Just wanted to let you know, once again, how much I appreciate you sharing these delicious recipes.
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! I have never made crespelles before, but it makes this manicotti look so much better than the pasta versions!
ReplyDeleteMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! (From Dad)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a keeper! (from Mom)
Restaurant Quality!!! (from me, the cook)
You could make it again (from the hubs)
We made this the other night, and it was INCREDIBLE. I can't wait to make it again!
ReplyDeleteGlad they approved Michelle!!
ReplyDeleteThis was delicious! I really enjoyed that the crepes made the recipe not nearly as heavy as traditional pasta. I had one heck of a time making the crepes, though. Is there a trick to it? A lot of mine ripped when I tried to flip them. It tasted fabulous, though.
ReplyDeleteMy Italian mother-in-law (who incidentially ALWAYS complains about my cooking) LOVED this dish! She even told me that I've out done myself! :D
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I just started WW and I do all the cooking, I had no idea where to start.
ReplyDeleteThis was the first WW recipe that I made. She wonders if all the meals are going to be this good.
@lisa- I'm surprised you had problems making the crepes, are you using a non-stick pan with a spatula?
ReplyDelete@Anonymous- Glad you were able to please your Italian MIL!!
@Big t- I think you will be very happy here! :)
I just discovered your blog last week and it is a GOLDMINE! My husband is a vegetarian, and I am on WW and you have so many veg friendly meals on here. I am making this manicotti tonight for dinner! Can't wait to see how it turns out...although I'm a bit nervous about making the crepes! :)
ReplyDeleteI made this last night and it was wonderful!! I actually split it into two and was going to freeze one for the next week or two but my 6 year old begged to have it again for diner tonight!
ReplyDelete@shades of gray- the crepes are pretty simple to make as long as the heat isn't too high, you should have no problems!
ReplyDelete@anonymous- this is such a family friendly dish. I'm happy your 6 year old agrees!
Hi Gina!
ReplyDeleteI made the manicotti last night and it was delicious. My husband loved them too and was mad that a serving size was only 2. I had to hurry and put it away because he wanted to eat the entire pan!!! Thank you!! I will definitley make this again soon.
Glad he liked it, is he on WW too?
ReplyDeleteThis is my first post
ReplyDeleteGina I must say that I am thankful for you and this website. I am new to WW was very worried I would not be able to follow through for the long haul fear of having to eat the same thing over and over and/or tastless non filling things, but coming across your website has given me the belief that I will stick with it. I am very excited to start cooking your recipes. I don't know where to start! Thank you very much for your time and effort and encouragement.
Aww, you just made my day. Thanks for commenting and I'm glad I can help you stick to your diet. I hope you enjoy everything!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this and would DEFINITELY make it again. Thank you. My only variation was to add a little grated nutmeg to the spinach filling.
ReplyDeleteNutmeg works so well with spinach! Thanks for your comment!
ReplyDeleteHi again, Gina. I am the one with the husband who went nuts over the manicotti. He isn't formally on WW like me but he is eating pretty much was I am eating so I guess he kind of is! LOL. I made the califlower fritters last night and they were also a big hit. Thank you for the great website. I have passed it on to family and friends so they can cook your great recipes too! XO
ReplyDeleteThat's great! The fritters are always a hit!! I bet he'll love the zucchini sticks! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletei finally made this tonight...I was terribly intimidated but it turned out pretty easy. I did make the crespelles using only 1 Tablespoon of batter and didn't realize my mistake til later! They were still yummy!
ReplyDeleteOops! So you had mini manicotti! Cute!
ReplyDeleteI finally made these this past weekend. Although I made two batches of the crepes because I was not doing too great with them at first. I didn't want to run out!!! Anyway the manicotti was AMAZING. My husband LOVED it. I am eating leftovers now and I can't get enough.
ReplyDeleteI made banana/pb crepes for dessert for myself last night. Not sure on points but I'm pregnant so I'm not really counting now! THanks again for another fabulous recipe!
This dish was FANTASTIC!! I just got done eating it for dinner. My hubby, son and I both loved it and my 1 year old ate just as much as us!! Thanks sooo much!
ReplyDeleteI'm making it tonight but pureed cannaloni beans and mixed them in and only used half the ricotta cheese!
ReplyDeleteThis dish is amazing! I have made it twice now... once for my parents when I was visiting home (my dad said it was better than my moms manicotti but we won't tell her that) and once for my boyfriend. He said that after that meal he knew he was going to hands down marry me! haha. Thanks for all of your awesome recipes! I love them :)
ReplyDeleteAww, my husband tells me he married me for my cooking!
ReplyDeleteThis manicotti dish is my family favorite now, it is so good. I love this web-site it has great recipes. Thank you for all the great recipes and pictures!
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful! Have you converted this to the Points+ system yet?
ReplyDeleteVery good! My first time making a crespelles and they were the key to this dish. Thanks for the great recipes as always.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, your recipe has been a huge hit in this home!!! I try very hard to make meals that my husband will enjoy....this one was one of them! He loved it! So did I!
ReplyDeleteSmartyPantsMama.com
Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteMade this recipe last night. It was delicious. I had trouble getting my crepes "round", but they still wrapped well. It's definately a keeper.
ReplyDeleteGina, you're amazing. You've got me excited about cooking again! After a few failed attempts at other recipes (not any of yours), I tried this last night and it was SOO easy. Awesome for busy moms to prepare earlier in the day and then just pop it in the oven right before dinner. I love that I made a healthy yet satisfying meal from scratch! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSo happy you liked them!
ReplyDeleteSince this was a top 20 in 2010 recipe, can you please update with full nutritional info? I'd like to make this recipe this week if possible.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
It's fantastic! HQ, Thanx!
ReplyDeleteHi Gina.
ReplyDeleteLOVE your site! This is on my menu for next week. I'm wondering, is it ok to use whole wheat flour instead of regular for the Crespelle and what about fresh spinach instead of frozen? Would either change the point value?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
You can start by trying half whole wheat, half white. Fresh spinach can always replace frozen, I don't think the points change but you should check recipe builder to be sure.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you could make this ahead of time or would the crepes get to soggy?
ReplyDeleteAlso can you half the recipe and freeze it? Would it reheat well after being frozen or would the crepes again have a "soggy" problem?
Thanks again! I love your website and the recipes!!! I cook dinner every night and would be lost without your website. :)
Thanks Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteWhat I like to do is make the crepes ahead of time, then fill when I'm ready to bake. The crepes hold up fine, you can even freeze them.
I've reheated leftovers with no problem, after they were baked so I think they might hold up well assembled but I don't want to guess.
Gina,
ReplyDeleteI just want to express my admiration for you and thank you for this wonderful blog. I am a college student and have recently acquired an interest in cooking, particularly cooking that doesn't undo my workouts. I love your recipes and the beautiful pictures that accompany them. Thank you again for such incredible ideas! :)
I am happy to hear that!!
ReplyDeleteOnce again you do not disappoint... These were very good. I had some problems getting the crespelles round, but I figure once I actually own a 6 inch pan that won't be a problem... lol
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
Gina -- for those who aren't able to make the homemade crespelles can you buy them? Beth
ReplyDeleteBeth, I haven't seen them, you could use manicotti instead but you would have to adjust the points.
ReplyDeleteI saw this recipe on your mosaic and didn't know it existed until then! I had the ingredients, so it was our dinner last night, and...wow. It was just fabulous. The crespelles were difficult, but I got the hang of it after a few. 1/4 cup filling was way too much for the size of my crespelles, so I halved the filling and adjusted the points accordingly. It gave us 3 for the same points as 2! Thank you - my husband absolutely loved it, and I have more filling, so we'll probably be eating it again soon!
ReplyDeleteI made this tonight for the first time. Super easy and DELICIOUS! My husband loved it, too! This one's a keeper!
ReplyDeleteI made these the other night with my vegetarian friend. Because we were limited on time, we used regular manicotti... it was still delicious.. and even better the next day as a left over. I bet it would be even more delicious as a crespelle!
ReplyDeleteThis was so good! I was afraid I'd mess up the crepes but after trying out a couple they weren't hard at all.
ReplyDeleteI think they are pretty easy! Glad you enjoyed them!
ReplyDeleteadded ground turkey to this. YUM :0
ReplyDeleteMade this tonight for the boyfriend and roommates they loved it!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've been as proud of any other food I've ever made as I am of this. Hit the spot and made me feel like I was cooking something fancy. Crepes, of all things! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I tried this tonight - it was quicker and easier than either of us thought it would be. We used ready-made sauce and substituted fat-free cottage cheese for the ricotta. And it was still incredible! Next time we'll try our hand at making the sauce as well. So thankful for your site!
ReplyDeleteWow! My mom used to make her own manicotti like this, and it's been years since I've had it. I will definitely have to try these!! Thanks for posting...brings back memories. :-)
ReplyDeleteMade these tonight and they were AWESOME. I think the key is definitly making the crepes, the filling was good but the crepes were what made it. I was afraid of what my husband would think, he's not really a 'light dish' kind of guy, but after dinner he said "That was really good hunny." Definitly a keeper!
ReplyDeleteVery excited about this recipe... I'm taking a trip to visit a friend this weekend and we're planning to make these. She doesn't have a blender for the crespelles... do you think a food processor will do the trick or do I need to carry my blender across state lines?
ReplyDeleteYum, yum, yum! Made these over the weekend and they were a hit. The crepes are really amazing - they give full flavor without all the heaviness of pasta. I had made the sauce the weekend before so I ws able to skip that step of the preperation process so it wasn't too bad. I ended up with only 14 manicotti - I think because I had a little less cheese than the recipe calls for. Kraft cheats customers out of a 1/4 cup when you buy the 2% cheese. I was surprised at how filling these were - at first I thought - only 2? that will never fill me up. But they do!
ReplyDeleteI've made about 20 of your recipes so far and am in heaven. This one by far is the best. My whole family gobbled it up and I have a few picky eaters!! I made double mix of crespelles and the kids snacked on them while waiting and I made some in the morning with yogurt and fruit! Thank you Soooo much for your site.
ReplyDeleteLindsey
how do you make crespelles i would like to make soom .
ReplyDeleteYes, What do I need to make the crespelles?
ReplyDeleteI have the link to the crespelles above.
DeleteHi Gina. I LOVE this recipe. I'm making it again but I'd rather used fresh spinach instead of frozen. What amount of fresh would equal the 10oz of frozen called for in this recipe?
ReplyDeletethanks, I'm not sure off hand, it shrinks but I'm not sure if it weighs less when cooked.
DeleteI made these last week and they were great! I did use 10 oz of fresh spinach (measured in a measuring cup) and just chopped it up finely. I would recommend this over using the frozen - and there wasn't extra liquid which is sometimes the issue with frozen spinach even if you drain it. It took making a few crespelles before I got the hang of it, but once I did they turned out great and were a good addition to the filling. I would suggest spending the time to do this over buying pre-made manicotti, especially since you will save yourself calories/fat :) Thanks for the great recipe - we will definitely be making this one again!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if there was a way to do this with ground pork as my husband to be hates cheese?
Looks delicious...will be trying out tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI have always LOVED manicotti. But dealing with manicotti noodles is a PIA, so I would usually do stuffed shells instead. I absolutely loved the idea of using crepes in place of the pasta. I made this last night for a dinner party of 8, and it came out soooo good! The crespelles are so light and fluffy, and the manicotti was a huge hit. I made the crepes and mixed the filling the night before and stored them in separate containers in the refrigerator until I was ready to assemble. I used jarred tomato/basil marinara sauce in order to save some time in the kitchen. I served these with asparagus bundles wrapped in prosciutto, rosemary garlic parmesan biscuits, and served tomato mozarella & arugula towers as an appetizer...all from Skinnytaste! :)
ReplyDeleteI am making these now! First time making crepes and it was very easy to do! Looks like a winner to me! ;) Thanks Gina!
ReplyDeleteMade these, and the crespelles, and the homemade Pomodoro sauce.
ReplyDeleteThe ingrediants were expensive.
The outcome: the spinach ricotta tasted bland. The sauce was bland. Everything was BLAND.
If I'm going to intake this many calories with all the cheese, I'm going to go for the real stuff.
My suggestion: buy the bottled pomodoro sauce. The recipe was too soupy and BLAND. I had to reduce the liquid by 1/3 and would have to throw in a cup of salt and a cup of black pepper to get any taste.
Loved the crespelles/crepes. Easy, and I will make them again for a desert.
I also had to cook this recipe uncovered for an additional 30 minutes than suggested in the recipe. When I did their temp and time, it was wet, soupy and the insides were barely warmed up.
ReplyDeleteI have made many of your recipes and this is by far one of the best. The crepes came out great considering it was my first time, and the taste was fabulous. Even my husband loved it. I make homemade "gravy" so I didn't use the pomodoro sauce, otherwise, stuck exactly to the recipe. It was not wet or soupy but I did cook uncovered for about 10 minutes. Delicious!!
ReplyDeleteI made these last night and they were another hit. I called my mom laughing saying I got my picky 2 y/o to eat spinach! Whoo-hoo! I keep forgetting to take pictures when they actually come out looking good, maybe next time!
ReplyDeleteI made these tonight and my husband and I loved them! I used skim ricotta and fresh spinach (by mistake :)). I also substituted egg beaters for the egg in the spinach mix because I ran out of eggs. By making those small changes I was able to cut 100 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving (2 manicotti)! We will definitely make these again! Thank you! I love love love your site!
ReplyDelete