Best Pesto Manicotti No Tomatoes Recipes

MANICOTTI (THREE CHEESE, NO-BOIL PASTA RECIPE)

Steps:

• Place the steamed escarole, endive or spinach into a large bowl, then add the ricotta.
• Add the eggs, grated Parmesan or Pecorino, salt, and pepper and mix well.
• Next, toss in the shredded mozzarella. Mix well.
• You'll already have the tomato sauce from my linked recipe, but here's the trick to not boiling the pasta, adding water to the sauce. I say to use boiling water because I don't want you using hot water from the tap; it needs to be very hot. Put half of the sauce in a bowl (if it's about 1 cup of sauce, add just under 1 cup of very hot/almost boiling water. You can make this watery sauce as you need it so you don't end up watering down too much of the sauce.
• Spread a generous amount of the watery sauce in the bottom of the pan, then start filling the tubes with the filling. As I said above, you can choose to use a piping bag without a tip, but it's really easy to use a small spoon, too. Use both ends to fill the manicotti shells as it's quicker than trying to push the filling all the way to the opposite end.
• Once full, place in the pan. Be sure to place them generously spaced apart as they will grow and spread.
• Once all the manicotti are filled (you may need another small tray if all of the manicotti don't fit (don't attempt to squeeze them in). I put 4 in a separate little dish. Make sure to cover all of the manicotti.
• Add enough watery sauce so that it comes about halfway up the pasta shells. We need this much liquid since the pasta hasn't been boiled (and absorbed the water when cooking). Let the shells rest for about half an hour before baking.
• Cover and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the pasta is ready. You can remove the cover for the last 5 minutes if you like.
• Before serving, add some heated pasta sauce (the original batch, not watered down) to the manicotti. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese and add a sprig of parsley for color, and enjoy!

TOMATOES ROASTED WITH PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Core the tomatoes and then slice them across (not through the stem) in 1/2 inch-thick slices. Arrange the slices in a single layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle the tomatoes with the olive oil and sprinkle with the oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper.
• Bake the tomatoes for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven, spread each slice with Pesto, and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Return the tomatoes to the oven and continue baking for 7 to 10 minutes, until the Parmesan is melted and begins to brown. Using a flat metal spatula, put the tomatoes on a serving platter, sprinkle with extra salt, and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
• Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use immediately or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

PESTO-CHICKEN MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, mix pasta sauce, water and garlic powder. In ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, spread about one-third (1 cup) of the pasta sauce mixture.
• In medium bowl, sprinkle chicken tenders with Italian seasoning. Stuff chicken into uncooked manicotti shells. Place shells on pasta sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce mixture evenly over shells, covering completely.
• Cover with foil. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until shells are tender. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 2 to 4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with tomato. Serve with pesto.

PESTO MANICOTTI (NO TOMATOES)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a small amount of olive oil.
• Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil. Add the manicotti and cook al dente. Drain and arrange them on a tea towel so they don't touch. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, remove the excess water from the spinach by placing the leaves in a salad spinner. Continue spinning until no more water runs out.
• Coarsely chop the spinach.
• In a large bowl, combine the spinach, eggs, ricotta, mozzarella, Greek yogurt, garlic and oregano. Transfer the cheese mixture to a Zip-Lock-type plastic bag, squeeze out the air and seal. Set aside.
• Spread half of the pesto in an even layer over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Snip off one corner of the bag of cheese mixture. Holding a manicotti tube in one hand and the bag in the other, insert the tip of the bag into the pasta tube and squeeze gently to fill it. Tip: to make filling easier, fill from both ends.
• Arrange each filled tube in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.
• When all the tubes are filled, spoon the remaining pesto over them. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
• Uncover the pan and sprinkle the manicotti with Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, or until the Parmesan is melted and lightly browned.

CHEESY PESTO MANICOTTI

Steps:

• In a food processor add: fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, 3 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Pulse until ingredients are chopped.
• With the food processor on low blend, slowly pour the olive oil through the pour spout into the chopped ingredients, until fully combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. (See note #4)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook manicotti pasta al dente according to package instruction. Do not overcook or they will fall apart when stuffing. Drain and set aside (you can add a touch of olive oil if they begin to stick to each other)
• In a large bowl add: 12oz ricotta cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 1 cup grated parmesan, 1 large egg, 3/4 cup of freshly made pesto, and 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes. Using a silicone spatula, mix all the ingredients until they are fully combined.
• In a baking dish, add 3/4 of the red sauce to the bottom of the dish and spread it out evenly, set aside. (See note #5)
• Using a gallon zip lock bag, spoon in the cheesy pesto mixture into the bag and push it all to one corner. Cut a hole in the bottom corner of the bag that will fit the inside circle of the manicotti. Grab an al dente cooked manicotti, insert the tip of the bag inside, squeeze until the manicotti is filled, then place the manicotti in the red sauce inside the baking dish. Repeat until all manicotti are filled.
• Once all the manicotti are filled, drizzle with the remaining 1/4 of the red sauce, the remaining 1/4 cup of the pesto. Top with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 3 tbsp of parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. If you want the cheese more browned, broil for a few seconds keeping an eye not to burn it. Carefully remove from the oven, top with fresh basil, and serve.

SUN DRIED TOMATO PESTO (NO NUTS)

Steps:

• Place sun-dried tomatoes in a small pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let tomatoes soften, about 10 minutes. Drain.
• Blend tomatoes, basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and salt in a blender until mixed. Slowly add olive oil, about 1/4 cup at a time; blend until smooth.

NUT-FREE PESTO

Steps:

• Pulse the first 6 ingredients in a food processor until coarsely chopped. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream until mixture is smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

PESTO CHICKEN MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Prepare manicotti as directed and squeeze water out of spinach.
• When pasta is done, drain and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Mix together ricotta, 1/2 cup parm, and egg substitute.
• Stir in remaining ingredients, except tomato sauce.
• Spoon cheese mixture into shells and lay into a pan.
• Cover with tomato sauce and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parm.
• Cover and bake 20 minute.
• Remove cover and bake add. 15 minute.

CREAMY PESTO MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Combine 1/4 cup of the Mozzarella cheese and the next 8 ingredients (Mozzarella - garlic) in a food processor, and process until creamy.
• Prepare Manicotti according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, wash and squeeze all the water out of the spinach. When pasta is cooked, drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 350°.
• Spoon the cheese mixture into the manicotti shells and lay in a 9x13 pan or a pan large enough to hold all of the stuffed manicotti.
• Cover with tomato sauce and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake 20 minutes.
• *use shells or the long Manicotti strips.

BEEF STUFFED MANICOTTI WITH BASIL TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the water, tomato paste, onion, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil, garlic, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. , Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup Romano cheese, eggs and remaining parsley, salt and pepper. Stuff into manicotti shells. , Pour half of the meat sauce into a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. Arrange shells over sauce. Top with sauce; sprinkle with remaining Romano cheese. Bake, uncovered, until heated through, 30-35 minutes.

SPINACH PESTO MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cook manicotti to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain; rinse with cold water to cool. Drain well.
• Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine ground beef, spinach, cheese, pesto and egg. If desired, add salt and pepper; mix well. For easier stuffing, place beef mixture in resealable freezer plastic bag; seal bag. Cut about 1-inch hole in bottom corner of bag.
• Fill each manicotti by squeezing beef mixture into manicotti; place in sprayed baking dish. Pour pasta sauce over manicotti. Cover with foil.
• Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until filling is no longer pink in center.