Chicken and spinach manicotti is such a delicious comfort dish the whole family will absolutely love! The manicotti shells are filled with a delicious well-seasoned ricotta mixture. Topped with a creamy Alfredo sauce, this recipe is amazingly ooey-gooey cheesy!
🌱 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Chicken and spinach manicotti is absolutely delicious! The manicotti shells are filled with smooth ricotta, fresh spinach and rotisserie chicken and then topped with creamy alfredo sauce and cheese! It’s a comforting dish that definitely make taste buds dance with happiness!
- This recipe is such a crowd pleaser. It’s a great dish to put together if you’re feeding a lot of people too, you can easily double the recipe if needed. Serve it with a crunchy side salad and you’ll have the perfect easy and tasty dinner everyone will love.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- For the chicken, I used rotisserie chicken for this recipe. It’s not only delicious, it’s also very convenient. You’ll want to shred it fairly small using your hands, it’s the easiest way to do it. The recipe calls for two cups, so you might have leftover chicken for another meal. If you’d like to make your own shredded chicken, follow this easy recipe to do so.
- When cooking the pasta, I highly recommend to cook the noodles al dente. I cook mine 2 minutes less than the packaging recommends, and found it to be perfect, but it could depend on what brand of manicotti is used. Right after draining them, remove them from the colander and lay them individually on a baking sheet or plate to avoid them sticking to each other. That way, they’ll be a lot easier to fill up, and the chance of them breaking a lot lower. Since they’ll be baking too, in the end, they won’t be overcooked.
- While this chicken and spinach manicotti is made with alfredo sauce, you can also substitute it for marinara sauce if you’re more of a red sauce lover.
More Delicious Recipes You’ll Love
- Buffalo Chicken Sliders
- Crusted Chicken Romano
- Hot Dog Soup
- Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Almondine
- Creamy Veg-All Casserole with a Buttery Cracker Topping
Chicken and Spinach Manicotti
This chicken and spinach manicotti are filled with a smooth well-seasoned ricotta mixture, then topped with creamy Alfredo sauce and cheese before being baked to melty perfection.
Recipe Makes: servings
Equipment
- large pot (to cook pasta)
- colander
- baking sheet or plate (to rest manicotti)
- large bowl
- ziploc bag or piping bag
- scissors
- medium skillet (with high sides)
- spatula or wooden spoon
- large baking dish (about 9×13 inches)
Ingredients
- 1 8-ounce box manicotti
- 15 ounces ricotta
- 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken ()
- 1 cup shredded parmesan (divided)
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella (divided)
- 1 large egg
- 1-2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 16-ounce jar alfredo sauce
- fresh chopped parsley (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375° Fahrenheit.
- In large pot, bring water to boil and cook manicotti al dente per package directions (1 to 2 minutes less than recommended, don’t overcook). Once cooked, drain water in colander and individually place manicotti on baking sheet or plate. Don’t leave them in colander to avoid them sticking to each other.
- In large bowl, add ricotta, chopped spinach, shredded chicken, ½ cup parmesan, 1 ¼ cup mozzarella, egg, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and cayenne pepper. Using spatula or wooden spoon, mix everything until well combined.
- Transfer mixture into Ziploc bag with spoon, let as much air out as possible before sealing. Cut a small slit into corner of bag, about ½ inch diameter. Squeeze mixture into each manicotti shell and set them aside.
- Heat medium skillet on medium-high heat. When skillet is warm, add jarred alfredo sauce and heat, stirring frequently, until sauce is warmed through.
- In large baking dish, add a couple scoops of alfredo sauce to cover bottom and lay each filled manicotti on top of it. Add more alfredo sauce on top and sprinkle with reserved mozzarella and parmesan.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- When 30 minutes are up, carefully remove foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes uncovered. When time is up, if desired, broil dish on high for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is light golden brown. Let dish cool for 5 minutes and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley if desired before serving.
Notes
- Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Manicotti can be reheated in the microwave.
Recipe costs provided are approximate. Actual cost per recipe & serving will vary by location, store, brand, etc. Approximate cost shown does not include costs for any optional ingredients.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 643kcal | Protein: 41g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 185mg | Sodium: 1261mg | Potassium: 373mg | Total Carbs: 35g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Net Carbs: 33g | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 517mg
Nutrition Disclaimer
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes. Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used. To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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