This turkey manicotti is amazing – noodles filled with ground turkey in a mushroom cream sauce, then smothered in tomato sauce and cheese and baked. Who’s ready for supper?
This turkey manicotti is some of the best pasta ever to come out of my kitchen.
And we eat a lot of pasta around here.
My mom’s lasagna recipe may still win out as the all time pasta favourite, but this is a pretty close second.
This turkey manicotti does take a bit of time to prepare. Don’t run away though, because none of the steps are difficult, and the end result is so totally worth it!
Plus, if you’re strapped for time and want to skip a step, you can replace the scratch tomato sauce with a jar of prepared pasta sauce. Homemade is always better I think, but I am definitely not against the jarred pasta sauce to speed up dinner time prep!
This turkey manicotti recipe makes a large 9×13 inch pan of pasta, so you’ll very likely have leftovers.
Which is amazing. Leftover turkey manicotti makes the best lunch ever.
What is the best way to stuff manicotti shells?
It can be a fairly messy job trying to stuff the manicotti shells. But you don’t need to boil them first so that helps.
I find the easiest way to stuff the manicotti shells with the turkey filling is to hold the shell upright so one end is on the pan. Then spoon the filling into the shell until it is full and lay it down in the pan. There will still be some filling that doesn’t make it into the shells but that’s okay, just leave it around the shells in the baking dish. It’ll all be good once it’s baked.
How to make perfect Turkey Manicotti:
- The tomato sauce needs to simmer for 15 minutes, so once you get it simmering, make the turkey filling. This will save a bit of time by making both sauces at once. If you’d like to skip a step, replace the homemade tomato sauce with a jar of your favourite prepared pasta sauce.
- The ingredient list for this recipe looks long, but I promise, it’s easy to make. A lot of those ingredients are just seasonings, and it will all come together very easily so don’t let the long instructions scare you away!
- Make sure to let the turkey manicotti sit for 5-10 minutes after baking it before you serve it. It needs this time to set up. If you cut into it immediately it will be too runny.
- Here are some more great baked pasta recipes for you: Ravioli Lasagna, Baked Spinach Rigatoni, and Bruschetta Chicken Baked Pasta.
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Turkey Manicotti Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 6 cloves Garlic minced
- 1/2 cup Mushrooms finely chopped
- 1 28-ounce can Canned Diced Tomatoes or 796ml in Canada
- 1/8 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 pound Ground Turkey (450g)
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1/2 cup Mushrooms finely chopped
- 2/3 cup Chicken Stock
- 2/3 cup Milk (I used 2%)
- 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Curry Powder
- 8 ounces Manicotti uncooked (250g)
- 8 ounces Cottage Cheese (I used 2%)
- 1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring for about a minute, until fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt, oregano, pepper, and basil and stir.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
- Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, over medium heat, add the turkey, garlic, and mushrooms.
- Cook, stirring and breaking up the turkey, until the turkey is cooked through.
- Whisk the chicken stock, milk, and flour together until smooth and pour it slowly into the pan, stirring constantly.
- Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, thyme, and curry powder and continue cooking and stirring until it thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
- In a 9×13 inch baking dish, place the uncooked manicotti noodles.
- Fill each noodle with the turkey filling. I find it easiest to hold the noodle upright, with one end flat on the baking dish, and spoon the filling in until it is full, then lay it down.
- Don’t worry about the filling spilling out, it’s okay, and any leftover filling can just be spooned around the noodles on the bottom of the dish.
- Once the noodles are all filled, spread the cottage cheese over top of them all.
- Pour the tomato sauce over top of this and spread it out evenly.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan cheese over top of the tomato sauce.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbling.
- Let the manicotti sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.