Did you know you can make no-boil manicotti in the crock pot? Why yes, I’ve done it and I’m sharing this fun tip with you. It’s nearly identical to the baked version except you crock’ it instead of bake it. The frozen version makes such a wonderful ministry meal for your family or others. However, this is a way to keep your kitchen cooler and beat the heat or run out for an errand and know your dinner is safe.
I start the same way as the baked method by pouring about 1/2 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of a sprayed crock pot. I’m using partially frozen homemade marinade.
Cut a small corner of the bag; about 1/2″. You want the filling to flow easily through the opening, but you don’t want it to pour out too quickly. Don’t cut it too small because there will be too much pressure and the bag could burst. Once you do it a couple of times, you will get the feel of piping cheese into the shells. I fill one side horizontally and then turn the shell and fill the other.
Place them as tight as possible without over lapping. An oblong crock pot is going to work best for this recipe. A small round one will not hold as many shells.
Cover shells completely with the remaining sauce.
Cover and crock on high about 2 hours or until fork tender. The shells need to be completely covered and not exposed.
Cover with remaining cheese the last thirty minutes of cooking time.
Ingredients
- Filling Ingredients (Place inside a gallon size freezer bag):
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese
- Add: 1 ½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Remaining Ingredients:
- 1-8oz. package manicotti
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- Jar or can of favorite marinara sauce (I use the $1 can Hunts marinara when I don’t have homemade on hand)
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Combine filling ingredients in a gallon size freezer bag and gently knead until thoroughly mixed.
- Clip a small corner, about 1/2″, of the bag.Spray crock pot.
- Spread about 1/2 cup sauce in crock pot . Pipe all cheese and place in crock pot.
- Pour remaining sauce on top. covering completely.
- Top with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Crock on high for about 2 hours until shells are fork tender. Times vary so check to make sure it’s not dry.
- Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese the last thirty minutes of cooking time.
Have you ever crocked pasta without boiling?
I love this idea! I like Manicotti but stuffing the shells is something I’ve always found challenging. You’ve taken care of that with this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
Me too, until I started doing this method. I’m glad we can all benefit and have easy manicotti.
Can I freeze this?
Yes, uncooked or cooked!
Wow and it wont be soggy?! Thats great thanks!!
I am wondering how long this would need to cook on low?
The time varies according to your crock pot and how hot it gets. Mine is super hot, even on low. Try it for the minimum time on low and check with a knife to see if it’s tender.
How much does this make per batch? I have quite a large family to cook for.
It feeds 6 hungry people, about 2-3 shells per person. I always do sides.
what kind of sides do you make with this?
normally salad or something green, asparagus, green beans works well since my family doesn’t like peas or broccoli Hope you enjoy this easy recipe.
serves 6
Can you layer since I have a round crockpot?
As long as there is plenty of sauce to cover
I don’t have an oblong crockpot, and although it’s a big one, putting in a single layer would not make enough shells. Will they not cook if some overlap a little?
I am going to try this with Alfredo sauce since I can’t eat tomatoes right now.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Liz, sounds delish even with shredded chicken
HI,
I’ve never tried with Alfredo, but I think it would work as long as you use the same amount as the pasta sauce. Also, I’d use cooked shredded chicken and sprinkle over the pasta shells before topping with alfredo. Just make sure the shells are covered well because that’s what cooks the sauce and keeps the pasta from getting dry while cooking. You can dilute the sauce with a little bit of water. Hope that helps.
Thanks for this awesome recipe. My family really enjoyed it and it’ll be made again and again in the future. I have an oblong crock pot, so everything fit in there nice and snug. I did wind up cooking it for about 2 1/2 hours before the noodles were done completely instead of just the posted 2 hours.
Cynthia, my pleasure and I’m glad it worked well for you.
Can you substitute ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese? (For some reason, when I got groceries, that’s what I thought was the ingredient it called for.)
Yes, ricotta works too.
I just found this recipe via pinterest … it’s on my menu for next week! Thanks for a great way to make manicotti without so much fuss!
Fantastic!
I like meat sauce manicotti. Can you make it same way
sure, just cook the meat before and make sure to have plenty of sauce to cover the noodles
I found this on Pinterest and will be making this tomorrow, after I make my sauce today, of course. I was supposed to be making lasagna but remembered pinning this a few days ago, can’t wait to try it, easy manicotti, who knew? Thanks so much for sharing, will post my results tomorrow
It’s so easy and delish. Glad you are trying.
I have a blog called Pintology where I test things from Pinterest to see if they really work or not. I tested this recipe and featured it on the blog today, it was awesome. Thanks for the great recipe.
yay
Thanks for this idea! We tried it for dinner tonight & it was so much easier (& less frustrating!) than trying to stuff already cooked noodles. I love it!
Yay, glad it worked well for you.There’s a baked version too which is great to give away.
THis looks -great-… however: can I assemble this in the a.m. and let it go -slow- all day without the pasta disintegrating?
(still edible, i’m sure, but for presentation…y’know..)
You’re right, it would dry out as an all day crockin’ meal. It would be better to start at lunch. How about assembling and freezing and crocking frozen to keep it longer in the crock? Try adding the fresh sauce on top of the frozen filled manicotti. Let me know how it works best for your schedule. Good luck.
I made this the other day and it turned out great. I gave you the credit over on my food blog. Thanks for the great idea.
Glad it worked well for you; we love it too.
Just found this last week and pinned to my weekly menu…can NOT wait to make it today!
Yay, glad you pinned and hope it works well for you; it’s a staple around here.
Made this recipe last night with a slight change of using ricotta and two eggs versus cottage cheese, and let me tell you it was absolutely yummmmoooo!!! Thank you for the recipe as I refuse to use my oven in the summer months!
awesome, so glad you’re staying cool!
I made this a few nights ago, using ricotta instead of cottage cheese, it was delicious! Surprised my boyfriend because according to him, I can burn cereal lol. Making it again tomorrow night for “Italian night” thanks for the easy way of making manicotti!
Way to win a man’s heart
you say this freeze well uncook how long would u say to cooked frozen the filled Manicotti shells add it to the crock pot with the sauce n cooked on low heat? i figure the that i can freeze the filled uncooked shells easyer without the sauce in ziplock bag add the sauce n topping when cooking in slower cooker ty
Laura, this is exactly how I would make this a crock pot freezer meal. As long as the air is squeezed out completely or sucked out with a straw, see DIY vacuum seal, it would last a long while. I would crock it just an hour longer to thaw the cheese inside the shells ad cook in the sauce. Happy crocking!
I saw no boil lasagna when I went grocery shopping but didn’t see any no boil manicotti. Will the regular manicotti work or should I boil them a little bit first?? Thanks!!
Kelly, you use the regular manicotti for this recipe, no boiling, pipe them in uncooked.
Could I assemble in the am, keep in fridge and then turn on the crock pot 2 hours before as you suggested? I work all day, but have my nanny at home so I am trying to find a solution to not cooking it all day!
Yes that work work, Ruth.
Trying it for dinner tonight, it already smells fantastic! I’ve always LOVED cheese stuffed pasta (large shells, manicotti) but it’s kind of a pain in the butt filling the pasta, especially with a toddler running around your feet lol. Thanks for sharing it!! I’m looking forward to trying different variations too .
Woo hoo!
Update ! Delicious
Yay, glad it worked for you. Try other variations with shredded chicken or finely ground beef and/spinach. Delish too.
Jackie– I love your website and am dying to try this — but I was wondering if I could use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese in this recipe as dh is not a big cottage cheese fan. Please advise– Thanks
Yes, ricotta will work too.
This looks wonderful! I have the “no boil” cannelloni noodles at home and want to use those, but on the package it says they need to be fully cooked before freezing (this will be a freezer meal as I am having a baby soon- planning ahead!). Do you think I need to pre-cook this dish before freezing? If so, how would you alter the cooking directions on the day of?
No precooking necessary. Freeze in a 9x13pan. bake one hour covered stand 10 min
I can’t beleive what I’ve done! I was thinking of another recipe when I put this on and set my crock pot on low needless to say, it’s not cooked, but I tried one anyway and it was good even uncooked. Hopefully next time I actually pay attention! Thank you for the recipe!
An interesting idea to make manicotti in the crock pot.
Making this tonight, but wondering if you think the recipe would work the same with the large shells in place of the manicotti, for future reference?
I don’t see why not, although some shells are closed quite tight. Be sure to cover well with sauce to cook it.
Could you stuff with a cheese/hamburger meat mixture instead of just cheese? Cooked hamburger…
My suggestion is to keep the cheese mixture as is to pipe out of the bag easier. Cook the hamburger separately and sprinkle on top of the stuffed shells before adding sauce or mixing in with the sauce if desired. Great question!
Hi … I’m trying to put manicotti on my menu I am working on.. only problem is that it takes wayyy to long to go for the fast pace location. All the websites I been looking at says 40 mins. I understand that I cant prep the meat in it before hand but if I raise the temp of the oven will t hinder the outcome of the product my window is 25 mins. Can I cook it and freeze it..
but if I freeze it what would be my time window then..
I’m going to be presenting my manicotti
It could dry the liquid out to quickly. 400 is a high temp. Yes, you could cook and freeze, but it does tend to dry out.
I’m just about to make this! Have a quick question. The manicotti noodle doesn’t have to be cooked just stuffed right? TIA
No boiling the manicotti-this step is forever gone!
Was wondering if this recipe was doubled for a crowd, what would the cooking time be? Having a party soon and this would be a great idea.
used lumaconi instead of manicotti and just inserted a cube of mozzarella in each. Also, I added some white sauce to the bolognese sauce (didn’t have marinara sauce) and layered them in crockpot with lots of sauce in between – 3 layers in all…left them for 3 hours on high. Whole family is still licking their fingers (figuratively speaking