Is there an aroma that signals a warm, cozy home-cooked meal more than garlic & tomato sauce? Seriously though, is there? I tend to shy away from baked pasta dishes for one simple reason, time. I usually just do not want to wait one minute longer than needed to dive in to all the carbs. However, I will make an exception for this dish. It’s so good! Plus what better way to sneak in some added vegetables from the spinach & artichoke & some added protein & healthy fat from the cashew ricotta.
Let’s talk sauce. As you can see I’m using a homemade marinara. I always have a jar on hand. Once you start to make it yourself, it’s just really hard to go back to store-bought. You will notice I have not included a recipe for the sauce. The problem is I never make it the same. It is simply by taste & whatever my mood is at the time. You may get a little spice one time or sweet herbs another. Not really ideal for recipe development! Some day I’ll attempt to write down a recipe for you to use. In the meantime, use your favorite brand & enjoy!
Spinach & Artichoke Manicotti
Ingredients
- 6 manicotti shells sub large shells
- 1-1 1/2 cup marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach, cooked
- 1/2 can artichoke hearts
- 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella optional, plus a little more for garnish
Vegan Cashew Ricotta
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked see notes
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water boil. Add the pasta & cook for seven minutes. You want the pasta to be undercooked. Drain & set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Prepare the spinach by following the microwavable directions on the package. Set aside. Any leftover spinach store for another use.
- While the pasta is cooking make the ricotta if making from scratch.*You will need to soak the cashews for a few hours prior to this. Simply submerge in water & let sit. Drain & rinse when ready to use.In a food processor/blender pulse the cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast & lemon juice. Slowly add in water a little bit at a time until you reach your desired texture. Season with salt & pepper.
- Add the artichoke hearts to the ricotta mixture & pulse for another 30 seconds. Remove the blade & fold in the spinach & mozzarella cheese if using.
- Place a couple spoonfuls of the marinara sauce into the bottom of your baking dish, spreading out to cover the entire base.
- Stuff the pasta shells with the ricotta mixture (reserve a small amount to place on top) . Place in the baking dish. Spoon marinara sauce over the stuffed pasta shells. Add that additional sprinkle of ricotta/mozzarella over the marinara sauce. Cover with foil & bake for 25 minutes.Remove foil & turn oven to broil, cooking for an additional 3-5 minutes until the top of the pasta gets slightly crunchy & browned. Remove from oven & let cool a few minutes before serving.