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This Chicken and Spinach Manicotti is super easy to make, and smothered in a Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce. Plus, a hack for filling manicotti!
Chicken & Spinach Manicotti is a dish that can be easily made with minimal effort, especially when you just feel like throwing something together quickly!
I’m a little picture-happy lately, if you couldn’t tell. Pictures are worth a thousand words, except forSEO purposes. So I need to find more to say.
So this spinach manicotti – its pretty much the best “leftover reboot” recipe that I can come up with. It uses up leftover chicken (or a grocery store rotisserie), gets thrown together with a few other basic ingredients, gets smothered with Olive Garden chicken alfredo sauceand then is baked to make all the cheese warm and gooey.
I dare you to find someone that doesn’t love this. I have also made this recipe with stuffed shells, so if thats more your speed, go for it.
Pasta Filling Tip:
I always have wondered how other people fill pastas, since so many other recipes say, “spoon filling in.” What does that even mean? That sounds like it is going to take 8,000 years and be super tedious, and ain’t nobody got time for that. That’s why I use a piping bag/Ziploc bag with a big corner cut off. I can squeeze all the filling inand be done filling the pasta in under 2 minutes.
Life hacks, amiright?
[And forgive me if that’s a “duh” tip to you. I have recently learned that evidently I need to start sharing these little tips when I have them, even if they just seem obvious to me. It irritates me when I see some kitchen tip go totally viral and think, “I’ve been doing that for years, are you serious?!”]
What you’ll need for this Chicken and Spinach Manicotti recipe:
- Piping bag –I recommend using a piping bag to fill the manicotti for an easy clean up. These[easyazon_link identifier=”B00175TFJ4″ locale=”US” tag=”gogogogo03-20″] Disposable Decorating Bags[/easyazon_link] are perfect to use and toss when you’re done!
- Baking dish –These [easyazon_link identifier=”B00N1BYMLS” locale=”US” tag=”gogogogo03-20″]Baking Dishes[/easyazon_link] are great for any kind of baking. You’ll get some great use out of them!
- Spatula – You always need a good set of spatulas in your kitchen to use for any recipe. This[easyazon_link identifier=”B000M8YMEU” locale=”US” tag=”gogogogo03-20″]Silicone Spatula Set[/easyazon_link] is perfect for mixing and they are dishwasher safe!
If you liked this Chicken Stuffed Manicotti Recipe, check out these similar recipes:
- One Pot Pasta with Shrimp, Sausage and Vodka Sauce
- Four Cheese Sauce
- Mushroom Ravioli with Sherried Mushrooms, Chicken, Peas and Four Cheese Sauce
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5 from 15 votes
Chicken and Spinach Manicotti
This Chicken and Spinach Manicotti is super easy to make, and smothered in a Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce. Plus, a hack for filling manicotti!
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time35 minutes mins
Servings: 5
Author: Jacqueline
Ingredients
- 1 box manicotti
- 9 oz bag spinach
- 1/2 rotisserie chicken meat removed from the bones and shredded
- 1 egg
- 18 oz ricotta cheese
- 3/4 c grated parmesan
- 1 1/4 cup shredded Italian blend cheese or mozzarella, divided
- 1 double recipe Alfredo sauce
- fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the manicotti and cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a small saute pan, cook the spinach in 1 T olive oil until wilted. Remove to a cutting board and roughly chop.
In a mixing bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, ¾ italian blend cheese, shredded chicken, spinach, parmesan cheese and and egg. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag or a large Ziploc bag with the corner cut off (the hole needs to be large enough for the filling to pass through.
Ladle alfredo sauce over the bottom of a 13 x 9 rectangular baking dish.
Squeeze the filling into the manicotti tubes and arrange them side by side in the baking dish. Ladle additional sauce over the top of the pasta, and sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes. Cool slightly, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
Tried this recipe?Mention @gogogogourmet or tag #gogogogourmet!
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ABOUT JACQUELINE
Welcome to Go Go Go Gourmet! Here you'll find recipes that are created from everyday, easy-to-find basic ingredients and put together with minimal time and energy. My motto? Less effort. More taste. Read more...
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Laura says
i do a lot of meal prepping and freeze a good amount of what I prep. Have you tried freezing this?
Reply
Go Go Go Gourmet says
You could definitely freeze the filled pasta ahead of time, but I’ve never tried doing the sauce. Cream sauces are so finicky sometimes. It’s fast enough to make that I might freeze the pasta and then just make the sauce fresh.
Reply
Catz Rankin says
Most definitely going to make this delicious pasta. Just wondering if the pasta
should be cooked before freezing?.
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Jacqueline says
Yes, it should be cooked. I would not freeze it with the sauce, though.
Reply
Nikki says
Omggggg the zip lock Baggie tip just saved me 8 years of spooning agony, thank you!Reply
Jacqueline says
You’re so welcome! It works great for stuffing pasta shells too ?
Reply
Errin Barrett says
We also use the baggie for sour cream when we have tacos
Reply
Michelle says
What is your Alfredo sauce recipe?
Reply
Jacqueline says
Good morning Michelle! So odd, it used to be linked right in the recipe, not sure why it no longer was. Thanks for letting me know, the link is now in the recipe. Just in case, here is the URL- http://www.gogogogourmet.com/copycat-olive-garden-alfredo-sauce/ Let me know what you think!!
Reply
Ashley says
How many servings does this recipe make?
Reply
Jacqueline says
Hi Ashley, I would say it makes 4-5 servings. I make this for my family of three (well, 2.5!) and it usually feeds us for two meals. Hope that helps!
Reply
I absolutely love your tips-keep them coming! The ziplock baggie trick will save me hours!
Reply
ok, found tomorrow’s dinner recipe! yummy!
Reply
Great video and pictures!
Reply
Josee says
I just found a home for the Swiss chard from my weekly CSA, my leftover homemade ricotta, and leftover roasted chicken from two nights ago! I added a big dollop of pesto and a minced shallot to the sautéed Swiss chard. I can’t wait until dinner tonight! Thank you for the ziploc tip and this great recipe!
Reply
Nancy Long says
sounds good, but I make a spinach manicotti that doesn’t require cooking the pasta first and it’s wonderful
Reply
Amanda Livesay says
Love the piping tip! Make this delicious meal so much easier to prepare!Reply
Sarah M says
I love that you can freeze this recipe! I think it would be perfect to take to a family who just had a baby or moved in to a neighborhood.Reply
Donna Mielenz says
did you cook the manicotti before you stuffed them?
Reply
Jacqueline says
Yes, I did.
Reply
Lauren Martin says
Absolutely love this meal. I am a very picky eater, but this taste amazing. I did add a little garlic and Tabasco sauce, which is what I use in spinach dip. Thanks for the recipe!
Reply
Aimee Shugarman says
This is definitely one of our favorite dinners.Reply
Noelle says
Great recipe, thanks!Reply
Salinah says
Could I use jarred alfredo sauce? I’m not sure how different it’ll make it taste.Reply
Jacqueline says
Of course!
Reply
Terri Hollister says
Can this be made ahead and cooked the next day?Reply
Jacqueline says
I never have, but I would think that would work out fine.
Reply
bahsegel says
great article very very thanks
Reply
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