Meaty Cheese Manicotti

I made half this recipe for 2 of us and I and it is SOOOO good!! It sounded good but not a wow like it turned out!! I used all hot sausage otherwise followed the recipe. After filling the shells, I added the remaining filling into the sauce. The sauce really make this special.

I have made this before and it was always a big hit.

Has anyone tried making it and freezing it before cooking?

Let me 1st preface this review with my wife and I or not amateurs when it comes to making dinner.  The "15" min of prep is absolutely a lie.  2 people, it took us 45 min to get it into the oven to start baking for the 1st 20 min go round.  The largest part is cooking the noodles, cooking the hamburger.  Did the recipe not account for that.  THEN....comes the stuffing. We did it by hand.  The chunks of hamburger and sausage are too big along with the shredded cheese and tomatoes to fit through a piping bag. If you think following the recipe to "spoon" it into the shells, you obviously have never worked with manicotti!!  Also, the recipe doesn't mention this, Drain off the juice from your tomatoes.  If you don't, you end up with a "soup" like meat and tomato mixture!!!  Thanks recipe for not mentioning that.  That little misstep added to the already unrealistic prep time noted in the recipe. It is currently in for it's 20 min covered baking.  I hope it tastes amazing to offset the pain the neck this prep has been.  I have stuffed manicotti with various other cheeses and chicken, and never had an issue like this recipe called for.  I guess lesson learned, everyone makes recipes out to be easier than they are in hopes people click on them.  My suggestion, update your recipe, or take it down.  You are misleading folks!!!  

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This is one fantastic, tasty recipe. Followed directions except i used half and half instead of the heavy cream and added a bit of garlic powder.  Because of the prep time, I stuffed some of the shells, wrapped them up well and froze them.  Easy to make the sauce, it's the stuffing the shells that takes time.  Just one great recipe, Traci.

Despite the somewhat lengthy prep time, it's worth it. Always a favorite, glad I found it.

AMAZING!  This recipe was fantastic.  I almost did not make it because I did not want to stuff manicotti shells but it was worth it.  And the stuffing wasn't difficult, just took a little time. The steps for this recipe were easy but it did require time.  One reviewer mentioned the top "was kind of hard on the top after the covering is removed" but I did not experience that. I did not put the casserole under the broiler for 5 minutes as the recipe requested, I just kept it in the middle rack of the oven.Next time I will prepare some or all of the steps ahead of time:  cooking manicotti, preparing the meat mixture, making the cream sauce.  Having some of that done ahead will save a lot of time. This is a recipe was elegant and delicious.

I made this recipe for dinner tonight and everyone loved it. My husband couldn't stop talking about how good it was. My two small girls ate all of it.

We have five school-aged children, ranging in age from 8 to 15. They all couldn't get enough of this dish! It is definitely a keeper and will be making again. My husband & I loved it as well. A very rich dish, but many wonderful flavors. I followed the recipe exactly, taking the advice of some other reviews and making the cream sauce and manicotti noodles(undercooking by just about a minute so they wouldn't tear as easily) ahead of time so it would come together more quickly later on. A bit time consuming, but no level of difficulty. Delicious!

I did not care for this recipe. It was way too fatty for me, and I prefer my manicotti with a tomato based sauce, rather than a cream sauce.

This was good, but not drop-dead delicious. Have made it twice. The casserole turns kinda hard on the top after the covering is removed to add the parmesan. In the future, I'd keep it covered the entire baking time. Nice, belly-warming supper, but too time-consuming to make on a weeknight.

Absolutely delicious. My kids and husband were silent at the dinner table while they devoured this. Prep and cooking time is minimal. I pulled it off on a Monday after work and had time to spare. I used mild sausage and padano parmesan. Don't overcook the shells or they will split when you try to stuff them.

fantastic - our entire family loved it

As the kids would say, "OMG." Very good. The sauce was to die for! Will use the sauce for something else. . .not sure what. . .but it will be good regardless:) Thanks for sharing.

This was excellent!!!

Fabulous. I doubled the beef, sausage, cream and tomatoes. What didn't "fit" into the shells, I just spooned over the shells. My college sons loved this dish!

Great dish, nice alternative to the traditional manicotti with red sauce.

My hubby and I thought this was a great recipe. I did alter this quite a bit, but I NEVER follow recipes very well (even with a degree in culinary). I used one pound each of sausage and ground beef, 3 cups heavy cream and then I just adjusted my seasonings to taste since I used more heavy cream than called for. I still used the same amount of tomatoes and at first I thought it would be too dry, but it wasn't. Next time I may use 2 cans just to see the difference. I also increased the amount of Parmesan sprinkled on top, due to my hubby loving cheese. Overall, a great solid base for a recipe. I just entered it into "My Favorite Recipe Cookbook" because the hubby says, "It's a must-make again" recipe.

A new favorite at our house. It has outstanding flavor and texture and tastes great leftover. I do usually use a little more sausage and less ground meat. I also cook the shells a couple minutes less than the box says, makes it easier to stuff without breaking. You can mix the tomatoes and cheese with the meat in the same colander you used to drain, it saves dirtying an extra bowl.

This is a fabulous recipe. So easy! I've made it numerous times for company and there are never any left-overs. I prepare the manicotti and refrigerate it the day I'm serving it. The cream mixture is also prepared and refrigerated. Follow the recipe for when to add the sauce. I never need to broil it after adding the sauce. It browns quickly. A great recipe without any last minute preparation.

Absolutely delicious! I was a bit nervous the cream sause would not have the Alfredo flavor I was hoping for, but it was out of this world. The only change I made to the recipe was to add fresh garlic. Definitely a keeper!

My husband is a very picky eater & in his words this recipe "is definitely a keeper”. Since the shells come 14 to a package and not 12, I used 1/2 lb. of sausage and 1 lb. of ground round. Some of the shells do split when cooking, but I still used them. It is a little messy so be prepared to get your hands dirty. Jumbo shells might be easier and less messy. For the sausage, I used turkey italian & used the sweet, not spicy. Otherwise I did not alter the rest of the recipe. Make sure your sauce simmers or it takes longer than estimated to thicken. I thought the italian seasoning might be over-powering, but after pouring the sauce over the shells and sprinkling the parmesan on it was a really nice flavor. However, if you're not a spice fan I would use a half to three quarters teaspoon to start and add more if you like it. It’s easier to add than take away. Overall, a good solid recipe.

My family really enjoyed this manicotti! I knew my toddler wouldn't eat the italian sausage so we just used ground round. My sauce took a really long time to thicken though. I will make again for company!

I have prepared this recipe several times. Every time I got consistently good results! Our family is not fond of the spices in Italian Sausage..therefore, I adjusted the amount of Italian sausage due to our personal tastes. ALSO, because we have a toddler and my husband has spicy food issues, we switched to the MILD SAUSAGE. SO, we used only 1/4 lb. of sweet or mild Italian sausage and increased the ground beef/round by 3/4 lbs. to balance the flavors more to our liking. I found that if I over-cooked the pasta it became very difficult to FILL and would tear apart, making a big mess. Also, I had to be really careful not to over-stuff the shells...I just spread the leftover meat mixture around the outside edges of the pan around the shells...waste not, want not! An excellent recipe, and a family favorite!!