This Mexican Manicotti recipe is a great twist on the classic Italian Manicotti dish. It makes a great weeknight dish when you are in the mood for something a little different.
If you are not familiar with manicotti noodles, they pretty much look like a 6-inch tube with a 1-inch diameter hole. They cook just like regular pasta noodles and are perfect for stuffing with your favorite filling.
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Tips
- The easiest way I know of for filling the manicotti shells with the filling is to use a cake decorating bag. Put the cheese and spinach filling in the bag and pipe it into the shell.
- If you don’t have a cake decorating bag you can use a ziploc bag by cutting a small piece of one of the bottom corners at an angle.
For this manicotti recipe, it will be our Mexican inspired chicken filling. Chicken with a little ricotta and a few other ingredients make this a super flavorful Mexican Manicotti.
For this recipe, you get to cook the chicken however you want. Personally, I like to use my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker to quickly cook up the breast. I just find it so convenient to do it this way.
Serving Suggestions
What does better with a great pasta dish than some Cheesy Garlic Bread. This is the best garlic bread you will ever have!
Gather your Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make this Mexican Manicotti recipe (see recipe card for quantities): Manicotti Shells, Chicken, Salsa, Ricotta Cheese, Black Olives, Fresh Parsley, Pimientos, Green Onions, Garlic Cloves, Tabasco Sauce and Mexican Blend Cheese.
How to Make Mexican Manicotti
- Cook the manicotti according to package directions. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a bowl, combine the chicken, 1/4 cup salsa, ricotta cheese, olives, parsley, pimentos, green onion, garlic and tabasco sauce.
- Drain the noodles in a colander. Let the noodles cool slightly until cool enough to handle. Fill each manicotti with the chicken mixture.
- Spread 1/4 cup salsa in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Place the manicotti shells on top of the salsa then top the shells with the remaining salsa.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted and the filling is heated through.
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Mexican Manicotti
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Ingredients
- 4 Manicotti Shells, uncooked
- 1 cup Chicken Breast(s), diced
- 1 cup Salsa, divided
- ½ cup Ricotta Cheese
- 2 Tbsp Black Olives, sliced
- 4 tsp Fresh Parsley, minced
- 1 Tbsp Pimientos, diced
- 1 Green Onions, thinly sliced
- 1 small Garlic Clove, minced
- ½ tsp Tabasco Sauce
- ⅓ cup Mexican Blend Cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Cook manicotti according to package directions. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a bowl, combine the chicken, 1/4 cup salsa, ricotta cheese, olives, parsley, pimentos, green onion, garlic and tabasco sauce.
- Drain the noodles in a colander. Let the noodles cool slightly until cool enough to handle. Fill each manicotti with the chicken mixture.
- Spread 1/4 cup salsa in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Place the manicotti shells on top of the salsa then top the shells with the remaining salsa.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted and the filling is heated through.
This recipe is superb. The only ingredient that I was not sure of was the ricotta cheese as I do not use it very often in my recipes, but to my great surprise it was excellent. These were delicious, and even better the next day with the leftovers. Loved them and will make these again.