Ricotta and Spinach Suffed Manicotti
1 pound firm tofu, drained
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 tablespoon garlic powder or 1-2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup nurtritional yeast flakes
3 or 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 (8 ounce) package manicotti noodles
1 (24 ounce) tomato sauce (I like Barilla Lasagna and Casserole Sauce)
vegan mozzarella, shredded, optional (I use Soymage)
1. A little trick I learned working in a good Italian restaurant in New Jersey. You do not need to precook the manicotti noodles, just leave the filling a bit wetter than you normally would. The same goes for lasagna noodles. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Put tofu into food processor or bowl. Add spinach, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, yeast flakes, and about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Pulse or mix by hand in bowl until well mixed and smooth, scraping sides of bowl. Taste. Adjust seasoning.
3. Fill large zip lock or regular plastic bag with mixture. Snip about a dime sized hole in bottom corner. Pipe mixture into manicotti shells, filling compactly.
4. Pour tomato sauce into a large bowl. Fill jar with about 1/2-3/4 cup water. Put top back on jar and shake well to further remove any remaining sauce. Add to sauce in bowl, mix well adding some olive oil. Ladle 1/2 sauce into a large retangular pan.
5. Put stuffed manicoti into sauce. Top with remaining sauce. Bake, covered 20-25 minutes. Remove cover and top with vegan mozzarella, if using. Bake another 10-15 minutes, until nice and bubbly and a little crunchy. Let cool a bit and enjoy!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
FUCKING AMAZING.
Well, my picture doesn't look all that great..but this was excellent! I didn't have manicotti so I used penne, and used basil instead of oregano. I also didn't have quite enough sauce for it to be perfect..but it was still very good. I halved everything except for the spinach (so it could have been creamier if I reduced the spinach), and I tried the no-cook pasta method. I had to bake mine longer to get the penne done..but it all worked out wonderfully! I will be making this many more times; it's very versatile! Thanks :)>>>
Oh dear. This was quite delicious. My noodles were kind of hard, because I didn't boil them first and maybe didn't heat them covered long enough?
This was excellent. I added a little vegan parmesan to the ricotta filling. My anti-vegan mom who HATES tofu loved it and said it tasted like real ricotta. Yay! Thanks for a great dinner recipe!
Hi there
This recipe looks great, but I just wanted to check did people use silken tofu or the regular tofu? I live in the UK and use silken or a branc from Cauldron, which is very firm.
Thanks!
Laila
I give this recipe 5 stars. I don't cook the noodles and it turns out great every time. My family loves it. It's very impressive for such an easy recipe.
I have been looking for a way to make ricotta out of tofu for a long time. Thank you so much. Although even for a garlic lover like me, 1 tbsp of garlic powder was way to much, I will start small with that next time but other then that I am addicted to this filling, I can't wait to make a lasagna w/ it. Thank you so much!
just made this into a lasagna - the 'ricotta' mixture was really good and i could even see making it in the future as a dip for chips or veggies. i might even make it with double the filling so the layers dont have to be so thin. overall it was a good dish that would easily satisfy omnis (who would never even know it was tofu)
What a great recipe! I couldn't find manicotti shells, so I did a baked ziti with it, minus any mozzarella. And I actually also forgot about the spinach and it still came out fantastic. I can't wait to make this again.
The filling turned out so rich and creamy and delicious...if I hadn't prepared it myself I never would have believed it was vegan!! YUMMY!!
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