Mom’s Homemade Manicotti with Crepes (Crespelle) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between manicotti and crespelle? ›

Like both the classic Italian and French recipes, crespelle uses dough as a casing around a filling. Manicotti traditionally has a filling of cheese — usually ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan — and an optional spinach stuffed into the pasta shells (via Bon Appétit).

Stuffing manicotti is difficult, but if you use a pastry bag without a tip, it's a breeze! Just spoon the filling into the bag, then squeeze it into the cooked pasta tubes.

figure on serving two to three manicotti per person. They are light but very filling especially when served in a meat sauce vs a marinara sauce. The crepe batter is easy to prepare. All the ingredients are added to a blender and mixed to a light creamy batter.

Sweet Crespelle (Italian Crêpes)

Food, wine, and travel writer Kyle Phillips lived in Tuscany and developed his passion and expertise for food and cooking through travel. Crespelle are paper-thin pancakes, the Italian equivalent of France's crêpes, and just like the French version, they can be either sweet or savory.

Manicotti may also be called “cannelloni.” “Cannelloni” derives from the word for “cane.” The Italian ending “oni,” means something big or fat. So, “cannelloni” are fat, stuffed canes.

Lasagna pasta sheets are the way to go for manicotti. They're easier to use than traditional tubes, are less likely to tear, and they have a better texture — just make sure to get the kind without curly edges. To boil the lasagna sheets, crisscross them in the water so they aren't as likely to fuse together.

I recommend using a long narrow spoon to stuff the manicotti to prevent breaks. If you can, use a pastry bag fitted with a large tip to easily pipe the filling. A gallon resealable plastic bag with a small portion of the edge cut off also works well.

If you use no boil manicotti noodles, there is no need to pre-cook the pasta before placing the stuffed shells in the freezer. All you have to do is make sure the pasta is fully covered in sauce and they'll soften as they bake in the oven.

How long do uncooked manicotti last in the fridge? ›

Refrigeration: Uncooked manicotti should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed within 4 days, while cooked manicotti's optimal quality is maintained up to 1 to 2 months when frozen. Temperature: Store manicotti at a constant temperature of 40°F or below in the fridge, and 0°F or below if it's frozen.

(I find it easier to use pastry bags filled with the meat mixture to stuff the shells or you can cut the end of a sandwich baggie and stuff them that way. Less messy and much faster.). Place shells in pan and pour remaining sauce of shells.

The easiest way to stuff manicotti shells is the put the mixed filling into a plastic bag. You can use either a frosting piping bag or a gallon zip bag. Snip the corner, gather the top and squeeze the filling into the corner.

Cannelloni—not to be confused with the Italian tubular dessert cannoli—is a type of lasagna noodle; the term "manicotti" can refer to the same pasta or the baked dish. Dried cannelloni and manicotti tubes are sold both plain and ribbed.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANICOTTI AND CANNELLONI

Manicotti is the Italian-American version of Cannelloni. Both are pasta tubes, but the difference between the two is fairly minimal: Manicotti tubes are ridged, larger and slightly thicker. Cannelloni tubes are smooth, a touch smaller and slightly thinner.

Manicotti are the American version of cannelloni, though the term may often refer to the actual baked dish. The original difference may be that cannelloni consists of pasta sheets wrapped around the filling, and manicotti is machine-extruded cylinders filled from one end.