Perfect Manicotti

I’m beyond excited to share this manicotti recipe with you! We’ve made it many times, and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet—it’s that good! It features a creamy, dreamy cheese filling with ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and lightly wilted spinach. Then, we roll it all up in homemade crespelle (Italian crêpes), which I absolutely adore because they’re so light and tender. But if you are short on time, you can use manicotti shells from the store.

I’ve really fallen for this recipe (can you tell!?).

• 10 homemade Italian crespelle
• 4 cups (100g) fresh spinach, packed
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (16oz) container cottage cheese (4% fat), 1 ¾ cups
• 1 ½ cups (170g) whole-milk mozzarella cheese, 6 ounces
• 1 cup (113g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 4 ounces
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 ½ cups good-quality jarred marinara sauce or homemade pasta sauce

• 1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 ½ cups (355ml) whole milk
• 2 tablespoons (28g) butter, melted
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil for cooking crespelle