Mexican Manicotti - Vegetarian Recipe | WhitneyBond.com (2024)

Vegetarian Mexican Manicotti is filled with black beans, cheese and spices, then topped with a tomato sauce for a delicious & easy recipe!

All I am thinking about right now is the fact that I wish I hadn’t eaten this entire dish by myself in a matter of 24 hours.

Needless to say, it was delicious and I want more!

Where did the idea for Mexican Manicotti come from you ask?

Well, one of the most popular recipes on the blog is for Mexican Stuffed Shells, (they’re also a personal favorite!) so I decided to make another Mexican pasta dish.

While the stuffed shells are filled with ground beef, I decided to keep the manicotti vegetarian by filling it with refried black beans, queso fresco and Mexican spices.

I used their tomato soup as the sauce on top of the manicotti, makingthis recipe so simple and so tasty!

Mexican Manicotti Ingredients

• 4 oz (6-8) manicotti pasta shells
• 10 oz queso fresco
• 2 tbsp taco seasoning (click link for homemade taco seasoning recipe)
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
• 13.6 oz refried black beans
• 1 cup pepper jack cheese (shredded)
• 2 cups roasted red pepper tomato soup

Mexican Manicotti Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Boil a large pot of water and add the manicotti pasta.

Cook for 6-8minutes or just before al dente.Remove from the water and set aside in an even layerto cool.

*Note:over-cooking the pasta will make it much harder to fill the shells. If the shells are too soft, they’ll tear when filling.

In a large bowl combine the queso fresco, taco seasoning and fresh cilantro.

Add the black beans and mix everything together.

Place the bean/cheese mixture in a large plastic bag and cut a small whole in the corner to pipe the mixture into the manicotti shells.

Pour one cup ofthe tomato soup into the bottom of an oven safe baking dish.

Hold each shell in your hand and pipe the mixture into the shells.

*Note: I found it easiest to pipe half of the mixture into one side. Turn the shell around, then pipe the other half through the other side.

Place the filled manicotti on top of the tomato soup in the dish.

Pour the othercup of tomato soup over the shells.

Sprinkle the pepper jack cheese on top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (or until cheese is melted and bubbly).

Each time I ate this dish (and by each time I mean for the next 3 meals!), I topped it with something different to see what I liked best.

My favorite toppings were fresh cilantro,fresh diced peppers and a little squeeze of lime juice, I loved the crunch that the peppers added on top and the zest of the fresh lime juice!

You could also top it with diced avocado, fresh salsa or sour cream.

If you’re looking for a little meatiness in the dish, add ground beef, chorizo or shredded chicken to the beans and cheese. Obviously you’ll have more filling, so you’ll need more shells, but the basic concept is the same!

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