Mexican Manicotti

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Since it is my birthday, I thought I would share with you one of my personal favorite dinners. It is so easy to make because you don’t have to precook the meat or the noodles!  I know what you are thinking, you don’t have to precook the ground beef?!  And you heard me right, no precooking!  It cooks long enough in the oven that everything comes out PERFECT!  My neighbors introduced me to this recipe back when I was in Jr. High and it has been a family favorite ever since!

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Mexican Manicotti

Servings 14
Calories 232kcal

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 15.5 ounces refried beans
  • 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese divided
  • 14 manicotti shells
  • 15 ounces green taco sauce I like to use La Victoria Mild Green
  • 1 cup warm water

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix ground beef (uncooked), refried beans and 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey pepper jack cheese and taco seasoning until well blended.
  • Fill uncooked manicotti shells with meat mixture by gently pressing meat mixture into shell until the shell fills. *A trick I like to do is to fill a large zip lock bag with the meat mixture, seal.  Cut off one of the bottom corners and squeeze the mixture into the shells.*
  • Mix bottle of green taco sauce and 1 cup water in a large bowl. Pour a small amount of the green sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish to cover.
  • Lay shells in single layer on top of enchilada sauce. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti shells. Sprinkle on 1/2 cup of the remaining shredded cheese.
  • Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and top with 1/2 cup more cheese and return to oven until cheese melts.
  • Top with sour cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 651mg | Potassium: 142mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 379IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 250mg | Iron: 1mg
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Enjoy!

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #chefintraining and/or #chefintrainingblog. I would love to see how these recipes take shape in your kitchens.

Filed under: dinner, mexican

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Comments

  1. Carol

    Happy Birthday!
    This dish looks heavenly! Will you be sharing the recipe? (it's early, maybe I'm just missing it's location).
    Thanks!!!

  2. Debbie

    I just joined this past week, I;am looking foward to your recipies.

    I hope you have a blessed Birthday, and congradulations on your new baby.

  3. Marla

    Happy, happy birthday to you! I hope you have a great b'day doing whatever you want to do. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! I'm making it tonight~know the fam will love it!

  4. Jessica

    This sounds delightful! Curoious if it would be a good candidate for a freezer meal...have you ever tried that? Have a happy birthday :)

  5. Crystal

    Happy Birthday! Love this recipe. I am going to make it this week! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes, your blog is amazing!

  6. Natalie

    Happy Birthday!!

    Do you have any suggestions on making this a make-ahead freezer meal? Assemble and freeze uncooked? I'm 37 weeks pregnant and trying to stock up our freezer that way we can still have homemade dinners once the little guy gets here.

    Any suggestions would be great!! :)

  7. Heather

    I've been looking for a good Mexican recipe to try and this sounds perfect! Thanks! HAPPY BIRTHDAY and Congratulations on your success - I absolutely LOVE your blog!

  9. Lynda

    Happy Birthday! It's my birthday too. Can't wait to try this recipe later this week, it sounds yummy and I think the family will really like it!

  10. Marla

    Just a quick update! I did make these for dinner tonight and they were a huge hit with my family. I cook for 9 each night so I doubled the recipe and made two full 9x13 pans (meat mixture left over-I ran out of manicotti) and they were all gone. Thanks again for sharing!

  11. Val

    Happy Birthday and thanks for all of the yummy recipes. I always know when I see a recipe from you that my family will love it! Can't wait to try the Mexican Manicotti!

  12. Becca from It's Yummilicious

    This recipe looks REALLY good, and I love that nothing has to be precooked. HUGE time saver!

    I do have a question/concern though. Because you're not precooking the ground beef, does it make the shells greasy tasting? All of the fat is probably sucked up into the noodles. I'm just wondering how the end result tastes.

  13. Jan

    Happy Birthday!
    This dish looks so delish! Now I have another Mexican dish that is fast and easy! Thanks!

  14. Trisha

    Happy Birthday to you. Everything I have tried of your recipes are very delicios!!
    Thanks for what you do, enjoy your birthday.

  15. Nicole

    Have a wonderful birthday and thank you for your awesome recipes.

  16. Kim B.

    LOVE this recipe!! My kids aren't a big fan of spaghetti sauce so would DEFINITELY eat this version :) Can't wait to make it! Hope you had a nice birthday :)

  17. Smitha

    This looks great and so easy! Would this work as stuffed shells you think?

  18. Emily

    I'm wondering how this might work with ground turkey- have you ever tried it?

  19. Vironika

    Hi--so glad I found your website, I know I'll enjoy it!

    I tried this recipe tonight but it did not turn out right--over done with underdone noodles... I have a similar recipe for lasagna (it's not mexican food but it goes in the oven with raw noodles, with one difference in prep...) Are you supposed to cover with foil before you put it in the oven??? And remove foil with you top with cheese?

    Thanks so much!

  20. Amy

    Made this tonight & substituted ground turkey for beef & 1 can black beans(drained & washed) for refried. Baked for 55 minutes; placed foil on top after 40 minutes. Added additional cheese & baked 5 minutes, for a total of 60 minutes.
    This turned out perfect even with subtitutions! Thank you for this post!

  21. Cat

    I made this for my family about a month ago & it was gobbled right up! I am putting it on my menu for this week too but I have one question tho... I couldn't find green taco sauce & instead used green enchilada sauce. Where did you buy it and have you ever used enchilada sauce? Thanks & I love your blog! It is def one of my top places to go for recipes!

  22. ImABeers1

    Tried these last night and YUM! Two of my favorite things, Mexican food and pasta!! What a combination. I covered lightly with foil after 30 minutes and they were done after 50 minutes. These came out spicier than I thought they would using mild Verdi sauce but the sour cream certainly helps. Makes 14 manicotti total. Muah!

  23. Sondra

    These look so easy! I can't wait to make these! When I was looking at the date of the original post ...I realized your Baby must be 1! Happy Birthday

  24. Joy

    I love this recipe and would love to try it, but I can not find the recipe to print. There are only pictures and a little blurb about how you found the recipe. I looked under dinner and Mexican and still no recipe. Help.

    1. Chef in Training

      Sorry for the extremely delayed response to your comment. I have been gradually updating old recipes and just got to this one. It is updated and ready to print.

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