Vegan Ricotta and Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

Recipe by Curvy Carbivore (@curvycarbivore)

Yield: 5 servings | Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes | Total time: 1 hour

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The holidays always remind me of Italian food. Delicious... labor intensive... Italian food. Reduce some of that labor by using Hungry Planet Italian Sausage™ Crumbles! They go perfectly in this Vegan Ricotta and Sausage Stuffed Manicotti dish, both in the tofu ricotta mixture and in the red sauce topping. Plus they're pre-cooked so all you have to do is defrost them! No more worrying about cooking raw sausage all the way through or fretting about raw meat contamination.

Ingredients:

• 1 box (8 oz) of manicotti noodles

• 4 (10-12 oz) Beyond Meat Hot Italian Sausage links (or sausage of your choosing)

• 1 tbsp cooking oil (grapeseed or canola)

• 1 block (14 oz) of firm tofu

• 3 tbsp vegan cream cheese

• 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese, divided in half

• 2 tsp dried oregano

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach (or 1/2 cup of frozen spinach)

• 1 jar (25 oz) red pasta sauce

Directions:

• Lightly grease a 9x13, 3" deep pan or glass baking dish and set aside.

• Start by boiling the noodles.

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the entire box of manicotti noodles.

• Boil the noodles according to the "al dente" instructions on the box, usually for about 7 minutes.

• Once they are cooked, turn off the heat and carefully remove the noodles from the water. Lay each noodle out on a fresh towel to dry, making sure they are not touching each other.

• While the noodles are boiling, prepare the sausage for both the spinach filling and red sauce topping.

• In a medium sized bowl, add the entire jar of red sauce. Set aside.

• Heat a medium sized frying pan on the stove over medium heat.

• Add 1 tbsp of oil to the pan.

• Add the vegan sausage links to the pan (you can remove the casing first), and break them up with a spatula into crumbles.

• Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7-8 minutes or until the sausage crumbles are just browned (do not overcook since they will be baked in the oven).

• Remove half of the sausage crumbles and add them to the bowl with the red sauce. Mix and set aside.

• Add the spinach to the frying pan with the other half of the sausage crumbles and cook until the spinach has wilted (or defrosted if you're using frozen).

• Remove the sausage & spinach mixture from heat and set aside.

• Now you should have 1) bowl of red sauce with sausage crumbles and 2) pan of sausage with spinach mixed in.

• Next, prepare the tofu ricotta filling.

• Remove the tofu from the package (no need to press it), and place the tofu in a large mixing bowl. Use the back of a fork to break it up into fluffy crumbles.

• Add the cream cheese, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, oregano, garlic powder, and salt to the tofu and mix until everything is evenly combined.

• Gently fold in the entire sausage & spinach mixture to the bowl with the tofu.

• Now that you have the boiled manicotti noodles, ricotta sausage mixture, and sausage red sauce done, it's time to stuff the manicotti.

• Preheat your oven to 350° F.

• Using a small spoon, fill each manicotti noodle with the tofu mixture. Try to fill about 10-12 noodles (you need less filling per noodle than you think, maybe about 2.5-3 tbsp per noodle).

• Place the filled manicotti noodles in the greased baking dish.

• Once all the manicotti noodles are stuffed, top them evenly with the sausage red sauce mixture.

• Sprinkle the other 1/4 cup of mozzarella shreds on top of the red sauce.

• Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

• Remove from the oven, uncover, and let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

• Top with some fresh basil leaves or oregano for a garnish.

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Tips and Tricks:

• If you can't find the Beyond Meat Hot Italian Sausage links, you can use any vegan Italian sausage of your choosing. For a non-faux meat option, using sauteed mushrooms is also a great option.

• Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

• Reheat leftovers in the microwave for 2 minutes or until the manicotti noodles are warmed through. Top with extra red sauce and cheese if desired.