Spinach Stuffed Vegan Manicotti

I had been wanting to make stuffed vegan, gluten-free shells for a long time now but I could never find gluten-free shells in stores and I didn't want to order them online. As I was looking for a replacement, I found gluten-free brown rice manicotti pasta tubes and decided to use them instead and I am so glad I did! I made these to bring dinner over to our friends who just had a baby. Everyone loved it and didn't know it was gluten-free or vegan! This could also be made with dairy or meat if you wanted, of course. I want to make this again but maybe with some Italian sausage or prosciutto! These look fancy (well - my pictures could use a little work, I recommend saving a little sauce to pour over the top at the very end) and are impressive yet so easy to make! I can't wait for you to try them!

​Servings: 4 - 6
Prep/Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 box (4 oz) gluten-free brown rice manicotti pasta tubes
• 1 jar low-sodium marinara sauce
• 8 oz Kite Hill Ricotta or Cream Cheese 
• 1 10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed or cooked, cooled and drained
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 8 oz vegan mozzarella cheese
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare a baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Boil a large pot of water for the pasta and cook them according to package directions, al dente. Drain and lay them carefully on wax paper to cool.
   
3. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over the bottom of the baking dish and set the rest of the sauce aside. 
   
4. Combine the ricotta, spinach, basil, 4 oz mozzarella and italian seasoning in a large bowl. 
   
5. Add the mixture to a large zip lock/piping bag with a hole cut on one corner.
   
6. Pipe the mixture into each pasta tube and lay side by side in the baking pan.
   
7. Top with almost the rest of the sauce and 2 oz of mozzarella. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, add remaining bit of sauce and 2 oz of cheese and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
   
8. Serve as is or with a salad!