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Make Ahead Manicotti

"I have used this basic principle and adapted it to make stuffed shells and lasagna. If making lasagna, I buy a second, smaller jar of spaghetti sauce. I always feel like I need a bit more. Merry Manicotti!"

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 10 ingredients
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Make Ahead Manicotti

Why it works: Mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,093 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Make Ahead Manicotti

6 servings
Prep30 min
Cook1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

509Calories
35 gProtein
29 gFat
23 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Ricotta Cheese1/2 cup (124g) part-skim174
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,093 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Spinach + peppertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  3. Ricotta cheese + mozzarella cheesetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together371 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

  4. Ricotta cheese + spinachtop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together250 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  5. Spinach + parmesan cheesetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together889 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the spinach

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ricotta cheese, egg, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, sugar, pepper, sauce):

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Spinachthe original
  3. Tomatofits about as well
  4. Asparagusfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against ricotta cheese, egg, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, sugar, pepper, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.