By Kim Hardesty
A low carb spinach manicotti recipe featuring crepes filled with spinach & ricotta cheese, topped with red marinara sauce. A true Italian-American classic.
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Who here misses pasta on a low carb diet? I do! It was a staple of my fast and easy one-pot meals back in the day. And although we had it often during the week, in one form or another, it was the comfort dishes I really craved... dishes like lasagna, raviolis, cannelloni, and manicotti; all those stuffed and filled pastas were my favorites!
On a low carb diet traditional pastas are out of the question. Too many carbs = too much sugar in the body = a blood sugar spike and resulting insulin spike in response. Add cheese, olive oil, and fiber to that pasta dish and you may have a slower insulin response, but it stays elevated for hours! It's a bad scenario for many of us. What's a pasta luvin' person to do?
Well, many of us have hopped onto the spiralizer train! Woot - woot! We are using vegetables, that we cut into "ribbons" and "noodles" with our spiralizers, as healthy subs. They're really good! Also, some people are experimenting with using the Fathead dough not only for low carbpizza, but as lasagna and pasta noodles. If there is a will, there is a way!
But, what does one substitute for rectangles or tubes of pasta stuffed with savory fillings?
Crepes! My favorite thing to use for manicotti are low carb crepes! And, it just so happens that I posted a no-fail savory crepe recipe last month!
What I like about using crepes for this low carb version of manicotti, is how fast and easy it is to assemble the dinner. The crepes take about 20 minutes to make and can be made up to a week in advance. Then, the whole dish comes together in a snap! You can be enjoying this Italian classic of spinach and ricotta stuffed manicotti in mere minutes!.
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This simple act of "yumming" not only tells us bloggers what our readers like, but it helps us gain a larger audience. With a small blog like mine, that's really important. So don't forget to "yum" if you like one of my recipes and also visitmy Yummy Publisher's Page. Thank you!
Each serving of this easy and tasty low carb spinach manicotti is 6 net carbs.
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Low Carb Spinach Manicotti with Ricotta Cheese and Red Sauce
A low carb spinach manicotti recipe featuring crepes filled with spinach & ricotta cheese, topped with red marinara sauce. A true Italian-American classic.
5 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: Italian, Vegetarian
Keyword: fast and easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 340kcal
Author: lowcarbmaven.com
Ingredients
- 8 Low Carb No-fail Crepes use my No-Fail Crepe Recipe or your favorite
Spinach Manicotti Filling
- 8 ounces frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 ¼ cups low fat ricotta cheese 310 g, it has less carbs than full fat
- 8 ounce bag 5 cheese Italian blend 226 g, or mozzarella
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch fresh nutmeg
Additional Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup Rao's Marinara Sauce 282 gram, 3 net carbs per ½ cup
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese 2 oz/ g
- chopped parsley or basil for garnish
Instructions
Make the crepes. They take about 20 minutes and can be made up to a week in advance.
Prep: Measure the marinara sauce and water into a blender and blend into smooth. Butter a small rectangular or square baking dish (10x7 inch or 8x8 inch). Pour about ⅓ of the sauce into the dish and tip the dish around to distribute the sauce evenly around the bottom.
Stack all of the crepes on top of each other and cut about ½-3/4 of an inch off of each opposite side, resulting in two curved sides and two straight sides. See picture.
Mix and Fill: In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the manicotti filling. Taste to adjust the seasonings per your liking. Smooth the top, making it flat and even. With a knife, score the top into 8 equal wedges.
Lay a crepe on the work surface in front of you with the straight sides to the right and the left. With a large spoon, spoon out about ⅛th of the spinach ricotta filling and place it towards the front of the crepe. Gently roll the mixture into a log that reaches from straight side to side of the crepe. Roll-up the crepe and place seam-side-down in the baking dish. Repeat the process for all of the crepes and filling. Pour the remaining marinara sauce over the crepes and top with the cheese.
Cook: Cover with plastic wrap and cook in the microwave for 5 minutes (more or less depending on your microwave). Place under the broiler to brown the cheese if you would like. Garnish with chopped parsley or basil.
Note: Can be made the day before and refrigerated until needed. Let it warm up on the counter for 30 minutes before cooking.
Notes
Nutrition Facts Low Carb Spinach Manicotti with Ricotta Cheese and Red Sauce Amount Per Serving Calories 340Calories from Fat 198 % Daily Value* Fat 22g34% Carbohydrates 9g3% Fiber 3g13% Protein 22g44% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition
Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 22g | Fiber: 3g
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- Keto Eggplant Parmesan Stacks
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How to Love Your Low Carb Keto Diet
Secrets, tips & recipes to keep you on track!
Reader Interactions
Comments
CaraDru
Delicious! Followed it to a “T” except I baked in the oven covered until bubbly and then removed the foil to brown the cheese a little. Husband LOVED it and said “you could make this again.” Thank you!! It was his birthday dinner. Manicotti is his favorite. Thanks for this low carb version.
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Jen
Really great. I made the crepes first - and it didn't take long at all. They were easy to make, and easy to fill with the spinach/cheese mix. My family loved this dinner. It is barely noticeable that you aren't eating pasta! So great. We will definitely have this meal again.
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Rachel Sipes
Can these be frozen either before or after cooking?
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Kim Hardesty
I would freeze after cooking, Rachel. -Kim
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Stephanie
Thanks for the recipe. My friend gave me some "low carb crepes" from Costco and I used them the first time, and it turned out pretty good. Second time, I made with your crepes and added some ground chicken to the filling. Turned out even better! I did bake both times because I do not like to use the microwave. I just have one because it came with the house.
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Melanie
This is one of my favorite keto recipes to date! The crepes do take a bit of time, but are so worth the effort. I followed the recipe as written and couldn’t imagine it being any better. My mom, dad and sister all loved it too.
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Kim Hardesty
I'm so happy you and your family liked the recipe, Melaine. I couldn't ask for a better comment than this - you make my day. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know. Enjoy your week and be well. -Kim
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Marie
Do the crepes get soggy?
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Kim Hardesty
No, Marie. -Kim
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Gina
Amazing! Followed it to the tee! I was nervous about the microwave cooking but it was absolutely perfect. Will be making it again. We loved it! Thank you!
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Kim Hardesty
I'm so glad you liked it, Gina! -Kim
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Nicole K
I made this months ago and it was amazing!!! We started traveling not long after and with no oven, we were unable to make it, but it was talked about often! We've just set up home again and this is top of Hubby and Mine's wish list. But I'm wondering if you've done it with fresh spinach? And if so, roughly how much? I have a huge bunch and thought I'd shred and steam it then ring out. Any advice would be awesome please. And thanks for a killer recipe! I think it's the one that made us both realise this WOE is so doable AND enjoyable. We haven't looked back.
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Kim
Hi Nicole. I'm so happy you like this recipe. I have never made it with fresh spinach, but you would need to start with the same amount by weight before chopping, cooking and squeezing dry - 8 oz. -Kim
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Grace
See Also| Food Allergy ParentsThese are delicious! I’m diabetic & regular pasta is off limits. Can’t tell the difference. So good. Yum! Thank you!
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Jane Camero
This is almost the same filling I used to use for regular manicotti! I never bought the pre-made Manicotti tubes but always made my own crepes - so much easier than struggling with those tubes that would tear or not cooperate!
Since going low carb, I've been looking for a low carb version of the "crepes" that I used to use and you have come through! I'm sorry to say, I don't use Yummily - I use "Copy me that" which I find to be much better for keeping my recipes - I guess it's just a matter of taste! Thank you for this recipe. I may try adding some pre-cooked ground beef to the cheese mixture because my hubby likes meat in everything - he's a real carnivore! Anyway - thanks for your blog
I really enjoy your recipes but I've never left a comment before. Thaks!Reply
Laurie
This looks great! I want to try it tonight. What temp and for how long would you do it in the oven (instead of microwave)? Thank you!
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Kim
Hi Laurie, maybe at 350 F, covered with foil for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. -Kim
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Sheri S
My husband and I have started a low carb way of eating. He is a diabetic and has already brought his blood sugar down 60 points in 4 weeks. He has been craving craving craving pancakes. I told him about this crepe recipe and he wants to try it. I will let you know how he likes them.
Thank you for the recipe
Sheri SReply
Tracy
Thanks for another fabulous recipe. This was phenomenal. My husband declared he likes this better than “real” pasta. My picky husband has loved every single one of your recipes I have made.
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Kim
I'm so glad, Tracy! I know it's sometimes hard to get family members to like the food and I'm thrilled your husband enjoys some of the recipes. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. Have a great week. -Kim
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Missie
As a recently diagnosed type 2 diabetic it's nice to find low carb recipes online. Thank you! The only thing is, it's not insulin spikes, it's blood glucose spikes. Insulin is the chemical my body doesn't utilize well to bring my blood glucose levels down.
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Kim
Thank you Missie. I will make the changes! -Kim
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Kelly Jones
I absolutely LOVED these! I will say that making them for the first time was quite a bit of work (especially since I did the crepes the same day.) But I expected more work than the recipe said so I planned with plenty of time. The recipe is written very well and everything came together nicely. The serving size according to the recipe is 1 manicotti which didnt seem like enough. I put it into my carb app and said that 2 manicotti’s is a serving size so the net carb per serving is about 12g. That was still fine for me! I have missed my pasta as the ricotta manicotti’s were a favorite out at restaurants and this was a perfect imitation. Will defiiitley make again (and make the crepes in advance next time to save some time.). Thanks for another wonderful recipe, low carb maven!
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FernLili
Why add the water? Does it add something to the recipe? It seems odd to water down a perfectly delicious pasta sauce.
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Kim
Fern, it serves two purposes. The Rao's sauce is super thick so the water helps loosen it a little so it spreads better in the bottom of the pan and it also helps reduct carbs just a tiny bit. If you can spare the extra carbs, then don't water it down and use as much as you feel necessary. -Kim
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Jovina
I really like your recipes. I am wondering if I can heat them in the oven as opposed to microwaving.
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Jovina
i meant to say crepe recipes.
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Kim
You mean cook the crepes in the oven? Crepes are usually made in a pan. The manicotti can be cooked in the oven. -Kim
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Jovina
Thanks. I would prefer to bake the manicotti in the oven.
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Kim
Thank you, Jovina. Yes, you can do it in the oven. It just made it faster in the microwave to heat through. It's also nice to place it under the broiler for a few minutes. -Kim
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Renee'
I make crêpes similar to yours. I'm going to try this recipe. I haven't thought to make manicotti so this is next on my list. I miss pasta. I'm working on my own flour mix for !y homemade pasta. This would make a great idea for my homemade spinach pesto made with chic peas. My husband can't have nuts. ThNks for the great idea.
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Kim
Great, Renee, I'm glad I could inspire you with this dish. Have a great week. -Kim
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Rachel
Thank you! This recipe is genius. The crepes worked perfectly. I'll be making this all the time. ?
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Kim
Awesome, Rachel! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for commenting! -Kim
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Karen Dawson
I don't see the amount of water to add to the marinara? Can you tell me please?
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Kim
Oh, my gosh! I'm sorry Karen. It's 1/4 cup. I'll add that right now. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Have a great day and I hope you enjoy the manicotti as much as we did! -Kim
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Katie Crenshaw
This looks so good Kim. I know my whole family would love this! Thank you for the great recipe!!!!!! You are awesome.
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Kim
Hello, Katie. Youre welcome. Thanks for your great comment. I hope your family enjoy it. -Kim
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Maya | Wholesome Yum
Wow, this looks incredible! I love Italian food. Love spinach, love cheese, love crepes, love marinara... love every part of this recipe, haha. It has a beautiful presentation, too. Pinning!
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Kim
Thank for your nice comments, Maya! Have a nice week. -Kim
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Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
Oh Yum! This looks like total comfort food! I love all that cheesy goodness....plus it's filled with all sorts of wonderful nutrients :)
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Kim
Thank you, Kathy! We thought it rocked! Have a wonderful weekend! -Kim
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