What to use instead of manicotti
A stuffed tube under the oven. A smooth tomato sauce and cheese on top. The ridges hold a little more sauce than smooth cannelloni.
The closest swap: cannelloni
The Italian smooth version.
Manicotti is tubes, 90 to 110 mm long, 20 to 30 minutes in the pot. Cannelloni sits in the tubes family and cooks in 20 to 30 minutes. Match the cook time first. A swap that is right in shape and wrong in time still ends up wrong on the plate.
Every swap for manicotti, ranked
A substitute must behave the same way with the sauce you are making. The ones marked as chosen are hand-picked. The rest score on family, cavity, surface, size, and shared sauces.
- 1
Cannelloni
Tubes · Campania
The Italian smooth version (chosen)
- 2
Lasagne
Sheets · Emilia-Romagna
Roll a sheet around the filling (chosen)
- 3
Conchiglioni
Short shapes · All of Italy
Jumbo shells take the same filling (chosen)
- 4
Sedani
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces
- 5
Tortiglioni
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces
- 6
Mezzi rigatoni
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 2 sauces
- 7
Occhi di lupo
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 2 sauces
- 8
Paccheri
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, shares 2 sauces, close in size
Match the sauce, not the look
Manicotti is listed against 3 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- Best pasta for baked (al forno): Pasta finished in the oven with sauce and cheese, or stuffed and baked. It needs a sturdy shape that survives twice cooking.
- Best pasta for pomodoro: Tomato, olive oil, garlic or onion, basil. Smooth and light. Almost any shape works; the classic is spaghetti or penne.
- Best pasta for meat ragu: Any slow meat sauce with solids in it. It wants a shape with a cavity: a wide tube, a cup, or a broad ribbon.
Side by side
The measured difference between manicotti and each swap.