I don’t think of my Char-Broil Big Easy as just a grill. Or just an oil-less fryer. It’s also great at baking. Pretty much anything I can make in my oven, I can make in it. Like my manicotti on the Char-Broil Big Easy. Crazy delicious, with a plenty of hot, melted cheese, this dish is easy to put together. And the Big Easy cooks it up perfectly, with hardly any cleanup required.
Dutch Oven Liners To The Rescue
I get these disposable aluminum Dutch oven liners online for baking large dishes like this manicotti on the Char-Broil Big Easy. They are perfect. They’re about 8″ wide and a few inches deep. They hold a lot. They’re heavy duty. Even though you need to still support them on the bottom when lifting them, you can fill them up and be confident that’ll not collapse on you.
Bunk Bed Baskets To The Rescue
My second big key to making on the Big Easy is to have a few bunk bed baskets on hand. Yes, I could get by with just one. And one fits easily into the Big Easy basket. But two are just easier. It’s hard to reach down in the original basket and get something off the bottom. With a bunk bed basket (or two), I just lift the basket and the food right out and onto my countertop (well, cutting board if it’s hot).
It’s a bit of a science to get two bunk bed baskets into the Big Easy but it’s quite doable. Play with it a few times first, without any food in them, and you’ll get the hang of it.
The Big Swap
Food near the bottom of the Big Easy basket tends to cook or bake faster than food higher up. Most of the time that’s not an issue. With this manicotti, I decided to swap the two pans of food around towards the end so they both browned evenly. With two bunk bed baskets this was very easy to do.
Oh Yeah, The Food!
Did I mention that this manicotti is delicious! The Italian sausage and spinach stuffed pasta tubes get cooked perfectly, and are just packed with flavor. I used a good quality, tasty marinara sauce. And plenty of cheese. Maybe a little extra. It’s possible. Boy, did this come out great!
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Manicotti on the Char-Broil Big Easy
Equipment
- 2 Char-Broil Bunk Bed Basket optional
Ingredients
- 8 ounces manicotti Some always end up tearing, I recommend cooking 10-12 ounces just in case!
- 1 pound Italian sausage bulk or in casings
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cups spinach fresh, chopped
- 8 ounces mozzarella shredded, divided
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated, divided
- 1 egg slightly beaten
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus more for cooking the pasta
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 24 ounces spaghetti sauce
Instructions
- Cook the pasta per the manufacturer's instructions. Drain well and spread out onto a baking sheet to cool and dry.
- Meanwhile, crumble the sausage (remove from casings first if using links) into a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until almost done.
- Add the onion and continue cooking until it has softened and the sausage is cooked through.
- Add the spinach. Stir and cook another 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
- Remove skillet from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan along with the egg, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Spray the two pans with non-stick spray.
- Fire up your Big Easy so it heats up while you stuff the pasta tubes.
- Spread 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of each pan.
- Stuff each manicotti with the sausage mixture. I prefer to block one end of the tub with one hand while using the other hand to stuff the tubes (gently).
- Place stuffed tubes into the pans. Do not stack. You might have to kind of wiggle and shove them in to get them to fit.
- If you have leftover meat mixture just sprinkle it around and in between the manicotti.
- Divide remaining sauce over the tops of the manicotti.
- Cover the fans with foil.
- Place one pan in the bottom of your Big Easy. If you have 2 Bunk Bed baskets, put the pan in a basket instead and lower it to the bottom of the Big Easy basket and attach at the sides.
- Place the other pan in a Bunk Bed basket and lower it into the Big Easy basket. It will rest on top of the first basket if you are using two. Otherwise, just attach it to the sides of the Big Easy basket just above the first pan.
- Cook for 35 minutes. There is no need to swap the pans.
- Remove the foil. Top the pans with the remaining cheeses.
- Return the pans to the Big Easy and cook another 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and turns golden brown. The top pan will cook slower than the bottom. If desired, rotate the pans after 15 minutes.
- Remove pans from the Big Easy and let rest 15 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
