Manicotti on the Char-Broil Big Easy

Crazy delicious, with a plenty of hot, melted cheese, this dish is easy to put together.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Keyword Big Easy, pasta

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Servings

Calories 460kcal

Author Inspired by a recipe from South Your Mouth

Equipment

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

The instructions above are for cooking both pans at the same time on a Big Easy. This requires a Bunk Bed basket (or two to make it even easier). If you do not have a Bunk Bed basket you'll have to cook one pan at a time.

Nutrition