5 Restaurant Chains With the Best Manicotti, According to Diners
Manicotti is an Italian favorite; however, the baked pasta dish isn’t a common menu item at most Italian chains. Compared to ravioli, spaghetti, or lasagna, the dish is a little more complicated to make and not as mainstream, featuring a large, tube-shaped Italian-American pasta stuffed with a creamy filling, covered in sauce,, and baked. However, a few chains have it, or a version close enough, on the menu. Here are 5 restaurant chains with the best manicotti.
Olive Garden
Olive Garden doesn’t currently have manicotti on the menu, but keep checking back. The popular chain regularly features it as a seasonal special. Earlier this year, there was a Four-Cheese Manicotti, pasta tubes stuffed with a creamy blend of Italian cheeses, baked in homemade marinara, and blanketed with melted mozzarella, and a Three-Meat Manicotti, with the same four-cheese base and smothered in a meat sauce of chopped meatballs, Italian sausage, and pepperoni, on the menu.
Fazoli’s
Fazoli’s also has manicotti seasonally. You might find the Three-Meat Manicotti or Chicken Alfredo Manicotti on the menu if you are lucky. The Three Meat Manicotti features manicotti pasta filled and topped with Fazolis’ classic meat sauce, bacon, Italian sausage, and melted cheeses, while the Chicken Alfredo Manicotti is a fusion of pasta lovers’ favorite dishes, featuring manicotti, Alfredo sauce, roasted chicken, Parmesan-roasted broccoli, and a trio of melted cheeses, then topped with Parmesan panko breadcrumbs for added crunch.
Maggiano’s Little Italy
Maggiano’s Little Italy’s Chicken & Spinach Manicotti is a fan favorite at the upscale Italian chain. It is a creamer, chicken, and spinach-filled erosion of the original. “It was really good,” a diner writes. ” I had the chicken spinach Manicotti and it was FABULOUS, the best I have ever eaten,” another added.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Carrabba’s doesn’t always feature classic manicotti on the menu, but it has a similar dish, the Chicken and Spinach Cannelloni, which is stuffed with chicken, spinach, fontina, and Romano cheese, and baked with a rich blend of pomodoro and cream sauce.
Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano
Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano has a Shrimp & Crab Cannelloni that is inspired by manicotti. It is made with shrimp, crab, and ricotta wrapped in fresh spinach pasta and baked in a rich lobster-tomato cream sauce.