Olive Garden Four Cheese Manicotti (Copycat)

Jump to Recipe

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read our disclosure policy

Olive Garden Four Cheese Manicotti has tender pasta shells that get stuffed with a creamy blend of ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan, then baked over marinara until the whole pan is hot and bubbly. It's the one everybody orders, and it's genuinely easy to pull off at home — if you like a good copycat, my Olive Garden Herb Grilled Salmon is another restaurant favorite worth stealing.

A spatula scooping up manicotti from a baking dish.

The four cheeses are doing different jobs, which is why this tastes better than a plain ricotta filling. Ricotta keeps it creamy, mozzarella brings the stretch, provolone adds a sharper edge and parmesan brings the salty, nutty finish.

A piping bag fills the shells in about two minutes with no tearing and no mess, and three minutes under the broiler at the end gives you that browned, blistered cheese on top. Serve it the way the restaurant does — with Ciabatta Garlic Bread and a Chopped Greek Salad.

Quick Look: Copycat Olive Garden Manicotti

⏱️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
🕒 Total Time: 45 minutes
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Servings: 6
📊 Calories: ~506 kcal per serving
🥣 Ingredients: Manicotti shells, ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, marinara sauce.
⭐ Difficulty: Easy — the piping bag does the fiddly part, and the oven does the rest

Summarize & Save This Content On

Table of Contents

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Restaurant Night at Home. You get the Olive Garden dish without the drive, the wait, or the check at the end. One box of pasta and a few bags of shredded cheese feed six people.

Simple Ingredients. Manicotti shells, four cheeses, an egg, and a jar of marinara. It's all regular grocery store stuff, and the jarred sauce does real work here so you're not simmering anything for hours.

Make It Ahead. You can assemble the whole pan up to 24 hours before you bake it, which makes this a real option for company or a busy weeknight.

If you're working your way through the Olive Garden menu at home, my Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta and Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo are the other two I make on repeat.

Ingredients Needed

Manicotti shells: One 8 ounce box, about 14 shells. Cook them only to al dente — they finish cooking in the oven.
Ricotta cheese: It's the creamy base of the filling, and its mild flavor lets the other three cheeses come through.
Mozzarella: One cup goes in the filling for stretch; the rest goes on top for that bubbly golden finish.
Provolone: Provolone is what gives the filling a sharper, more grown-up flavor instead of tasting like plain ricotta.
Marinara sauce: Your favorite jarred sauce is completely fine here!

How to Make Olive Garden Four Cheese Manicotti

Manicotti cooked and cheese mixture being mixed in a bowl.

Step 1: Boil the manicotti shells to al dente, then lay them on a lightly oiled baking sheet and let them cool.
Step 2: Combine the shredded mozzarella, provolone and parmesan in a large bowl.
Step 3: Add the ricotta, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley and salt.
Step 4: Mix until smooth, then load the filling into a piping bag.

Manicotti being filled with cheese and placed into a baking dish.

Step 5: Pipe the filling into each cooled shell.
Step 6: Spread marinara in the bottom of the baking dish and arrange the filled shells on top.
Step 7: Pour more marinara down the middle.
Step 8: Top with the remaining cheese, cover with foil and bake, then broil to brown the cheese.

Olive garden manicotti in a baking dish.

Recipe Tips

Al dente is not optional. The shells keep cooking in the oven under the sauce. Boil them soft, and they'll tear when you fill them and turn to mush by the time they come out.
Oil the sheet pan, then oil the shells. Cooked manicotti sticks to themselves and to the pan. A lightly oiled pan plus a spray over the top keeps them separate while they cool.
Let them cool the full 10 minutes. Hot shells are floppy and much easier to split. Ten minutes firms them up enough to handle.
Cut the piping bag wider than feels right. An inch and a half sounds like a lot, but the filling has shredded cheese in it, and a narrow opening just clogs.
One box makes more than one 9x13. A 9x13 dish holds about 8 or 9 filled shells, and the box has 13 or 14. Either cook half the shells and halve the filling, or bake the extras in an 11x7 dish.

Olive Garden Four Cheese Manicotti Recipe FAQ's

Can I freeze the leftovers?

Refrigerating is what I'd recommend — leftovers keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can freeze it, but the ricotta filling's texture may change a little once it thaws.

Can I make four cheese manicotti ahead of time?

Yes, up to 24 hours ahead. Fill the shells, arrange them in the baking dish, add the sauce and the cheese topping, then cover tightly with foil and refrigerate. Pull the dish out while the oven preheats and bake as directed in Step 8.

Why do my manicotti shells keep tearing?

Cooked manicotti is delicate. Boil the shells only to al dente, move them carefully onto a lightly oiled baking sheet, and let them cool before filling. A piping bag helps too — it puts much less stress on the shell than a spoon does.

Can I use a different cheese if I don't have provolone?

Mild provolone gives the filling a creamy, slightly sharp flavor that plays off the other cheeses. Extra mozzarella is the closest substitute if you need one, though the filling will come out milder.