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If you want to make a recipe that will make you dream bite after bite, then you have to try this vegan manicotti with mushroom ragout and sour cream bechamel. This recipe is absurdly delicious and although it takes a bit of time to make, it's 100% worth it!

In the recipe (which you'll find at the bottom of the page) you'll see that I explain how to make the manicotti by hand, however if you don't have enough time you can also use store-bought manicotti. These are always vegan and delicious!
Before you make this recipe, I recommend you read this blog post carefully so you understand each step exactly.
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- How to make mushroom ragout
- Sour cream bechamel
- Manicotti: store-bought or freshly made?
- How to make manicotti shells
- How to fill manicotti
- How to assemble manicotti
- How to bake manicotti
- Manicotti make ahead option
- More recipes you may like:
- If you try this vegan manicotti recipe….
- 📖 Recipe/Rezept
- 💬 Comments/Kommentar
Ingredients
To make this vegan manicotti you will need the following ingredients:
- mushrooms
- carrot
- onion
- garlic
- celery
- tomato paste
- red wine
- pelati
- white flour
- turmeric or saffron (optional, for the color of the dough)
- olive oil
- soy milk (unsweetened)
- nutmeg
- vegan sour cream
How to make mushroom ragout
For the mushroom ragout, we start by grinding the mushrooms coarsely. To do this, we put ⅓ of the mushrooms in a food processor and chop them for a few seconds, then we put them in a bowl and repeat the process with the rest of the mushrooms.
I recommend not overfilling the food processor so that the mushrooms can be chopped evenly.
Once all the mushrooms are chopped, we heat some olive oil in a pan and once it's hot, we start sautéing the mushrooms, stirring occasionally.
When all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated and the mushrooms are golden brown, we put them in a bowl and start preparing the soffritto.
To prepare the soffritto, we first chop onion, carrot, garlic and celery finely.
Then, in the same pan where we sautéed the mushrooms, we heat a generous amount of olive oil. When the oil is hot, we add the chopped vegetables and fry them until they are nice and golden brown.
Then we add the tomato paste and sauté it for 2-3 minutes. Next, we add the mushrooms, mix well and deglaze the mixture with the red wine. We let the sauce simmer until the wine has completely evaporated.
Then we add the tomatoes, adjust it with salt and pepper and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Finally, we take the ragout off the heat and let it cool down while we prepare the béchamel and manicotti.
Sour cream bechamel
To make the bechamel we start by melting the butter in a large pan. Once melted, we add the flour and mix everything well.
Then little by little we add the soy milk, always stirring vigorously. Once all the vegetable milk is incorporated, we add the sour cream. Finally, we add salt, pepper and nutmeg and allow the bechamel simmer until thick and creamy.
If the bechamel has lumps, we can put it in a blender and puree it for a few seconds. Once the béchamel is ready, we can let it cool and start preparing the manicotti.
Manicotti: store-bought or freshly made?
Homemade manicotti are a delicacy and with a little practice also quite simple and quick to prepare.
However, it takes about 1 hour to make them by hand (I make them in 30 minutes, but I've been making them for years, so I have a lot of experience). So if you don't have that much time, I recommend using store-bought manicotti. Either way, the result will be delicious.
Store-bought manicotti are always vegan and a great alternative for those who don't have the time or interest to make them themselves.
If you use store-bought ones, I recommend reading the instructions on the package and blanching them for 2-3 minutes, draining them on a dish towel, and then filling them with the ragout.
How to make manicotti shells
To make homemade manicotti shells, we first put flour, water and saffron or turmeric in a food processor and mix everything for a few seconds until we get a lumpy mixture (the mass should not form a ball, add flour if necessary).
Then we put the mixture on a clean working surface and form it into a ball. We cover the ball with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
If you don't have a food processor, you can put all the ingredients in a bowl and knead until you get a lump-free mixture.
After 15 minutes we take the dough out of the refrigerator and divide it into 3 equal parts. With a pasta machine or a rolling pin we roll out each piece of dough into rectangular sheets 1.5 mm thick.
Then we cut the sheets into 15x15 cm (6''x6'') squares and place them on a clean dish towel.
Once all the dough squares are formed, we bring a pot of salted water to a boil. When it starts boiling, we blanch the squares one by one for 15-20 seconds and then place them on a clean dish towel (as in the photo below).
How to fill manicotti
Finally, we fill the manicotti. To do this, we put a square of dough on a cutting board, put the ragout in a piping bag and pipe a strip of ragout on the edge of the square of dough (as shown in the photo below).
Then we roll up the dough with the help of our hands, making sure that the end edge stays at the bottom of the manicotto (so that it doesn't open up during baking).
How to assemble manicotti
When the manicotti are ready, we spread the rest of the ragout and a few tablespoons of béchamel onto the bottom of a large casserole dish and we top the sauce with the manicotti.
Finally, we cover the manicotti with the remaining bechamel and add vegan parmesan and vegetable butter flakes on top.
How to bake manicotti
Once ready, we put the manicotti in the oven and bake them for 35 minutes at 200 ° C (400 °F) until golden and crispy.
Manicotti make ahead option
You can make manicotti ahead of time with no problems.
- To make them 1 day in advance: make the manicotti as described in the recipe below, once the casserole is ready cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. The next day preheat the oven and bake them for 35 minutes at 200 °C (400 °F).
- To make them more than 1 day in advance: make the manicotti as described in the recipe below, once the casserole is ready cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. The day before serving them, remove the casserole from the freezer and let it thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Then bake the manicotti in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes at 200 °C (400 °F).
More recipes you may like:
- Sesame crusted Mushroom Pie
- Vegan Chickpea Nuggets
- The Ultimate Vegan Wellington
- Vegan Mushroom Pasta
If you try this vegan manicotti recipe….
Please let me know! Leave a comment, rate the recipe and don't forget to tag a photo with #carlocao or #vegaliciously on Instagram or Tiktok.
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📖 Recipe/Rezept
Vegan Manicotti with Mushroom Ragout and Sour Cream Béchamel
Ingredients
Mushroom ragout
- 1 kg portobello mushrooms finely chopped ((35 oz))
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1 stick of celery chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 50 g dried porcini mushrooms or morels soaked in 200 ml warm water squeezed out and chopped ((1¾ oz))
- 200 ml red wine ((⅘ cup))
- 500 g pelati ((17 oz))
Bechamel
- 100 g vegan butter ((3½ oz))
- 100 g white flour ((3½ oz))
- 800 ml soy milk unsweetened ((3⅓ cup))
- 250 ml vegan sour cream ((1 cup))
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp nutmeg
Manicotti
- 500 g white flour ((17 oz))
- 200 ml water ((⅘ cup))
- ½ tsp saffron or turmeric
Topping
- vegan parmesan optional
- 40 g vegan butter ((1½ oz))
Instructions
Mushroom ragout
- For the ragout, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan, add mushrooms and sauté until the liquid has completely evaporated and the mushrooms are golden brown (about 15 minutes).
- Then remove mushrooms and place in a bowl.
- In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté until golden brown.
- Add tomato paste and sauté briefly. Then add mushrooms and mix well.
- Deglaze with red wine and simmer until wine is completely evaporated.
- Add pelati, mix well and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Finally, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Bechamel
- For the béchamel sauce, melt butter over low heat.
- Then turn off the heat and add the flour, stirring vigorously with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming.
- Return the saucepan to low heat and cook the mixture briefly until golden brown.
- Gradually pour in the milk, stirring vigorously.
- Let the béchamel simmer briefly until it thickens.
- Then add sour cream and mix well.
- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and set aside.
Manicotti
- For the manicotti, place flour, water and saffron or turmeric in a food processor and blend briefly.
- Place the mixture on a clean surface and shape into a ball.
- Wrap with plastic wrap and give in the refrigerator for 15 min.
- Cut the dough into 3 equal parts.
- Roll out dough into 1.5 mm thick rectangular sheets.
- Cut dough sheets into 15 cm (7'') squares.
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Then one by one cook the dough squares for about 20 seconds.
- Then drain and place on a clean kitchen towel.
- Preheat oven to 200 °C (400 °F) and put ragout in a piping bag.
- Fill the pasta sheets with ragout (see picture).
- Roll up the sheets of pasta(see picture).
- Pour the remaining ragout and a few tablespoons of bechamel on the bottom of a large baking dish and place the manicotti on top.
- Cover manicotti with remaining bechamel and top with vegan parmesan and butter flakes.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes.
Shirlee Gage says
This recipe is superb! I am so glad I found you! ❤️ Thank you for delicious vegan recipes ❤️🙏
carlocao says
Dear Shirlee, thank you so much for your feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe! Best, Carlo
Dana says
Just finished eating this, love it. I'm not a huge fan of wine so I think I'm going to omit it next time, but the recipe for the sauce I'm going to use as a base for everything. Will definitely make again. EXTREMELY filling, could only eat 2.
carlocao says
Hi Dana, I'm glad you liked this recipe. thank you for your feedback. Hugs Carlo
Tricia says
Can you use pre made manicotti shells?
carlocao says
Hi Tricia, you totally can. Best, Carlo