Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Manicotti

After several nights of sandwiches for dinner, I finally got my butt back into the kitchen. But I was stuck with the question: "What to make?!"

I thought about what we had to use (not much), and, more specifically, what needed to be used before it went bad. The 2 biggest culprits? A giant tub of hummus from Costco and an open jar of marinara sauce.

I wanted to make something new, interesting, and vegan.

I immediately went down the Italian route, thinking of the hummus as a sort of cheese substitute. Once I realized we had spinach to use, spinach & artichoke dip came to mind. But instead of dip, I thought I'd stuff it into pasta and bake it with tomato sauce!

Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Manicotti

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 8 manicotti tubes (about 1/2 of a 16 oz box)
• 1 15 oz can artichoke hearts (packed in water, not marinated in oil)
• 1 8 oz can water chestnuts (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 c spinach
• 1 c hummus
• 5-10 fresh basil leaves (about 1/4 c chopped)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1-1.5 c prepared tomato sauce

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

• Drain and dice the artichoke hearts and water chestnuts (if using). Finely mince the garlic. Heat all 3 in a large skillet over medium until warmed through and fragrant (about 5 minutes).
• Roughly chop spinach and wilt by stirring into the pan of hot veggies.

• Stir in hummus and mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Fill each manicotti tube with hummus mixture. There should be enough to generously fill them.
• Spread 1/2 c tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9X9 casserole dish. Arrange the filled noodles in the dish without overlapping, and top with remaining sauce. Cover with foil or lid. Bake at 375F for 35 minutes, or until bubbly.

OMG, a vegetarian Italian entree that isn't centered on cheese!!

Lovely with a simple salad.

As much as I love cheese, it is hard to escape it...especially in restaurants. I love finding ways to make warm, satisfying vegetarian meals that are also dairy-free!