You've Been Filling Stuffed Pasta All Wrong

If you're a fan of stuffed pastas, but worried that they were too difficult to make at home, then you might have avoided cooking stuffed shells, manicotti, or other stuffed pasta dishes in the past. Those of you who have tried to fill pasta with a spoon might have also found that the shapes will sometimes tear once cooked, so getting them filled and baked to perfection may have seemed almost impossible. However, we're here to tell you that — provided you have the right tools — making stuffed pasta dishes can actually be quite simple.

Employing the proper tools can make stuffing pasta a breeze. Just like when making another Italian favorite, the cannoli, you should be using some sort of bag to pipe your filling carefully into the cooked pastas rather than dropping or forcing the filling in with a fork, spoon, or knife. Piping will makes things so much easier and neater (via Cuisine at Home).

To fill your pasta by using a pastry bag or a quart-sized plastic bag, you'll first need to fill the bag itself. To do this, you'll want to place your bag point down inside a tall glass or cup. Fold the open end of the bag over the edge of your glass — this will help keep the bag in place as you fill it. Using a spoon, dip and drop scoops of the filling into the bag.

Once the bag is full enough (but not too full!), twist it closed and snip the tip of the bag off so you can pipe your filing into the pasta. Just hold one of the cooked pastas in one hand as you pipe the filling inside with your other. Line your filled pastas up in a prepared baking dish or set them aside if you're not ready to use them, and continue until all of the pastas are complete and ready for the oven. After they're done baking, you'll have a neat, delicious meal, ready to eat with much less mess than expected (via Good Life Eats).