fresh manicotti--make day before or day of?

[italia84]

I want to make some homemade manicotti for Easter. I've made it several times, but always cooked it immediately after making the pasta and filling them. Do you think it's ok to prepare the manicotti the night before and keep it in the fridge? (Prepare as in fill them, sauce them, put them in the pan they're going to be cooked in the next day)

If not, can I make the pasta dough the day before, wrap it, keep it in the fridge overnight and then roll and fill the next morning? (again, I've made fresh pasta hundreds of times, but never stored it...)

Thanks!

[Astur]

If you want to make them ahead do the crepe version and they are better being baked the next day. Nothing wrong with the pasta version ahead but the crepe version works really well for that so it works to your advantage. That way you can make the crepes now and refrigerate them and then fill them more at your leisure.

[Parigi]

So how was your trip to Paris?

[nomadchowwoman]

I've often made and stuffed cannelloni (which I think is the same as manicotti made with pasta) a day, even two, before serving.
And I hope the rolled out pasta I dried slightly and refrigerated will last a few days as I'm planning on making cannelloni tomorrow to serve Saturday night.

[escondido123]

I agree with Jans and roxlet. Manicotti isn't very different from lasagna which is fine made a day ahead.so I wouldn't worry at all. (You don't want to keep pasta dough for very long, even overnight when raw it can turn grey because of the eggs.)

[roxlet]

I have done manicotti both ways, and don't see an appreciable difference. You're making the one with the pasta and not with the crespele, right? I find that when I make them (either way) and bake the next day, I need a tad more sauce. But there should be no difference. They should be fine either way.

[Janskitchen]

I make homemade manicotti as well. I don't see why you couldn't make it the day before. You could also make them now and freeze the manicotti individually and then defrost and sauce on Easter morning.