I’m trying a recipe for Baked Manicotti from America’s Test Kitchen. Instead of the premade manicotti tubes, they suggest using softened no-boil lasagna noodles. You soak them in hot water for 5 or 10 minutes to make them pliable, and it works really, really well. I managed to find some whole-wheat no-boil lasagna noodles, but they behaved exactly like regular ones.
They also suggest that when buying ricotta, you look for one without any gums or stablilizers.
I followed their recipe to the letter, deviating only in that I added some minced shallot to the marinara with the garlic, and that I added some chopped chives to the cheese filling along with the parsley and basil. It turned out very well, although I recommend you put a layer of parchment paper between the foil and the tomato sauce in the pan if your pan isn’t particularly deep.
