diff --git a/pyiceberg/table/snapshots.py b/pyiceberg/table/snapshots.py
index b21a0f5613..b8d4073bd4 100644
--- a/pyiceberg/table/snapshots.py
+++ b/pyiceberg/table/snapshots.py
@@ -24,9 +24,10 @@
 from pydantic import Field, PrivateAttr, model_serializer
 
 from pyiceberg.io import FileIO
-from pyiceberg.manifest import DataFile, DataFileContent, ManifestFile, read_manifest_list
+from pyiceberg.manifest import DataFile, DataFileContent, ManifestFile
 from pyiceberg.partitioning import UNPARTITIONED_PARTITION_SPEC, PartitionSpec
 from pyiceberg.schema import Schema
+from pyiceberg.utils.manifest_util import fetch_manifests
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from pyiceberg.table.metadata import TableMetadata
@@ -248,10 +249,8 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
         return result_str
 
     def manifests(self, io: FileIO) -> List[ManifestFile]:
-        if self.manifest_list is not None:
-            file = io.new_input(self.manifest_list)
-            return list(read_manifest_list(file))
-        return []
+        """Return the manifests for the given snapshot."""
+        return fetch_manifests(io, self.manifest_list)
 
 
 class MetadataLogEntry(IcebergBaseModel):
diff --git a/pyiceberg/utils/manifest_util.py b/pyiceberg/utils/manifest_util.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c4dbc243ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyiceberg/utils/manifest_util.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+from functools import lru_cache
+from typing import List, Optional
+
+from pyiceberg.io import FileIO
+from pyiceberg.manifest import ManifestFile, read_manifest_list
+
+
+@lru_cache
+def fetch_manifests(io: FileIO, manifest_list: Optional[str]) -> List[ManifestFile]:
+    """Return the manifests for the given snapshot."""
+    if manifest_list not in (None, ""):
+        file = io.new_input(manifest_list)  # type: ignore
+        return list(read_manifest_list(file))
+    return []