Cheese and spinach stuffed pasta shells draped in marinara sauce and then sprinkled with even more cheese make these Stuffed Shells a family-favorite, comforting dish.
This modifiable great recipe with a make-ahead option helps you save on prep time for an absolutely delicious and super quick weeknight dinner.
Why You'll Love This Stuffed Shells Recipe
- Cheesy. It doesn’t get any cheesier than this, loaded with 3 types of cheese.
- Comforting. Baked pasta dishes are nourishing and comfort food at its best.
- Adjustable. Change up the pasta shape, add veggies to the sauce, or use different cheese or spices. Play around with the ingredients to suit your taste preferences.
🛒Ingredients
- Jumbo shells - jumbo pasta shells are the easiest to stuff but you can use smaller ones.
- Olive oil - extra virgin olive oil is best but any kind will work.
- Garlic - fresh minced garlic cloves taste great but jarred garlic is a good substitute.
- Spinach - use fresh spinach leaves to mix with the ricotta cheese. If you can’t find fresh, frozen spinach, thawed and drained well is a good alternative.
- Ricotta cheese - creamy ricotta cheese makes for a hearty filling for these shells. You can also use cottage cheese though your filling may be a little more watery.
- Parmesan cheese - freshly grated parmesan cheese adds more cheesy goodness and a touch of saltiness.
- Egg - egg helps to bind the ricotta mixture.
- Seasonings - use salt, ground black pepper, dried parsley, dried basil, and dried oregano.
- Marinara sauce - jarred marinara or pasta sauce makes for quicker prep but you can make your own homemade marinara sauce too.
- Mozzarella cheese - use shredded mozzarella to top the stuffed shells.
- Fresh parsley - for garnish add a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down to where you'll find the recipe card.
🥘 How To Prepare Stuffed Shells Recipe
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly coat a baking pan with cooking spray.
Boil the shells in a large pot of salted water according to the package directions or until just before they are al dente.
STEP 2: Saute the garlic and spinach in a hot pan on medium heat, until the spinach wilts.
Turn off the heat, let the spinach cool, and squeeze out the excess moisture. Once cool, finely chop the spinach.
STEP 3: In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, chopped spinach, egg, and seasonings.
STEP 4: Pour a small amount of marinara sauce into the bottom of a baking dish, just enough to cover the bottom lightly.
STEP 5: Fill each shell with approximately 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of the ricotta cheese mixture and place them in the pan.
Add another layer of marinara sauce over the stuffed shells and generously sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese.
STEP 6: Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are bubbly and the cheese is thoroughly melted. Let the baked pasta dish sit for a couple of minutes before serving.
📋Tips
- Cook the pasta shells until they are just al dente. Rinse with cold water and drizzle some olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.
- Taste the ricotta filling and adjust the seasoning according to your preference.
- For a heartier meal use meat sauce or cook ground beef with tomato sauce and fresh basil for a marinara sauce option.
- You can also use a piping bag with the cheese filling to stuff the shells.
- Variations - Feel free to season the marinara sauce with fresh herbs, or Italian seasoning for more flavor, or add Italian sausage for a heartier dish or even sprinkle with red pepper flakes to spice it up.
Make sure to squeeze out any excess moisture from the cooked spinach before mixing it with the ricotta. This prevents the filling from becoming too watery.
Storing Leftovers
- 🍱To Store. Leftover stuffed shells will keep in an airtight container or covered tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- 🥶Freezing. Freeze leftover shells for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven or the microwave.
- 🔥To Reheat. You can easily prepare the stuffed shells and store them in the fridge to cook the next day or for up to 2 days before baking them.
👪What To Serve With Stuffed Shells
More Pasta Recipes
For all pasta recipes, hop on to our Pasta collection.
📖Recipe
Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 24 jumbo shells
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 4 cups spinach
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 ½ cups jarred marinara sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- Fresh parsley for garnishing, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly coat a baking pan with cooking spray.
- Boil the shells in a large pot of salted water according to the package directions or until just before they are al dente.
- Saute the garlic and spinach in a hot pan on medium heat, until the spinach wilts.
- Turn off the heat, let the spinach cool, and squeeze out the excess moisture. Once cool, finely chop the spinach.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, chopped spinach, egg, and seasonings.
- Pour a small amount of marinara sauce into the bottom of a baking dish, just enough to cover the bottom lightly.
- Fill each shell with approximately 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of the ricotta cheese mixture and place them in the pan.
- Add another layer of marinara sauce over the stuffed shells and generously sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are bubbly and the cheese is thoroughly melted. Let the baked pasta dish sit for a couple of minutes before serving.
Notes
- To Store. Leftover stuffed shells will keep in an airtight container or covered tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing. Freeze leftover shells for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven or the microwave.
- To Reheat. You can easily prepare the stuffed shells and store them in the fridge to cook the next day or for up to 2 days before baking them.
- Cook the pasta shells until they are just al dente. Rinse with cold water and drizzle some olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.
- Variations - Feel free to season the marinara sauce with fresh herbs, or Italian seasoning for more flavor, or add Italian sausage for a heartier dish or even sprinkle with red pepper flakes to spice it up.
Nutrition
🤷Frequently Asked Questions
Manicotti is a long tubular shaped pasta that you can stuff with the same ricotta and spinach filling. Though the shape is different the taste will be quite similar.
If you want to make sure the shells don’t stick together drizzle them with a touch of olive oil after you drain them.
Rita
these stuffed shells are the perfect comfort food!