What’s not to love about Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Shells?! It’s a classic pasta dish that never fails.
Loaded with ricotta, fresh mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, and lots of love!
This pasta dish is a total crowd-pleaser. I love making these when I’m craving lasagna but don’t want to hassle with making an entire pan of lasagna. Ya feel me?!
When the lasagna craving hits we also love making this Skillet Rotini Lasagna and this Ravioli Lasagna Recipe !
Colder months means cozying up with all of the comfort food and this meal fits the bill. Grab your jumbo shells and let’s get to it!
Ingredient Notes:
You can scroll down to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
- Jumbo Shells: Undercooking the shells 1-2 minutes or just until al dente is perfect because they will continue to cook in the oven. Tip: always cook a few extra shells just in case some tear or break when cooking.
- Ricotta cheese: I love using a whole milk ricotta. It’s creamy and just so perfect.
- Garlic: freshly minced
- Marinara sauce: any jarred marinara or tomato sauce works perfectly here. We love Rao’s.
- Shredded mozzarella: Buy fresh, low-moisture mozzarella for best results
- Parmesan cheese: Same goes for the Parmesan, buy a block and shred/grate yourself for best results.
- Baby spinach: This recipe hasn’t been tested with frozen spinach so I can’t advise on how that would work. I’d imagine frozen would work well though too!
- Seasonings: salt, pepper, onion powder, fresh basil
- Optional: To make this a heartier meal, we love adding in ground Italian Sausage. As you can see from the photos, we love adding the Italian sausage in ours!
Step by Step Directions
Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe instructions.
- Boil jumbo shells: cook al dente according to package directions (I usually cook the entire 12 oz. box just in case some break when cooking)
- Cook spinach in olive oil until it cooks down and turns bright green.
- Make the filling: Mix t ogether the cheeses, egg, basil and seasonings.
- Assemble the shells: Spread a layer of marinara down in the casserole dish. Stuff each shell with cheese mixture.
- Cover and bake !
Tips and Variations
This recipe is really flexible and you and customize it based on your preferences.
- If wanting to add Italian sausage, cook it separately and layer it down in the shell first, then add the cheese mixture.
- Instead of spinach, you can use kale or arugula.
- Change up the cheese if you prefer. Asiago, Fontina, Cottage cheese are all good options. I still recommend using ricotta as the base and wouldn’t skip out on that.
- Instead of red sauce, use a different sauce such as Alfredo. So YUM!
- Add more veggies when sautéing the spinach: broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc.
More pasta recipes you will love:
Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake with Broccoli
Hamburger Macaroni
Skillet Lasagna Recipe with Rotini
Easy Shell Pasta with Ground Turkey
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Cheesy Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 20-25 jumbo pasta shells*
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 jar (24 oz.) or 1 1/4 cup marinara sauce
- 16 oz. Italian Sausage (spicy/hot) optional
- 15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan plus more for serving
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 Tbsp. fresh basil
- 4 cups chopped fresh baby spinach (pat dry with paper towels)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Boil water for jumbo shells and cook shells al dente (about 8-9 minutes), drain and set aside on parchment paper to cool. (If making with Italian Sausage, cook the sausage now and set aside in a bowl). 20-25 jumbo pasta shells*, 16 oz. Italian Sausage (spicy/hot)
- Heat olive oil in pan for 30 seconds on medium heat and then add in garlic, stir for 30 more seconds. Then add in dry, chopped spinach, stir and cook for 2 minutes or until leaves wilt and turn bright green. Remove from heat and let cool. 1 1/2 Tbsp. Olive Oil, 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced, 4 cups chopped fresh baby spinach (pat dry with paper towels)
- In a large bowl mix together the ricotta, spinach mixture, egg, mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, onion powder and salt and pepper until combined. Line 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce into the bottom on a 9x13 inch oven safe baking dish. Stuff each pasta shell with a heaping Tbsp. of the spinach/ricotta mixture and place in dish. *If using Italian sausage, put ground sausage in first, then cheese mixture on top. 15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, 1 large egg, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 Tbsp. fresh basil, Salt and pepper to taste
- Cover the shells with the leftover red sauce and bake, covered with foil, for 25 minutes. 1 jar (24 oz.) or 1 1/4 cup marinara sauce
- Remove the foil, top with additional mozzarella cheese and then cook for another 5-10 minutes. Serve warm with Parmesan sprinkled on top!
Video
Notes
- *Jumbo Shells: always boil off a few extra shells just in case some shells tear in the cooking process. The 12 oz. box is plenty. There are usually a couple of broken ones in the box so boil extra!
- You can sub ground turkey for the Italian sausage is desired, or leave out the meat completely.
- *Be sure dry your spinach because you don’t want any water from the spinach leaves to mix with the hot oil in your pan when you begin the wilting step!
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
