Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
In this easy spinach and ricotta stuffed shells recipe, three cheeses combine with quick sauteed spinach, marinara sauce, and jumbo pasta shells for a hearty and comforting, crowd-pleasing vegetarian dinner.
Growing up, I was one of those bizarre children who actually liked eating vegetables. For a long time, spinach was my very favorite, and I would eat big bowls of it simply steamed, or sometimes with a little sprinkling of cheese.
I loved those leafy greens. Before you envy my parents having a child content to munch on spinach, sweet potatoes, peas, tomatoes, or other fresh produce procured in our family vegetable garden, they also lived through my angst-filled adolescent years, and I’m sure they’ll remind you that it all evens out in the end.
Today we still eat a lot of spinach, and I like incorporating it into recipes for a healthy boost. In this spinach and ricotta stuffed shells recipe, we combine quick sauteed spinach with creamy ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, all tucked in to extra-large pasta shells and baked to bubbly goodness. The result is a healthy and hearty baked pasta dish that makes for a crowd-pleasing vegetarian meal.
PrintSpinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian-inspired
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
In this easy spinach and ricotta stuffed shells recipe, three cheeses combine with quick sauteed spinach and jumbo pasta shells for a hearty and comforting, crowd-pleasing vegetarian dinner.
Ingredients
- 16 jumbo pasta shells (Cook a couple of extra shells to allow for a few breaking while the pasta cooks.)
- 1–1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
- 4 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves, roughly-chopped
- 12 oz skim-milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded skim-milk mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
- 1–1/4 cups marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown, about a minute or two. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves begin to wilt but are still bright green, about 3 to 4 minutes. The spinach should be reduced by half. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, basil and salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. Pour 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a shallow 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Stuff each pasta shell with a generous amount of the spinach and ricotta mixture, and place in the baking dish.
- Cover with the remaining sauce and bake covered with aluminum foil for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top begins to brown and the sauce begins the bubble, another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with a dusting of Parmesan.
Keywords: spinach stuffed shells, ricotta, baked pasta, easy dinner, vegetarian
Can you use whole ricotta and mozzarella cheese?
Absolutely!! 🙂
Wondering if anyone has made this without egg and how it came out? Thanks!
Made this dish for office party . It was a huge hit. Definitely one of my favorites
★★★★★
With Covid 19 it’s nice to make something different. I have made this a second time today absolutely the best comfort food !
You can certainly can add your own extra touches but I find this very straightforward and delicious I wouldn’t change a thing.
Prep time is short if you are organized it goes together quickly !!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Nancy!!
Delicious!
These were AMAZING! We followed the recipe exactly. We’re definitely going to be making them more often.
★★★★★
Made and added Italian sausage to the ricotta mix…along with spinach and garlic… tasty and delicious!! Left a few plain ones for the kiddos…thanks for sharing!
It was super easy to make. Filling and delicious! It was a big hit with the family. Xo thank you
I accidentally bought frozen spinach instead of fresh. Can I use it? I was thinking of thawing and draining it, then sautéing it as per your recipe…
Hi Radhika! You can absolutely use frozen spinach – just thaw and drain like you described and cook according to the recipe. Enjoy!!
Tried this tonight.. my husband had 5 shells! Our daughter made another version of these, said these were better.. thank you! Delicious
Thanks so much, Pat!! Sounds like my husband 😉
Husband loved these, which he didn’t expect to do. I ended up with a creamy stuffing because I didn’t read the recipe closely enough. So I pureed all the stuffing items (because I hadn’t chopped the spinach before cooking). This is similar to a spinach lasagna I’ve been making for years in that that includes a spinach-ricotta element but has meat sauce rather than tomato sauce. I used Hazan’s tomato sauce with a little garlic added. Just fabulous. I had to substitute dried basil for the leaves, but that didn’t seem to affect the end product. DELICIOUS!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Mura!! So happy to hear you loved these as much as we do 🙂
These are so delicious, this is my second time making them. My family goes NUTS over them! It’s so silly that I never thought to do an egg to my eye mixture to keep I all together, and in the main cook in my house! This uses the perfect amount of cheese filling the right ratio of ingredients. Thanks for the recipe, it’s the only one I’ll ever use from now on!
★★★★★
Whoops, so many typos!
*never thought to add an egg to my cheese mixture
*I’m the main cook
★★★★★
Made these last night and they were fantastic. So flavourful!
This is the best recipe for stuffed shells ever! Love that you use fresh spinach, not frozen. Thank you for sharing this delicious and healthy recipe.
★★★★★
This recipe is actually amazing!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Jesse!!
I made this as written and wouldn’t change a thing. It makes me so happy when I try a new recipe and it turns out even better then expected. Thanks for a simple recipe that is fresh and flavorful. I will make this dish again and again, its that good!!
Really awesome! I made some slight tweaks. I chopped up the spinach with scissors and just used the rest of my baby spinach, was probably a little less than what it called for. I also chopped up 4 big white mushrooms for heartiness and half an onion. I sautéed those and then added the garlic and spinach. I then dolloped sauce on top and didn’t smother it and then added more shredded mozzarella on top. I bought a big loaf and shredded myself. Omg so much better than pre shredded mozzarella, it has so much moisture! Overall a great recipe. Will double it next time and freeze!
★★★★★
where do you find the shells, can’t find them anywhere.
Mary
Hmmm… I can find these at most of our local grocery stores (Safeway, Target, Fred Meyer etc.) but if you can’t find them locally you can also buy them online: http://amzn.to/2uSNS8z Hope that helps!!
Try homegood store they bring food from all over the world
Today I found the biggest shell you can’t imagine
Trying this recipe tomorrow
I got mine at Wal-Mart
I moved to a 9 by 11 dish to get all 16 in and added moz and park on top.
Loved this recipe! I substituted chopped kale for the spinach and used bechamel instead of marinara-delicious. So delicious in fact, my husband ate almost the entire pan of shells!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Diane!! I’m so happy to hear you love this one – your substitutions sound amazing!
Loved this recipe! I substituted chopped kale for the spinach and used bechamel instead of marinara-delicious. So delicious in fact, my husband ate almost the entire pan of shells!!