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
I am loving your blog! I just discovered it the other week and have already tried the stuffed shells and banana chocolate muffins-both fantastic!
Keep the recipes coming, they’re wonderful! 🙂
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Thank you so much, Jennifer!!
Is this really supposed to be made in an 8×8? I’ve been looking at other recipes for Stuffed Shells that use the jumbo pasta shells and they mostly say to use a 13 x 9. I am definitely making YOUR recipe (making 2 trays – one to take on Christmas, and one to freeze for a couple of days later!).
I don’t have fresh spinach, can I use frozen spinach?
Yes, just be sure that the spinach is defrosted and drained. Hope you enjoy!
What is the calorie break down for this?
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This recipe is absolutely delicious. I made it ahead of time and put it in the freezer. All I had to do was throw it in the oven! I love the combination of flavors of the spinach and cheese. I made this for my boyfriend and he loved it. Thanks for the great recipe 🙂
Thanks, Elena! So glad you loved the recipe as much as we do!
Can you put this in the refrige and cook at a later time in the day? Temp of oven and how long to cook it then?
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Hi, Samantha! Absolutely, you can make this even the day before. It will bake at the same temperature, but might take a bit longer to cook. Some of this depends on the baking dish, but maybe 10-15 minutes more.
Does this freeze well? I’m expecting international guests and I’m trying to prepare several meals ahead so I won’t have to be in the kitchen most of the time while they are here.
Hi, Jeanne! They do! I’ve had a couple of readers also suggest freezing the pre-made shells individually or in small batches for more flexibility on serving size.
These were delicious! My whole family enjoyed them, including my 3 year old. Thank you!
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Thanks, Amber! I’m so glad you and your family loved them!
These were delicious! Even my 3 year old loved them! Thank you!
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Your presentation photo is beautiful, but it doesn’t look as though there is any sauce on top of the shells. I’m making this for a birthday celebration, and I’d like my dish to look as lovely as yours, so should I top the shells with sauce, or not? Also, I love the idea of adding spinach into the cheese mixture. I’m very anxious to make this dish. Of course, I’ll serve it with a large tossed Italian-style salad and garlic bread. I’m sure our guests will truly enjoy this meal.
Thanks, Angela! It’s important to have at least a light coating of sauce on top of the shells… This keeps the pasta from drying out or burning while they cook. You’re right, there isn’t much on top of the shells in the photo – I wanted the filling to show through – but normally I would use the full amount in the recipe. If you want more of that “look,” try using a thinner pasta sauce rather than a chunky one. Hope that helps, and that you and your guests love the recipe!
Laura I want to use this for my eating light group. Do you have the nutritional value and calories for this dish? How could I make it light?
Hi Judith! I am working on adding nutritional info to all FKS recipes, but I’m not quite there yet. Soon! In the meantime, try using whole wheat pasta shells (if you can find them), and light/skim ricotta and mozzarella.
My daughter won’t eat eggs. Do you think I can just increase the ricotta and add a little water? Or should I use egg replacer?
Hi Adina,
Is it that she doesn’t like eggs? Or can’t/is allergic to eggs?
If she just doesn’t like eggs, I promise you she will never notice. The egg is not there for flavor, but rather as a binder, to keep the cheese together, and you really don’t taste it at all.
If she is allergic, simply omit the egg and continue with the rest of the recipe – no water needed.
Hope that helps!
Thank you Laura for the reciepe. I made it for dinner today and it came out amazing. My boyfriend and friends loved it.
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Thanks, Katie! So glad you all loved the recipe!
Sounds wonderful!!! But what do you serve with it?? Salad?? If so what kind??
Hi Dorothy! I would definitely serve this with a salad… The stuffed shells are almost a complete meal themselves, but a light salad would be a nice side. Lately I’ve been loving big spinach salads with fresh cherry tomatoes, diced red onion, kalamata olives, cucumber, avocado, pine nuts (or almonds) and a liberal amount of goat cheese (or feta), which has a really fresh, summery/Mediterranean vibe that would be really good with the shells. Honestly though, I think any green salad would be great with this. Let me know what you end up making, and enjoy your dinner party!!
Thanks so much for this recipe, it’s one of our favorites now. My boyfriend loves pasta and I usually avoid it, but I actually really like this one and of course so does he. 🙂 Thanks again!
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Want to service spinach & ricotta stuffed shells for dinner party…but what do I serve with it?? If a salad,,,what kind of salad?? HELP!!
Will attempt my first ravioli/pierogi with homemade pasta tonight and was looking for a spinach ricotta filling and I will try this one. The shells look extremely tempting, but I really must try my own pasta first!
I don’t understand the following: “The spinach should be reduced by half.” The amount? Wy waste 2 cups of spinach? Not sure what to do…
No, no! Don’t throw away the spinach! What that means is that the spinach will cook down considerably, reducing the overall volume of spinach by about half (as much of the natural water in the spinach cooks away.) You’ll end up using the full amount you start with… Hope that helps!
It means that after you cook the spinach, the amount will be reduced by a half.
She just means that you should wait to remove the spinach from the heat until the size of the original amount of spinach is half the size of when you started cooking it- that’s when you know it’s done. It’s size is reduced by half. 🙂
All I can say is ‘YUM!” I found this recipe on Pinterest and my husband and I absolutely loved it! We made it two weeks in a row! Really flavourful and filling, yet still light. Definitely a new favorite so thank you!
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A friend made this for me after I had my third baby, it was SO delicious that it’s now my go-to when bringing people food or cooking for others! Making it today for my bookclub! This recipe is a total home run!
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This was fantastic. Thank you I looked like I have been cooking for years. The wife loved it and I now have lunch tomorrow besides a great dinner tonight . The hardest part was buying the food . Then the anticipation of this bothered me a little, I hate to wait as I am a fast food guy. So glad I made this.
Great recipe … Thanks
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Hello, this sounds like a lovely recipe! I dont have much cooking experience because I’m still young, only sixteen and I’m trying to find new and cheap recipes. I’m definitely going to try this one, but what would you recommend on the side? Green beans, sala, carrots?
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*salad, not sala.
Salad and garlic bread or bread sticks ~
I made these for a tough crowd on New Year’s Eve this past year for a progressive dinner, the main course being at our home. (Three of my guests were siblings whose father was a professional chef and they’re very opinionated where cuisine is concerned.) I got RAVE reviews on these shells! I had wanted a recipe that would help use the large tub of spinach I frequently buy at Sam’s Club and this recipe was just the ticket. I didn’t have fresh basil in the house so I used dried but otherwise, pretty much followed the recipe as written. It was great to be able to make these up the evening before and we set our oven to come on while we were having appetizers at House #1 on our dinner tour. I am going out of state to care for my elderly parents soon and will be taking the ingredients to WOW my Italian mama and father when I make them dinner. These freeze really, really well so the leftovers will go into their freezer for their caregiver to warm up for them at a later date. Great, easy and delicious recipe! Thanks!!!
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