Stuffed Shells
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These easy Stuffed Shells are perfect to throw together on a weeknight and impressive enough to serve guests. They’re saucy, oh-so-cheesy, and loaded with a ricotta, spinach, and parmesan filling.
Whenever you’re in the mood to eat some cheesy pasta, this recipe of cheese and spinach stuffed shells is perfect – absolutely perfect! It is a rich, hearty, stick to your ribs, carby and cheesy delight. While looking at this may have you thinking this is a really time consuming dinner, believe it or not these stuffed shells can be on your dinner table in under one hour.
These jumbo shells are loaded with cheese, both ricotta and Parmesan cheese. Of course there’s spinach in them too, which makes these shells healthy, in my opinion. I topped the shells with lots mozzarella cheese because, let’s face it, these shells are all about that cheesy goodness. Comfort food at its finest. This is such a great dish because it’s quick, and it’s easy to make.
Frozen Or Fresh Spinach?
I opted for frozen today to make things easier for myself, but use whichever you would prefer!
Frozen
Now my recipe calls for frozen spinach that has been completely thawed. Thawed frozen spinach can bring a lot of liquid to this dish so be sure that it’s been completely drained before incorporating and try and squeeze as much water out of it as possible.
Fresh
If you’re using fresh spinach be sure to cut off the stems before incorporating. Wilt the spinach in a pan with some oil and drain after removing. Roughly chop the spinach and you’re good to go. You’ll want to use about 1 pound of fresh spinach for this recipe.
Ingredients in Stuffed Shells
- Jumbo pasta shells – This recipe will also work for manicotti or cannelloni, however as those types of pasta are a bit larger than jumbo shells you may need more filling.
- Ricotta cheese – Whipped cottage cheese would be a good substitute if needed.
- Parmesan cheese – Fresh is always better! Find yourself a good block to grate. You can use more or less as you like, but it really gives lots of great flavor to the filling.
- Frozen chopped spinach – Squeeze out as much excess water from the spinach as you can before going ahead with the recipe.
- Egg – The egg can be left out in this recipe if you prefer. It helps bind the filling together but isn’t absolutely necessary.
- Salt & pepper – Season to taste. Keep in mind the parmesan will add some saltiness, so be careful with the salt.
- Marinara sauce – Use your favorite type of sauce, store bought or make your own.
- Mozzarella – You can use more or less cheese as you like. I prefer to use block cheese versus pre-shredded cheese in a bag.
- Fresh basil – A sprinkle of some fresh basil over the shells after they come out of the oven adds amazing bright flavor.
How to Make Stuffed Shells
- Prep the pasta: Preheat the oven to 400F. Add the shells to a large pot of well salted boiling water and cook according to package instructions until they’re al dente. Make sure to stir the shells often and keep an eye on them as they may stick together. Rinse well with cold water in the strainer.
- Make the filling: Mix the ricotta, parmesan, spinach, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Scoop it into a large freezer bag or piping bag. Snip the tip of the piping bag or corner of the freezer bag to a 1″ diameter.
- Assemble the shells: Pour half the marinara in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Pipe each shell with about 2 tbsp of the cheese and spinach mixture and place in the casserole dish over the sauce. Pour the remaining marinara sauce over the shells and top with mozzarella. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly, then broil for 2-5 minutes or until the cheese browns.
- Finish the dish: Garnish with fresh basil and freshly cracked pepper.
What Else Can I Use for The Filling?
Feel free to get creative with these great little shells. By no means should my recipe be the definitive list of what can and should go in your pasta dish. Try adding some of these flavorful morsels to your dish or make substitutions as necessary, trust me you’ll thank me later.
| Veggies | Meat |
|---|---|
| Mushrooms | Ground beef |
| Leeks | Ground pork |
| Kale | Italian Sausage |
| Squash | Chorizo |
| Sun Dried Tomatoes | Lamb |
| Chicken |
Some Tips
- I recommend boiling the entire package of pasta shells, even though we only need 18 because some of them may tend to break during boiling and we want 18 shells that are intact.
- Be sure to rinse your shells well with cold water in your strainer before incorporating it into your dish. We want to rinse all that residual starch off of our pasta.
- Piping your filling mixture into your shells through a bag with the corner snipped will ensure we get perfectly proportional shells with just enough filling. If you’d rather not take this step you can always use a medium sized spoon.
- Be sure to broil your dish before pulling it out of the oven, this will allow our melted mozzarella to brown and become perfectly golden on top.
Make Ahead
These shells make for a great quasi casserole that can be prepared a couple days in advance. Make it over the weekend and bake it when you’re ready to serve.
Follow the instructions as noted in the recipe right after assembly but right before baking. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil then refrigerate until ready to bake. The day you want to bake this take it out of the fridge while you’re preheating the oven to 350 F degrees. Bake as instructed in the recipe then garnish and serve.
Leftovers
Transfer leftover baked stuffed shells to airtight containers and refrigerate for 3 to 5 days.
Freezing
Freeze in a tightly sealed dish for up to a month. When ready to serve, take it out of the freezer the night before and thaw it in the refrigerator. Bake according to instructions.
How To Serve
This rich, creamy dish pairs beautifully with light and simple sides like salads and roasted veggies. These stuffed shells are completely satisfying on their own so if you’d rather just curl up on the couch with a big old bowl, I won’t stop you.
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Greek Salad
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Kale And Quinoa Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Italian Roasted Mushrooms And Veggies
More Incredible Pasta Dishes To Try:
- Chicken Lasagna alla Bolognese
- Cheesy Beef Tortellini Enchilada Casserole
- Zucchini Lasagna
- Taco Lasagna
- One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna
- Lasagna Roll-ups
- Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
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Stuffed Shells
Video
Ingredients
- 12 ounce jumbo pasta shells (dry)
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 4 ounce Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 cup frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 24 ounce marinara sauce (1 jar)
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- fresh basil (chopped, for garnish)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prep the pasta: Preheat the oven to 400℉. Add the shells to a large pot of well salted boiling water and cook according to package instructions until they're al dente. Make sure to stir the shells often and keep an eye on them as they may stick together. Rinse well with cold water in the strainer.
- Make the filling: Squeeze out as much excess water from the spinach as you can. Mix the ricotta, parmesan, spinach, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Scoop it into a large freezer bag or piping bag. Snip the tip of the piping bag or corner of the freezer bag to a 1" diameter.
- Assemble the shells: Pour half the marinara in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Pipe each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese and spinach mixture and place in the casserole dish over the sauce. Pour the remaining marinara sauce over the shells and top with mozzarella. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly, then broil for 2-5 minutes or until the cheese browns.
- Finish the dish: Garnish with fresh basil and freshly cracked pepper.
Equipment
Notes
- Transfer leftover baked stuffed shells to airtight containers and refrigerate for 3 to 5 days.
- Freeze in a tightly sealed dish for up to a month. When ready to serve, take it out of the freezer the night before and thaw it in the refrigerator. Bake according to instructions.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
When you freeze, do you put together the entire dish with sauce, cheese and basil toppings before doing so?
Yes, assemble the entire dish with sauce, cheese, and basil before freezing. It’s ready to bake straight from the freezer – just add a bit more cooking time.
I just made this recipe recently and it is very good. We love spicy foods so wondering how we could spice this up if needed/wanted. Chili pepper flakes, any other suggestions?
So glad you enjoyed the stuffed shells! For that extra kick, chili flakes are a great start. You could also try adding a bit of cayenne pepper or even a spicy Italian sausage instead of the regular one. Heat it up to your heart’s content! 🌶️
I make this recipe often and use frozen creamed spinach in the ricotta mix.
I’ve been making this recipe for years now. It’s a must have for Thanksgiving but also any week of the month. So so good!
Is an “ounce” a liquid measure or a weight?
For pasta or cheese is weight, for the marinara sauce it’s liquid.
Delicious. But don’t boil the entire box of Jumbo shells — the 42 shells in a 12 oz box would give you enough for an entire second recipe! I worked from the cookbook version of the recipe, which doesn’t mention only needing 18 “good” shells for a full recipe, and intended to make a half-recipe. I squeezed 15 filled shells into an 8×8 pan.
Very good! Next time I will cut down mozzarella to just 1 cup as it was a bit too cheesy this time.
I made this recipe tonight, the only modification was that I added small garlic butter shrimps to the shells and in the dish. The only reason I’m giving 4 stars is because I found it rather heavy. But if I lightened up the cheese, I bet it would be a 5 star dish.
My husband and I are huge lasagna fans and assumed this would taste similar. It was SO much better than lasagna, the spinach (I used a block of frozen Bird’s Eye that I dethawed and pressed the liquid out of) mixed in with the ricotta really added that extra something. I just used a spoon to pack the ricotta mixture into the cooked shells, it worked like a charm! The only thing I did differently ingredient-wise is I browned a pound of ground beef and mixed the jarred sauce in on the stove. Delicious recipe, will definitely make it again!
Great recipe BUT…jumbo shells are hard to find so I used manicotti tubes.
We love this recipe and make it often! We have a baby on the way and I plan to make a few batches of these then freezing them to have some easy meals once baby arrives. I’m surprised your instructions say it will only last a month in the freezer though! What’s the reason?
Prepped these beauties on Wednesday and ate them on Friday. I added in mushrooms and used fresh spinach. These were surprisingly rich and oh so delicious! I will be making these shells again. Yum!
Thank you for the recipe…I made my own sauce, but used your input for the filling and cooking time and it was perfect!
Incredible and so easy to make. I didn’t have frozen spinach on hand so substituted a handful of chopped fresh basil. Also used Rao’s Marinara which we love. Huge hit with the family!
I made this minus the spinach. It was so good. It’s definitely a keeper in our house