Spinach and ricotta stuffed shells — jumbo pasta shells filled with a mixture of spinach and ricotta cheese, smothered in a chunky red sauce and topped with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
For as long as I can remember my family have had pasta for dinner on Christmas Eve, with the holiday ham reserved for Christmas Day. My mom is well known for her lasagna, and I kept the lasagna tradition going for a while with my own family. A few years back, I tried something a little different while still upholding the tradition of Christmas Eve pasta. I’ve made penne alla vodka and baked rigatoni, but this year I made spinach and ricotta stuffed shells. Sounds good, right? Earlier this week I gave my stuffed shells recipe a trial run and am so pleased with how it turned out. YUM. It’s definitely a holiday-worthy pasta dish.
It’s not often that a recipe turns out perfect the first time, but this time the planets aligned and have given me pasta perfection. I wouldn’t change anything about how these stuffed shells turned out. Compared to a lot of baked pasta dishes, these shells take a little more time to assemble but the end result is definitely worth it.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- It’s healthy and easy to make. There aren’t many recipes that can boast that.
- Pasta is such a comfort food, especially when they’re stuffed with something smooth and creamy like this spinach and ricotta mixture.
- You can play around with the ingredients in the stuffing. Want meat? Want a favorite vegetable? Mince it up and add it!
How many shells will I get out of the mixture?
Depending on how much filling you put into each pasta shell, you may or may not use the entire box of shells. I was very generous with the filling and ended up with 27 shells. You should be able to feed 8-10 people with this recipe, with a serving size of 3 to 4 shells a person.
How To Store Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Let the pasta cool to room temperature. Store in airtight containers and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to eat it again, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil then warm in the oven at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. If you would like to store the pasta shells longer, you can freeze it by following the above steps. They should keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, let the pasta thaw in the fridge overnight then follow the steps above.
Delicious Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 2 boxes boxes of large pasta shells
- 3 containers (15 oz each) light ricotta cheese
- 1 bundle of thinly sliced spinach
- marinara sauce either homemade or purchased from a store
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup of chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
- 2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta shells according to the package instructions, but remove them from heat 1 minute early. Drain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil over MEDIUM heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan, salt, pepper, parsley, and basil. Add the cooled spinach to the mixture. Transfer the ricotta filling to a piping bag.
- Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce at the bottom of a casserole dish. Fill each pasta shell with the ricotta mixture and arrange them in the dish.
- Top the shells with more marinara sauce, followed by mozzarella and extra Parmesan cheese.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow the dish to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Depending on how much filling you put into each pasta shell, you may or may not use the entire box of shells. I was very generous with the filling and ended up with 27 shells. You should be able to feed 8-10 people with this recipe, with a serving size of 3 to 4 shells per person.
We love to eat Italian dishes! This looks so delicious and full of flavor!
This would make a really great Christmas eve meal! We always do Italian food and this sounds great!
I am going to make this delicious Recipe. We love stuffed shells and this is such an easy recipe for me to try out!
My mother is half-Italian so it goes without saying that we love Italian food. I think this is the perfect meal for the holidays.
This looks as though this would be a delicious meal. I am going to have to try making this sometime this week!
OMG this dish look absolutely delish! Definitely adding this recipe to my “to-do” list. Thank you!
Our family Christmas Eve tradition is to open 1 gift and we read Luke chapter 2 from the Bible & The Night Before Christmas. Thank you for sharing this recipe, it looks delicious!
These look and sound delicious. I make something quite close to this only I havent used thespina ach in mine before. I am going to give it a try. I have also usedd burger instead of Italian sausage as it has less of a zing to it but either way would be really good. Such a nice hearty dish.
One of our favorite dishes. This recipe is pretty similar to the one I use. It’s been a long time since i made this.
This looks delicious and am going to try this one of the days thanks