Stuffed Pasta Shells
Stuffed Pasta Shells are genersouly stuffed with a simple spinach ricotta filling, topped with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, then baked until golden and bubbly.
Servings: 26 shells
Equipment
- 1 large/deep pot
- 1 baking dish
Ingredients
- 26 jumbo pasta shells
- 2 cups tomato sauce 1 cup for the bottom of the baking dish and 1 cup to pour over the top of the assembled shells
- 1 cup frozen spinach thawed, excessively squeezed dry, and chopped fine
- 1½ cups ricotta
- 1 egg
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded
- 150 grams fresh mozzarella ball or provolone, sliced into 8-10 pieces, for the top
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- fresh basil to garnish
Instructions
- Cook your pasta: to a large pot of salted boiling water cook your shells according to package instructions, less 2 minutes as they will finish cooking in the oven. Drain and set aside until ready to use.Sammy's tip: drizzle with a splash of olive oil and gently toss to avoid the shells from sticking together.
- Prepare the spinach: ideally, thaw the frozen spinach overnight. Alternatively, you can run it under hot water or microwave it to speed up the process. Once thawed, use your hands to squeeze out as much moisture as possible to prevent a watery filling. Chop very fine and set aside until ready to use.
- Assemble filling: to a medium sized bowl add the spinach, ricotta, egg, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried oregano, nutmeg, salt and black pepper. Gently mix until well combined.
- Fill the shells: coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish (or similar size) with 1 cup of tomato sauce.Fill each shell with the spinach ricotta mixture by spooning in 1 to 2 tablespoons, generously filling the shell.Once filled, gently fold the sides of the shell around the filling and place it seam-side down in the baking dish.Sammy's tip: I prefer to do it seam-side down to prevent the corners of the pasta shells from drying out during baking.
- Finish: evenly spread over the last cup up tomato sauce and top with the fresh mozzarella pieces.
- Bake: cover with foil and bake at 375 °F for 15 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes.Sammy's tip: broil for the last 1-2 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
- Garnish: with fresh basil.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 99kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 212mg | Potassium: 135mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1358IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 1mg
