Spinach Stuffed Shells

Spinach Stuffed Shells are large shell-shaped pasta filled with Italian sausage, spinach and ricotta cheese. The shells are baked with additional cheese and marinara sauce making this a delicious meal.

Perfect for dinner any night of the week!

Stuffed pasta shells

These stuffed pasta shells are a delicious comfort food. It has all the flavors of a lasagna, but instead of layers of pasta, cheese and sauce, the shells are stuffed with a cheese mixture and then baked with a marinara sauce.

I love making this for dinner for my family, but it's also perfect for serving a crowd. This recipe can easily be doubled and baked in two pans. Make this ahead of time and then bake at dinnertime helps make getting dinner on the table easy!

Key Ingredients

• Jumbo pasta shells - look for the jumbo sized shells so they can easily be filled
• Spinach - I used fresh spinach, but you could also use frozen
• Ricotta cheese - Whole milk ricotta is creamier than a skim ricotta. I prefer the whole milk ricotta.
• Fresh mozzarella - This fresh version can often be found in the deli section of most stores
• Marinara sauce - Buy your favorite or make your own marinara sauce
• Parmesan cheese - Use shredded parmesan cheese
• Italian sausage - Spicy or sweet Italian sausage. You may omit it if you'd prefer a vegetarian version.

Step by step directions

How to make it

In this section, I share step-by-step photos, cooking methods, techniques, and a general overview. For detailed instructions, temperatures, and timing, check the printable recipe card below.

• Cook pasta shells
• Cook Italian sausage. Wipe out pan when finished and use the same pan for spinach.
• Sautee garlic for a few seconds in a pan. Add fresh spinach. I add in large batches, allowing spinach to cook down before adding more. Keep all spinach in pan until it has all been cooked. Remove spinach to a colander and allow spinach to cool. Once cool, squeeze out all liquid. This takes a lot of squeezing. Keep rotating spinach in your hands and squeeze until all liquid is removed.
• You start out with about 10 cups of spinach, but once it has cooked down and all the liquid squeezed out, you end up with about 1 cup of spinach.
• Coarsely chop spinach

• Combine ricotta, parmesan, egg and seasonings together in a bowl.
• Add chopped spinach and fold until combined
• Add cooled sausage, be careful to not add any of the grease.

• Carefully stuff each pasta shell with 3 tablespoons of cheese filling
• Place each stuffed shell in a greased baking dish with a layer of marinara sauce

• Continue filling all shells until dish is full
• Drop spoonfuls of sauce around the filled shells
• Place diced mozzarella on top of shells
• Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the top

• Cover dish with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes
• Remove foil and continue cooking for an additional 20 minutes
• Turn the broiler on for an additional 5 minutes and cook until the cheese is slightly browned
• Remove from oven and allow dish to rest for 10 minutes
• Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with additional marinara sauce

Substitutions and variations

• Use frozen spinach in place of fresh. Allow spinach to fully thaw and then squeeze out all liquid
• Omit Italian sausage to make a vegetarian version
• Use cottage cheese in place of the ricotta cheese. This is a great way to save money when making this dish. The cottage cheese is extra creamy and once cooked, you can't tell the difference.
• Add sautéed mushrooms for extra flavor

Spinach Stuffed Shells

Kathy

Jumbo pasta shells filled with a cheesy spinach mixture with Italian sausage baked together with a marinara sauce.

5 from 26 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Resting Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Italian

Servings 7 people

Calories 589 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Glass Baking Dish 7x11

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 20 -24 Jumbo Pasta Shells
• ▢ 1 pound Italian Sausage (Spicy or Sweet)
• ▢ 10 ounces Baby Spinach (Fresh)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• ▢ 2 cloves Garlic (Minced)
• ▢ 2 cups Ricotta Cheese (Whole milk)
• ▢ ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese (Shredded)
• ▢ 1 Egg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Dried Basil
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Pepper
• ▢ pinch Ground Nutmeg
• ▢ 3 cups Marinara Sauce
• ▢ 4 ounces Fresh Mozzarella (Cubed)
• ▢ ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese (Shredded)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fresh herbs (For garnish, optional)

Instructions

 

• Cook pasta shells
  20 -24 Jumbo Pasta Shells
• Cook Italian sausage. Wipe out pan when finished and use same pan for spinach.
  1 pound Italian Sausage
• Sautee garlic for a few seconds in a pan. Add fresh spinach. I add in large batches, allowing spinach to cook down before adding more. Keep all spinach in pan until it has all been cooked. Remove spinach to a colander and allow spinach to cool. Once cool, squeeze out all liquid. This takes a lot of squeezing. Keep rotating spinach in your hands and squeeze until all liquid is removed.
  2 tablespoons Olive Oil, 2 cloves Garlic, 10 ounces Baby Spinach
• Coarsely chop spinach
• Combine ricotta, parmesan, egg and seasonings together in a bowl.
  2 cups Ricotta Cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, 1 Egg, ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder, ½ teaspoon Dried Basil, ¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano, ¼ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Pepper, pinch Ground Nutmeg
• Add chopped spinach and fold until combined
• Add cooled sausage, be careful to not add any of the grease.
• Carefully stuff each pasta shell with 3 tablespoons of cheese filling. Place each stuffed shell in a greased baking dish with a layer of marinara sauce. Continue filling all shells until dish is full.
  3 cups Marinara Sauce
• Drop spoonfuls of sauce around the filled shells. Place diced mozzarella on top of shells. Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over top
  4 ounces Fresh Mozzarella, ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese
• Cover dish with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue cooking for an additional 20 minutes. Turn broiler on for an additional 5 minutes and cook until the cheese is slightly browned.
• Remove from oven and allow dish to rest for 10 minutes Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with additional marinara sauce
  1 teaspoon fresh herbs

Notes

• I usually cook a few extra shells in case one falls apart and can't be used
• The spinach cooks down from about 10 cups of spinach to about 1 cup of cooked and squeezed spinach
• To make ahead of time, cover and refrigerate after filling shells and adding sauce and cheese. Bake as directed, increasing baking time by 15-20 minutes.
• To prevent cheese from sticking to foil, spray foil lightly with a nonstick spray before placing on dish

Substitutions and variations

• Use frozen spinach in place of fresh. Allow spinach to fully thaw and then squeeze out all liquid
• Omit Italian sausage to make a vegetarian version
• Use cottage cheese in place of the ricotta cheese. This is a great way to save money when making this dish. The cottage cheese is extra creamy and once cooked, you can't tell the difference.
• Add sautéed mushrooms for extra flavor

 

Nutritional Disclaimer:

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Serving: 3shellsCalories: 589kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 30gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 1425mgPotassium: 883mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 4764IUVitamin C: 20mgCalcium: 389mgIron: 4mg

Keyword Baked pasta, Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Shells, Stuffed Shells

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