Spinach-Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with spinach and ricotta. An easy and flavorful dinner for any night of the week!
It’s so easy to get in dinner ruts, or just a rut for any meal of the day, really. But we’re talking dinner today. Typically we rotate through a lot of the same meals, as I’m sure most people do. But it’s so easy to get bored of the same stuff. Tacos every week? That can get old in a hurry.
Two things that never get old… pizza and pasta. My love for those is strong.
There are so many fun options. Whether we’re talking toppings for pizza. Thin or thick crust. Maybe even deep dish. Or when it comes to pasta… sauces, add-ins, fillings. Do you want a casserole, baked, bubbly and topped off with cheese or sauce? So many delicious options and possibilities!
I hadn’t played around with shells in a while. In fact, the last time I made a stuffed shells recipe was when I shared these buffalo chicken stuffed shells… a long time ago. Shells were long overdue, clearly.
A perfect dinner for any night of the week. Easy ricotta and spinach stuffed shells, cooked in your favorite tomato sauce and topped off with a layer of mozzarella cheese. The entire family will love these! And a big bonus, they reheat beautifully, making them a great leftovers for lunch the next day!
Spinach-Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 12 jumbo pasta shells
- 10 oz frozen spinach
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1/2 C Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 26 oz tomato sauce
- 1 C whole milk mozzarella cheese shredded
- Fresh basil for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook 12-16 jumbo pasta shells according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, microwave frozen spinach for 2-3 minutes. Break up with a fork and cook for an additional minute if necessary to heat through. Place spinach into the center of a sheet of cheese cloth. Rest wrapped spinach in a wire strainer set over a medium bowl. Allow spinach to cool before squeezing out liquid.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, salt, pepper and egg. Combine well. Mix in drained spinach. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Drain pasta. Add roughly 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce to the bottom of a 2 quart rectangular baking dish. Divide ricotta mixture among 12 shells. Top off with additional sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and shells are heated through. Garnish with chopped fresh basil. Serve warm.
I’m crazy about how these shells look on a plate! They look so delicious though, they won’t stay on my plate very long.
Thanks so much! :)
You’re FedEx’ing this right now, right? I need dinner tonight and this seems perfect! Thanks ;)
Haha next time :)
My friend just had a baby and this is JUST the type of recipe I want to make!
Fantastic! :)
These stuffed shells look so satisfying, even without meat. Pinned!
Thanks Jen!
I”m going to swan dive right into the middle of those shells. I’ve never craved shells like this before, I must have them!
Thanks Megan!
Mmm, stuffed shells are my husband’s favorite! Maybe he’d actually eat spinach if I made this!
I bet he would! :)
ooh i am totally craving pasta right now.. these look delicious.
Thanks Thalia!
I’m all in. Stuffed pasta is dreamy!
Thanks Katrina!
Delicious ricotta shells for dinner:)
Thanks Ilona!
I need to make this now!! So gorgeous!
Thanks Amanda!
Soooooo in love with this pasta recipe!
Thanks Marla!
I’m just waiting for my partner to get home so we can have dinner and I so shouldn’t be looking at all this food when I’m already hungry!! This looks absolutely divine, I love spinach and ricotta together and with pasta as well? Amazing!
Thanks Annie!
I need to make this they look delicious and just amazing!!
Thanks Rebecca!
Can you add chicken to this recipe????
It does sound wonderful, but my man likes a little meat :o}
I don’t see why not! Certainly adapt to your liking :)
I just made this and it’s so good! Thanks for the great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Made these last night for a girls night…. everyone was impressed including myself! These are amazing. Thanks for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed them! :)
Hey does anyone know where you get them jumbo shells in the UK
Have you tried searching online, Amazon UK etc?
Can this be frozen and baked when needed?
I haven’t personally attempted to freeze them. My only concern would be how the ricotta would do, but it’s worth a try!
Can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen?
While you certainly could, I wouldn’t personally recommend it for this particular recipe. The frozen is already prepped for you – no need to cook down or chop. The other issue is that with fresh, you would need a great deal of it to equal the same amount of what is in the frozen package.
Made this last night. It was really good, but a little heavy on the spinach for my family. I think next time I will use 5 oz, rather than the 10 oz of spinach that is listed in the recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed them. And by all means, customize them for your family! :)
Do you know the carb amount per serving? I am a diabetic and I use an insulin pump. I would love to try this recipe but I have to know all the values.
Thank you.
Amy
I don’t offer that information, but there are free online nutritional calculators you can use to figure that out.
can these be frozen? any recommendation to reheat?
If you’ve had success freezing other pasta dishes, such as lasagna, then it would be worth trying! Enjoy!
I love this recipe. So many others want to add carrots or onions and that is just not right for this recipe in my mind. My husband likes for me to add hamburger to the sauce which is fine but yours if perfect just like it is. Thanks!
I agree, carrots would be strange with this particular dish. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! :)
This recipe was a HIT!!! Thank you for sharing!!
So glad to hear it! :)
So, I had Kraft shredded mozzarella on hand and used it instead of buying fresh mozzarella and shredding it myself. The cheese only dried up and got hard in the oven. It didn’t melt. Ugh. I’ll know better next time!
Pre-shredded cheese never melts quite right due to what it’s coated in, to prevent clumping in the bag etc. Shredding from a block is always your best bet. :)
Hey Rachel,
Can you cook this in advance?
Like make up the ricotta / spinach mix the night before? & leave in fridge?
Or even the whole thing in the over dish in fridge over niight? To cook next day?
Thanks!
Absolutely! I’d say for best make-ahead results, prep the filling only. But, you could certainly try making everything ahead and then baking. Good luck!
I just made this – my husband had 3 helpings and is already talking about me making it again! “10 out of 10” he said! It was delicious and so much easier than I thought it would be. Thank you!
So glad he enjoyed it so much! Thanks for sharing, Kristin! :)
What a delicious recipe! Made it for lunch and loved it!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Rachel, this recipe would be perfect for those cold nights. Looking forward to making this for my family.
Enjoy! :)
Thank you foe your recipe it was delish please share more recipes
Thank again Mildred
So glad you enjoyed it!
Making these right now!!! Looks and smells AMAZING!! Thank you so much for the recipe!!!!
Enjoy!
Hi there! So looking forward to these! I’ve already eaten tonight but looking at this and reading the recipe has me wanting to chow down! That’s amazing bc I don’t usually have much of an appetite :) My question is regarding the Parmesan cheese… does that need to be fresh like the mozzarella? The only Parmesan I have in the house is powdered or shredded in a jar but I can purchase whatever you suggest! Definitely will purchase the fresh mozzarella! Thank you so much! Can’t wait!
For this, the finely grated (powdered style) Parmesan will be just fine. Enjoy!
I have made this recipe and your seafood stuffed shells several times during covid restrictions. It turns out so wonderful each time. Just made again today, but the jumbo shells were not jumbo. Back to my Italian grocery for next time. 😁
So glad you enjoyed it!