These huge pasta shells are stuffed with garlicky sautéed spinach and creamy ricotta cheese, doused in a rich tomato sauce, and topped with a melty cheese topping. I really can’t think of any better combination – all my favourite things smooshed together.
It’s hard to go wrong with a cheesy pasta bake, but this has got to be my favourite one yet.
These stuffed shells have a bit of everything I love.
Spinach and ricotta is a perfectly classic combination (I’ve used it to make dumplings, stuffed potatoes, and lentil slice, amongst other things…), and when it’s contrasted with the tangy tomato sauce, it’s just beautiful!
These big pasta shells are the perfect scoops to keep everything contained. They are seriously satisfying to eat.
Plus, they’re super simple to make – perfect for a cosy Sunday evening, or to feed your hungry family. This recipe is a definite crowd-pleaser!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s creamy, it’s rich and tangy, it’s cheesy, it’s gooey, it’s hearty and comforting… Seriously, I can’t overstate just how insanely delicious these stuffed shells are!
- The recipe is simple and easy to put together, with no unnecessary steps.
- You can speed things up by using a good quality shop-bought sauce – or take the time to make your own from scratch.
- The dish can be prepared in advance if needed, so it’s perfect for serving to guests.
- Any leftovers (if you’re restrained enough to have them!) can easily be microwaved to reheat, or frozen until needed.
🥗 Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
- large pasta shells – also known as conchiglioni.
- tomato sauce. I used a good quality shop-bought tomato sauce, as I wanted to keep things super simple. If you’d prefer to make your own sauce, I highly recommend my slow cooker tomato sauce, which can be made with barely any effort!
- ricotta cheese
- fresh spinach. You can swap this for frozen spinach, if you prefer.
- egg – to help firm up the creamy filling as it bakes.
- garlic
- nutmeg. You can skip this if you don’t have it to hand, but it does add a really nice warmth to the creamy pasta stuffing.
- parmesan-style cheese. ‘Real’ parmesan isn’t truly vegetarian, as it is made with animal rennet. Make sure you find a vegetarian version (often just called ‘Italian hard cheese’) instead!
See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
🔄 Recipe Changes
There are a few ways you could adapt this recipe to make it just right for you.
- To add some extra veg, try scattering some cooked peas or peppers through the dish with the pasta shells.
- Or, if you chop your vegetables finely enough, you can add them to the spinach and ricotta stuffing. Some finely chopped mushrooms, for example, could be sautéed along with the spinach and garlic.
- Use grated cheddar or mozzarella on top of the shells for an even more melty, gooey finish.
- To make this recipe even quicker to make, you can also easily adapt it to use any other small shape of pasta. Just dollop the creamy spinach filling through the cooked pasta in the baking dish, rather than stuffing the shells individually. It will all taste the same in the end!
📋 Instructions
Here’s how to make these tasty stuffed shells – see below for the printable recipe with detailed ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Boil the pasta shells according to the instructions on the packet.
These large shells have a habit of getting cupped together in the pan (spooning in a little pasta cuddle), so poke them around a bit with a fork to make sure they’re all totally separate as they cook.
Step 2: Sauté the spinach with some garlic.
Fresh spinach is notorious for cooking down a lot, so you have to use quite a large quantity to begin with. You can add it to the pan a little at a time if it’s in danger of spilling over!
Step 3: When the spinach is cooked, combine it with the ricotta cheese, some grated parmesan, and an egg. I like to add a little ground nutmeg too, as well as plenty of salt and pepper.
Step 4: Stuff the spinach and ricotta mixture into the cooked pasta shells, and place them into a baking dish.
It’s no problem if the stuffed shells need to be stacked on top of each other – and please don’t be too tidy about it! This doesn’t need to take all day. It will end up tasting the same, no matter how messy you’re being.
Step 5: Top the shells with the remaining tomato sauce and grated parmesan. Cover the dish with a lid (or some kitchen foil, if you don’t have a suitable lid), and bake until everything is piping hot and the cheese is nice and gooey.
