A simple and easy meal , Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells are the perfect meal when you want that delicious, cheesy, tomato blend of Italian comfort food, but need it simple and quick. A nice alternative to more time consuming or work intensive cheesy Italian dishes, we love spinach and cheese stuffed pasta shells for a quick, delicious, and hearty dinner.
A favorite of kids, this is also a great recipe to work with if you’ve got a junior chef excited about experimenting in the kitchen. The limited ingredient list and uncomplicated process are perfect for kids who are testing out their chops in the kitchen, and will be a delicious meal for them to help prepare for the family. So let’s get cooking!
Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells Ingredients
The ingredient list on this is a nice and short one. The base of this dish is the cheese blend; ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan. The other base ingredients are the jumbo shells, spinach, and tomato sauce.
To add flavor and that delicious aroma to the kitchen, you’ll need an onion and some garlic. Either white or yellow onion will work for this recipe. The rest of the spice blend here is really easy; salt, pepper, and a little bit of crushed red pepper. If you want to get a little fun with the flavors you can add some basil or oregano as well.
Finally, make sure you have an egg to soften up the cheese mix and a little bit of olive oil to cook your flavors.
All right, that’s everything, let’s cook!
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Putting together your Stuffed Shells
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Start the cooking process by boiling the jumbo shells in water. Follow the cooking directions on the box for the shells, typically they take from 8-10 minutes. They will be soft and pliable when finished but still firm enough to hold the stuffing.
While the shells boil, you’ll make your stuffing. The first step here is to heat your olive oil to medium heat in a skillet. We love using the Ninja NeverStick Cookware and the 10 1/4 inch skillet is a perfect size for this sauce. The pan cooks evenly with a consistent temperature and holds the flavors incredibly well. In addition it’s very easy to clean. We really love this particular cookware set.
There will be a sheen on the onion and the aroma will release. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Now your kitchen should be smelling fantastic!
Stir the spinach in and cook until the spinach wilts. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
Make sure you check on your shells to see how they’re doing!
Transfer the spinach mixture into a large bowl. Add the parmesan, ricotta, one cup of the mozzarella, red pepper flakes, egg, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together until it is equally blended.
Drain your shells and make sure all of the water is out of the centers.
Pour half of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a baking dish. This recipe should fill a 9X9 baking dish. If you don’t have this size you can size out the baking dishes you do have by laying the shells in them prior to putting in the sauce to make sure it looks like they will all fit without cramming them too closely together or leaving too much empty space in the pan.
Scoop the cheese blend into the shells. You want to fully fill the shell and have the cheese coming out a little over the top, they are stuffed, but they’re not overflowing. Place the shells on top of the sauce, side by side, as you finish stuffing each shell.
Top with the remaining sauce, sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella cheese, and you are ready for the oven!
Bake for 20-30 minutes, let them set for a couple of minutes to firm up when you finish, and you are ready for dinner!
Interested in other simple Italian Dishes? Check out our Baked Ziti and Summer Pasta.
Please visit our Resources page if you are interested in finding some of the tools and gadgets Dre uses to make cooking accessible while cooking with MS.
Three Cheese Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells
Description
A simple and easy meal , Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells are the perfect meal when you want that delicious, cheesy, tomato blend of Italian comfort food, but need it simple and quick.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.
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Boil the jumbo shells in water. Follow the cooking directions on the box for the shells, typically they take from 8-10 minutes.
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Heat the olive oil to medium heat in a skillet. Add the onion and cook to tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add the Garlic and cook for an additional minute.
The onion will have a sheen and start to become slightly translucent as they get done. These are aromatic flavorings, so as they release their aroma you know they are done with their cooking process. -
Stir the spinach in and cook until the spinach wilts. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
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Transfer the spinach mixture into a large bowl. Add the ricotta, parmesan, one cup of the mozzarella, red pepper flakes, egg, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together until it is equally blended.
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Pour half of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a baking dish. Scoop the cheese blend into the shells. Place the shells on top of the sauce, side by side, as you finish stuffing each shell.
This recipe should fill a 9X9 baking dish. If you don't have this size you can size out the baking dishes you do have by laying the shells in them prior to putting in the sauce to make sure it looks like they will all fit -
Top with remaining sauce and 1/2 cup of Mozzarella. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes
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Pull out of the oven, plate, and serve!
