Tender pasta shells cradle a creamy blend of ricotta and spinach, baking just long enough for the flavors to meld. A rich, Italian sausage tomato sauce seeps into every bite, adding warmth and depth. The oven does most of the work, bubbling everything together until the cheese is soft and the edges turn golden. It’s a hearty, comforting dish that’s just as good for a cozy weeknight as it is for sharing.
Spinach and Ricotta are Surrounded by an Italian Sausage Meat Sauce
Jumbo pasta shells are stuffed with a spinach and cheese mixture and then are baked in, an easy to make, Italian sausage tomato sauce. It’s covered with more gooey cheese for an amazing comforting dish. A perfect mixture of flavors.
Whether you like to meal prep or need to take dinner to a friend, this comfort food recipe will make enough to feed a crowd with plenty of leftovers.
Who doesn’t love love Italian food! However I didn’t have an Italian grandma to teach me the secrets. It’s all been trial and error for me. What I’ve learned is that Italian food is hard to mess up. This is by no means an authentic Italian recipe, but it is one of my favorite dinner recipes. Serve it with some buttermilk biscuits and you have a Southern dinner!
I’m not a big red sauce fan so I made this sauce thick, it’s almost more meat than tomatoes. This is how I make the sauce for my creamy lasagne recipe.
It does take a little bit of time, I don’t know of any tricks to get the filling in the shells other than manually. The recipe makes enough for two large portions, so I always freeze one either to take to a friend who is under the weather, or to have on hand for dinner when you don’t have time to cook.
Why Make Stuffed Shells
- Creamy stuffing
- Flavorful sauce
- It makes enough to feed 10
- It freezes great
- Leftovers are even better
The shells themselves are stuffed with a creamy ricotta filling mixed with spinach and parmesan. Once stuffed, you place them on top of a layer of a thick red sauce made with Italian sausage, then extra sauce is placed on top along with mozzarella cheese before baking.
I’ve used both chicken sausage and Italian sausage and both are awesome.
What You’ll Need
A full list of ingredients can be found below in the Recipe Card.
- Jumbo shells – this recipe is enough to use the entire 12 ounce box, no half used pasta hanging around in your pantry.
- Italian sausage – If using Italian, I like to use a mix of hot and sweet Italian sausage. It’s also great with chicken sausage.
- Crushed and pureed tomatoes
- Spinach – Use frozen that has been squeezed dry.
- Ricotta – whole will make it taste creamier and if you have an Italian market close by buy theirs. You can use skim, it just won’t be quite as creamy.
- Parmesan and mozzarella – the parmesan for flavor and the mozzarella for the gooey cheese factor.
PRO TIP: Buy the frozen spinach in a bag. Once thawed, poke holes in the bag and squeeze out the liquid. Then just pat dry with a paper towel.
How to make Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Ricotta
Step 1: Cook the pasta
Cook pasta al dente, drain and sprinkle with a little olive oil so they don’t stick together. Don’t overcook, they need to still be a little firm.
Step 2: Make the sauce
Spread about ¾ of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dishes. If you want a thinner sauce, add about a ½ cup of water.
Step 3: Make the filling
Step 4: Stuff the shells
Step 5: Assemble
Step 6: Bake
Cover with foil and Bake for 35 minutes, remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley or basil.
How to Store These Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Shells
Since this makes a large portion, I will divide it into two baking dishes and freeze one before baking. You can also bake it and then let it cool to room temperature and freeze it already cooked. If freezing, let it thaw to room temperature before baking.
The last time I made stuffed shells, they were out of shells at the grocery and I used manicotti instead. It tastes the same but takes a lot longer to stuff the manicotti then it takes to stuff shells.
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Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Ricotta in Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounce box jumbo pasta shells
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb. Italian sausage pork or chicken, casings removed
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 15 ounces tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 10 ounces frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese grated
Instructions
- Cook pasta, drain and sprinkle with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking together, let cool.
- Preheat oven to 350º. Spray two 9 x 13 baking dishes with cooking spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and once it’s hot, add sausage and cook until browned, stirring and breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon, for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, Italian seasoning and sugar, simmer on medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Add salt as needed.
- Mix ricotta, spinach, parmesan, eggs, and 1 cup mozzarella in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, and stir until combined.
- Spread most of the sauce on the bottom of the prepared dishes. Stuff shells with about 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture and place in the pans. Cover with additional sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, removing the foil during the last 5 minutes of baking.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- If you want a thinner sauce, add ½ cup of water with the tomatoes.
- Don’t over cook the pasta, it should still be firm, it will continue to cook in the oven.
- To remove the moisture from the spinach, poke holes in the bag and wring it out so the fluid comes out the holes, then just pat with a paper towel.
- You can assemble this in advance and refrigerate for a day before baking.
- If you want to freeze the second dish, let it come to room temperature and then cover with plastic wrap and then foil. Let thaw completely in the refrigerator and bake as above.
Nutrition
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DEB BRADLEY says
I don’t know a hack for the shells, but for manicotti, after cooking, draining, use kitchen shears to cut longwise. Stuff them and turn your seam toward the bottom of your baking dish as you arrange them! Nobody ever knows! I’m dying to try this recipe – I live alone so must wait for pot luck! My kitchen is so small I have to go outside to change a recipe!
Barbara Curry says
I lvoe that hack, thanks for sharing. You can make this recipe smaller and it freezes well if you don’t mind leftovers.