Loaded with spinach, garlic, sausage, ricotta & smothered in marinara sauce, these Stuffed Shells make a great easy family dinner idea that everyone loves.
I have been craving stuffed shells for quite some time now. I think it’s because when we make them it’s sort of a family event. We all get in the kitchen & we are all working on one aspect of putting it all together.
One person is watching the pasta, one is mixing the ricotta mixture, one is slicing the bread & usually when it’s time to get it put together the hubs & I work as a team to get all those shells stuffed ever so perfectly.
Don’t miss my slow cooker stuffed shells or my chicken alfredo stuffed shells.
I absolutely love the family time together in the kitchen. It’s a great way for us all to not only spend time together, but we all appreciate what goes in to making mealtime great when we are all working on it.
Now that my kids are getting older I find myself cherishing these little daily moments more & more. With all that has happened in our family as of late, everyday things like mealtime are appreciated more than ever.
baked pasta recipe
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We came together & created this dish & it was so incredibly delicious. I simply adore ricotta & look forward to just about any time I can make a meal with it. Add a little spinach & I’m swooning.
It’s just so good. We used my favorite casserole dish because I had just picked it up & I was so excited to have an excuse to use it.
For years, I had been using my standard, everyday dish, which was great in it’s own right, because it has a lid. But now that I have this one, I am a stuffed shell making machine!
Sometimes I make this with ground beef in place of sausage & sometimes I make it meatless & you can too. I love the versatility of this dish & all the different variations to suit your personal taste. It’s definitely a favorite dinner here.
I can tell you, even with everyone helping out in the kitchen during the cooking process, they all still ohh & ahh over this diner when it comes out of the oven.
It is so pretty & all that melted cheese with the sauce. I’m always wishing I had mad a double batch, because this one is gone in record time.
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can I make this recipe with chicken?
Yes- of course you can make this with chicken. This recipe is great for using rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken from another recipe. If you want to use fresh chicken, just cut into bite-sized pieces & saute in a skillet until no pink remains. Then proceed with the remainder of the recipe.
What is the best way to store leftover stuffed shells?
After serving, place leftover pasta shells in an airtight container. Be sure to label with the date before refrigerating. This recipe should keep for up to 3 days if not left out for too long. As with most things, it is important to get food into the refrigerator within 1 hour after serving to prevent bacteria growth.
How many can this serve?
This will depend greatly on portion sizes & the appetites of your crowd. This recipe feeds our family of 5 but doesn’t leave any seconds or leftovers. We have 3 young adult children, so we usually don’t have a ton of leftovers of most things, but this was perfect for us all. I like that this is just enough & keeps portions in check, because when it comes to pasta, we almost always over-do it.
best stuffed shells recipe
Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes, if you are having company over or have a large family, you will want to double this recipe. These 20 shells do fill the one casserole dish. So you will want to make a second dish & then bake them side-by-side.
Do I have to use marinara sauce?
No, not necessarily. I do have this recipe for chicken alfredo stuffed shells. So if alfredo is your thing, check it out & I hope you love it as much as we do.
HOW DO YOU MAKE Stuffed Shells?
- Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray & set aside.
- In a skillet, brown your sausage until thoroughly cooked – remove from heat- set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook pasta shells al dente to package directions – drain & set aside.
- In a small skillet, heat oil & garlic until garlic begins to brown.
- Add in spinach & basil & cook until spinach begins to wilt but is still bright green – remove from heat & set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, salt & pepper – mix to combine.
- Fold in spinach mixture.
- Pour about 1/2 the marinara in the bottom of your casserole dish.
- Scoop about 1-2 tbsp of the ricotta mixture into each cooked shell & place on top of the marinara in your dish.
- Add in remaining marinara.
- Sprinkle with cooked sausage evenly over the top of the shells.
- Cover with foil & bake 25-30 minutes.
- Remove foil & bake an additional 5-10 minutes.
- Serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Can I use a gluten-free noodles?
Absolutely. This recipe will work with a gluten-free noodle too. YAY!
Can you make stuffed shells without boiling the noodles?
I haven’t personally tried it but I know that you actually can do this. But I don’t because it requires you to mix the filling & then pipe it into the hard shells. I always want to stuff a bunch of other things in there & I’m sure I would break them in the process. But if you want to do it this way, you will need to add about 1-1/2 cups of water to the baking dish along with your marinara sauce & bake for about 1 hour.
Can you freeze stuffed shells?
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. I have never had much luck with thawing & reheating noodles without them becoming mush. If you have a trick for this, I’d love to hear it.
stuffed pasta shells recipe
To make this recipe you will need…
- ground sausage
- jumbo shells 20+ shells
- olive oil
- minced garlic
- spinach leaves
- fresh basil- finely chopped
- ricotta cheese
- mozzarella cheese
- shredded Parmesan cheese
- egg
- salt & pepper to taste I used several tsp of each
- marinara sauce
Products I love when making stuffed shells…
This Stuffed Shells recipe is so EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me, then you probably already have many of these items on hand! OR maybe you have never made stuffed shells before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love the how delicious this dinner is. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this awesome dinner.
- jumbo shells
- minced garlic
- olive oil
- grated parmesan cheese
- casserole dish
- marinara sauce
- wooden spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
If you are looking for a restaurant quality dinner at home – this is definitely your dish! It’s incredible!
Scroll to the bottom for the Printable Recipe
stuffed shells with meat
If you love this stuffed shells recipe, you’re going to love these other delicious dinner recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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stuffed shells dinner
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Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 box jumbo shells 20+ shells
- 1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp minced garlic
- 4 cups packed spinach leaves
- 2 tbsp fresh basil - finely chopped
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- salt & pepper to taste I used several tsp of each
- 20 oz marinara sauce
Instructions
- Spray 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray & set aside.
- In a skillet, brown your sausage until thoroughly cooked - remove from heat- set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook pasta shells al dente to package directions - drain & set aside.
- In a small skillet, heat oil & garlic until garlic begins to brown.
- Add in spinach & basil & cook until spinach begins to wilt but is still bright green - remove from heat & set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, salt & pepper - mix to combine.
- Fold in spinach mixture.
- Pour about 1/2 the marinara in the bottom of your casserole dish.
- Scoop about 1-2 tbsp of the ricotta mixture into each cooked shell & place on top of the marinara in your dish.
- Add in remaining marinara.
- Sprinkle with cooked sausage evenly over the top of the shells.
- Cover with foil & bake 25-30 minutes.
- Remove foil & bake an additional 5-10 minutes
- Serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Tamar says
I used to love stuffed shells. Also – love Fred Meyers – such a fun store when I go to Oregon they have everything!
Linda says
THEY LOOK SCRUMPTIOUS! i LOVE TOMATO AND BASIL! 🙂
Kaitlyn says
Could I freeze these?
Gina Kleinworth says
Hi Kaitlyn, thanks for your question. I don’t recommend freezing pasta in general. It tends to get soggy & fall apart once thawed. These are best when enjoyed immediately after baking.
MaryAnn Coy says
I’ve known people to prepare lasagna to the baking point, then freeze it. Have you tried to freeze your shells this way? Perhaps undercook the shells a couple extra minutes, until just stuffable, It might prevent the mushy texture. They are available commercially so there must be a way. Now your family is grown it might make having them more often possible, when there are just 2 of you. I can’t wait to make them, they sound great!
Gina Kleinworth says
I might give that a try. I figured the commercially prepared frozen pasta was most likely flash-frozen or prepared in a way that wasn’t feasible for a home kitchen. Thanks for the suggestion.
Bobbi says
I’ve regularly stuffed the shells, frozen on a baking sheet and store in zip top bags. When ready to cook, I put in a dish, top with sauce and bake as directed. They turn out great!
Abby says
Do you think just the mix (with the sausage mixed in) would be fine to freeze? We are going on vacation and thought if I could have that done ahead of time it would be an easier meal while we are there.
Gina Kleinworth says
I’m not sure how that would hold up – with a raw egg and ricotta. I have never had much luck with that due to the added moisture that happens with freezing. Making that part only takes a couple of minutes. You could probably brown the sausage & freeze that – then thaw when ready to use. But otherwise, you could mix all the filling ahead of time and keep refrigerated for a couple of days until you were ready to use it.
Danielle says
Can I make this ahead of time in the morning?
Gina Kleinworth says
You can prep it and then keep it refrigerated until you are ready to bake. You might need to increase the baking time later since it will be chilled when you start.
Jeanne Garrett says
I make these in a big batch and freeze them. When freezing cook and stuff the shells. Then freeze on a cookie sheet until frozen and put them in a freezer bag. You can take out however many you want whenever and just add the sauce and meat when you bake them! Works out great especially when I need a quick dinner for two!
Joann Schaefer says
Can you mix sausage in with ricotta mixture?
Gina Kleinworth says
Yes – that is in step 8.
Bryan says
Very good and easy will make again!!!