Best Ricotta Cheese Filling Recipe

Creamy ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, and herbs mix up for a terrific ricotta cheese filling recipe usable in many ways. Stuffed shells? Lasagna? Omelets? Pasta casserole? Stuffed spaghetti squash? Savory crepes? It's so good, and I've listed 10 ideas for using this cheesy goodness.

This was inspired by my popular stuffed shells recipe, but this filling recipe is made with spinach (versus kale). The amazing thing is you can use it in so many ways! Read on to find out how.

Jump to:

• What is Ricotta?
• Ingredients
• Equipment
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• 10 Ways to Use Ricotta Cheese Filling
• Storage
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is Ricotta?

Ricotta means re-cooked in Italian, widely used in Italian cuisine. It's made from the leftover whey after making other kinds of cheeses. Ricotta is sometimes called a whey cheese. It's made not only with cow's milk, but goat, sheep, and the Italian water buffalo milk.

Most of what we find here at the grocery store is cow's milk. It is not the same as cottage cheese or cream cheese, but some say that cottage cheese is a good replacement for ricotta if it's not available. I use real ricotta for this recipe. It's a versatile ingredient.

You might think immediately of making your favorite lasagna recipe, but there are many wonderful ways to use ricotta, both sweet and savory. As an appetizer, spread a little fresh ricotta over toasted bread, drizzle with honey or maple syrup and top with fresh fruit like figs. One of my favorite way to use ricotta is making ricotta gnocchi (called gnudi's).

Be sure to check the expiration date before purchasing as ricotta. It should be creamy white, not yellowish. Use within a week after opening if you are not using it to make this ricotta filling.

Ingredients

I tested this with both fresh and frozen spinach and found the frozen, chopped easier to use with better results because the fresh had a lot of stems. Frozen is also easy to keep around. I made the first batch in the food processor and it got too fluid. Ricotta cheese filling is best made by hand and it is an easy recipe.

• Frozen chopped spinach (get the bagged kind)
• Whole milk ricotta cheese (or use low fat)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Grated Parmesan cheese (get the good stuff)
• Fresh basil leaves (or fresh parsley)
• Dried Italian seasoning
• Eggs
• Salt, ground black pepper and red pepper (optional)

See recipe card for quantities.

Equipment

• A cast iron skillet, fry pan or small saute pan to cook the onion mixture.
• A fine mesh strainer to drain the spinach
• A medium bowl to mix the ricotta filling

Instructions

Cook Spinach

Start by cooking the frozen spinach according to package directions. Drain through a fine mesh strainer and press out as much moisture as possible with the back of a large spoon. Next, place spinach on layers of paper towels and press out any additional moisture until spinach is almost dry.

After the spinach is dry, chop it to refine the texture, then add to mixing bowl. Place spinach in a medium bowl.

Make Filling

Cook onion in olive oil, add garlic and dried Italian seasoning and cook another minute. Add the ricotta, to the spinach and stir together, then add the rest of the ingredients: cooked onion mixture, eggs, Parmesan, basil, salt, ground black pepper, and red pepper if using. The ricotta cheese mixture is now ready to use. 

You can make it a day ahead of a making a bigger recipe like stuffed shells or homemade lasagna.

Chef's Tip: If your filling is not as thick as you were expecting, place all of it into a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and allow any extra liquid to drain. You can cover and refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight.

Substitutions

If eggs are a problem and you're using this to stuff pasta shells, manicotti, or spaghetti squash, just leave them out. If you plan to use it for something like lasagna where it needs the binding ability of the eggs, here are two options: flax egg or arrowroot starch.

To make a flax egg, add 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed to 3 tablespoons of water and stir. Allow it to stand for a few minutes until is looks sort of like a beaten egg. Mix into the ricotta.

Another options is mixing 2 tablespoons of arrowroot starch with 3 tablespoons of water and stirring until smooth.

10 Ways to Use Ricotta Cheese Filling

• Stuff jumbo pasta shells or manicotti, cover with 30-minute pasta tomato sauce and a little more Parmesan or Romano cheese then bake. Another sauce you can use is this meat sauce, my bison bolognese recipe for a rich and hearty winter dish.
• Fill an omelet (it's delicious!).
• Make a baked pasta casserole, tossing the ricotta filling with cooked penne or fusilli and cooked ground beef or turkey, topping with some grated mozzarella cheese and baking.
• Use it as a ricotta filling for lasagna topped with marinara sauce.
• Fill savory crepes (for gluten-free, try buckwheat or cassava flour crepes).
• Make lasagna rolls. Cook lasagna noodles, trim a little of the length, put a few tablespoons on one end and roll up. Place in a casserole, top with sauce and cheese and bake. I'll have to write up my recipe.
• Mix with spaghetti squash threads and stuff back into the squash for baking, covered with aluminum foil (vegetarian and meat options). Make it vegetarian, or add finely chopped sweet Italian sausage or browned ground meat of choice.
• Ricotta toast. Make garlic toast in the oven with gluten-free bread or baguette slices, top with a few spoonfuls of the ricotta filling, and enjoy along side a big green salad or cut into bite-sized pieces for appetizers. For breakfast, top with poached or fried egg.
• Make a white pizza spreading the filling over homemade pizza crust, topping with sliced tomatoes, and baking.
• Make lemon ricotta pasta by adding fresh lemon zest to the filling and tossing it with your favorite hot cooked pasta noodle.

Chef's Tip: If you use this ricotta filling for manicotti or jumbo shells, you can pipe it in with a pastry bag and large open tip.

Storage

Finished ricotta cheese filling keeps up to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. This is not something I recommend freezing as the texture changes.

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