Here's an old fashioned, cold weather comfort food dish: stuffed pasta shells with ricotta and spinach. It's a bit of work but well worth the effort, plus stuffed shells freeze well for future dinners. Top with your favorite pasta sauce and freshly grated parmesan for a family favorite vegetarian meal. If you can't find pasta shells or need a gluten-free dish, use lasagna noodles or manicotti shells. See tips at the end of the post.
Cheesy, creamy, saucy, pasta shells, and ricotta. What's not to love! Made with chopped cooked but if kale is not your thing, swap out for spinach. It works both ways so pick your favorite. And be sure to get the good stuff when it comes to parmesan.
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Why You'll Like This Recipe
- Hearty, classic comfort food recipe.
- It's meatless, so super for meatless Monday's or a vegetarian dinner.
- Extra freezes well, or can be made ahead.You
- Make this recipe in steps ahead of time, then stuff and bake when ready.
Recipe Ingredients
- Pasta shells: Get the ones labeled jumbo shells (wheat only). Unfortunately a gluten-free version is not made, see substitutions below for gluten-free.
- Kale: use the fresh, large flat leaf kale tagged lacinato, Italian, or dino kale.
- Cooking oil: use extra virgin olive oil.
- Onion: white, yellow, or brown onions all work well.
- Ricotta Cheese: I prefer whole milk ricotta for it's rich creaminess but low fat works as well.
- Garlic: fresh cloves of garlic is best, but the jarred type works.
- Egg: to help bind the ricotta filling.
- Parmesan cheese: get fresh grated in the cheese department or a block and grate yourself.
- Herbs: flat leaf parsley and dried Italian blend.
- Spices: a little nutmeg is terrific and red chili flakes add a little heat.
- Pasta sauce: use either your favorite jarred brand or a day ahead, make this easy homemade version. It freezes well too for recipes like this.
Please see the recipe card for measurements, salt and pepper.
For homemade pasta sauce recipes, try my easy marinara recipe, or this mushroom sauce for pasta.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use with spinach or chopped cooked kale.
- Add a little kick to the ricotta filling with a little red pepper flakes.
Recipe Instructions
- Start a large pot of water to boil for the shells.
- Next, get the kale leaves ready by following the detailed directions below. Once the kale is ready, proceed with the recipe.
- Make the filling: cook the onion and garlic in olive oil, add the chopped kale. Mix in a medium bowl with the cheeses, eggs and herbs until smooth.
- Stuff the shells by hand with a large spoon, like a soup spoon or table spoon, then arrange the shells into a baking casserole dish. Cover with your favorite tomato sauce and bake.
Buying Kale
Buy Lacinato or Tuscan kale (also known as Dinosaur kale), which is a little milder than curly kale. This variety of kale has dark evergreen colored leaves that look embossed or heavily textured.
Buy organic if possible. Kale is often on the EWG’s “dirty dozen” list of worst produce for pesticides.
How to Prep and Cook Kale
To prepare kale, cut out the center tough ribs, then cook the leaves briefly in boiling salted water (called blanching), about three minutes. Dunk the leaves into a bowl of ice water to set the color and stop the cooking process.
Another option is steaming the kale ribbons until soft, preserving more of the vitamins in kale.
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Drain the kale leaves and dry well. If you have one, a salad spinner will get most of the water out, then squeeze dry in paper towels, removing excess moisture.
Next, chop the kale and mix into a bowl with sauteed onions, garlic, cheeses and herbs. Fill cooked jumbo pasta shells with the filling. Place in a casserole dish, top with sauce, then bake.
Serving Suggestions
Once the shells are baked and piping hot, serve family style in the casserole dish or spoon portions into wide shallow bowls. Serve with extra sauce on the side if desired, and of course extra grated Parmesan cheese.
A nice leafy green salad adds balance and if you love garlic toast, it's a pretty classic combination.
Freezing and Thawing Tips
If you have leftovers, stuffed pasta shells freeze well. Place potions in small airtight containers and cover with extra sauce to keep them moist. Label and date the containers before freezing. Stuffed pasta shells last for about 3 months properly frozen. Check out this handout for tips on how long food lasts.
The safest way to thaw is over night in the refrigerator. Don't thaw on the counter as that is not food safe. If the container is air tight and water tight, submerge the container in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes until thawed.
To re-heat, pre-heat the oven to 350F. Place oven safe containers on a rimmed baking sheet for easier handling, cover with foil, and heat until the shells reached 165°F measured internally with a digital thermometer. Add fresh Parmesan at serving.
Pasta and Gluten-Free Notes
If you are not GF, use jumbo wheat pasta shells. If you are gluten-free, use brown rice lasagna (this brand is my favorite) and make lasagna rolls instead of jumbo shells or use GF manicotti.
For Lasagna Rolls
Cook the noodles and trim to 6″- 6 ½″. Place no more than ¼ cup of the filling on one end and roll. Place in the casserole laying flat, top with sauce and bake. It works with wheat lasagna noodles as well if you can't find jumbo shells.
For Gluten-Free Manicotti
One tip on gluten-free manicotti. Buy it at a store as they are fragile and the boxes often arrive half broken when shipped due to incorrect packing.
More Pasta Recipes
Another classic pasta recipe to make is homemade whole wheat lasagna, or zucchini noodles mixed with pasta and roasted tomatoes.
For a stand alone filling recipe with spinach, try this one.
📖 Recipe
Stuffed Pasta Shells with Ricotta and Spinach
Ingredients
- 16 jumbo pasta shells
- 1 bundle flat leaf kale (lacinato or Italian) For spinach see notes below
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
- 15 ounces Ricotta cheese
- ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese divided use
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian blend herbs or dried basil
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg optional
- 4 cups homemade pasta sauce or your favorite jarred brand
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Instructions
Clean the Kale
- Strip the tough center rib from the kale leaves or slice out with a sharp knife. Roll leaves like crosswise like a cigar and slice into thin ribbons. Wash kale and spin dry in a salad spinner or roll into a clean kitchen towel and pat dry.
Cook the Shells and Kale
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cook the pasta shells according to package directions. Remove the cooked shells to a clean kitchen towel to cool. Bring water back to a boil and add the kale leaves. Cook (blanch) for three minutes. Remove the leaves to a bowl of ice water for 1-2 minutes. When the kale is cold, drain, squeeze dry in paper towels. A salad spinner can help get rid of excess moisture to start. Chop the kale into small pieces and set aside.
Make the Filling
- In a medium skillet or saute pan, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook (saute) until its soft and transparent. Add the garlic and cook another 30-60 seconds. Add the chopped kale and cook 2 minutes. Place in a medium bowl and mix in ricotta and ½ cup of the Parmesan, egg and herbs and seasonings until smooth.
Fill Shells and Bake
- Place about a 1 cup of the tomato sauce in a 9×13 casserole dish. Place about two tablespoons of filling in each shell. For reference, see the photo in the post. You want the shells to be full but not bursting. Place filled shells on top of the sauce. Top the shells with more sauce. Sprinkle with the last quarter cup of the Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
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