Vegetarian Stuffed Shells
These Vegetarian Stuffed Shells are the best hearty and crowd-pleasing comfort food you’ll find!
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Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 490kcal
Ingredients
- 16 jumbo pasta shells uncooked
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onion finely diced
- ½ cup zucchini finely diced
- ½ cup yellow squash finely diced
- ½ cup bell pepper finely diced
- 2 cups spinach roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Cook pasta shells to al dente according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, zucchini, squash and bell pepper to the pan.
- Cook 3-4 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Add spinach. Stir until spinach wilts. Remove pan from heat and cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, egg, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Add vegetable mixture to cheese mixture and stir until fully combined.
- Spread ¾ cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of an 11X7 or 8X8 baking dish.
- Carefully stuff each shell with 2-3 Tablespoons of vegetable mixture. Place stuffed shells in even rows in the baking dish. Top with remaining sauce.
- Cover dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle parmesan cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes more until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven. Let cool slightly. Serve warm!
Notes
- To keep your shells from falling apart when you stuff them, slightly undercook the shells, just to al dente as they will continue to cook when they go into the oven.
- For extra smooth melted cheese, shred your own rather than buying the pre-shredded bags of cheese. Most pre-shredded bags of cheese are coated with anti-caking agents that do not melt as well and can throw off the taste.
- Make your own marinara sauce to really spice it up! This is a fantastic Simple Homemade Marinara recipe.
- To get the job done quickly with less mess, use a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the tip cut off to fill your shells.
- Only choose ingredients you like. If you don’t like a certain herb, try a different herb. Replace Ricotta with cream cheese or cottage cheese.
- Double the recipe and make a second batch to freeze later!
Nutrition
Serving: 2shells | Calories: 490kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 443mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g