Baked Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells – perfect example of comfort food at its best! Giant pasta shells stuffed full of creamy spinach & ricotta filling with homemade tomato sauce and delicious cheese topping. Ultimate Italian feast!
My Baked Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells is one of those dishes that look impressive and seem complicated but are in fact really easy to make.
Ok, there are quite a few stages involved but they are not difficult at all and you will be rewarded with wholesome, creamy and utterly delicious family feast!
It’s really laid back, weekend type cooking I love. If you are on a roll and feel like a spot of batch cooking, this is your recipe. Simply double and freeze for later (details below).
Stages of making Baked Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells
Tomato Sauce
You should start with your tomato sauce which can also be made ahead of time. However, if you are making everything all at once then allow minimum half an hour for the sauce to simmer on the hob.
I’ve opted for some added veggie goodness in this sauce to make it that bit more wholesome and delicious. My kids absolutely adore it and the good thing is this recipe yields more than you need so you can freeze it or keep in the fridge for later. It will be perfect tossed with some pasta and cooked chicken for a quick lunch or dinner.
I puree my sauce until it’s really smooth but you can make it as smooth or as chunky as you wish.
Pasta
You will need large/jumbo pasta shells suitable for stuffing (Conchiglioni)*. Pre-cook your pasta shells first. Bring large pan of salted water to boil and cook your shells for approx. 7-8 min leaving them slightly firm and al dente as they will cook further in the oven.
Slight firmness will also help when you are filling them as they won’t fall apart in your hands. Once the time is up, drain them and cool immediately under cold water to stop cooking process. Separate the shells to make sure they won’t stick and set aside while you get on with your spinach.
Spinach
If using fresh spinach, place it on a colander in a sink and pour over 1-2 kettles full of boiling water over it to wilt it. Drain well, squeezing out as much liquid as possible. Leave to cool slightly and chop finely by hand or using food processor. Set aside.
If using frozen spinach simply cook it as per instructions on the packaging. Cool and chop as above.
Filling
Once spinach has cooled down, mix it with ricotta, grated parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper and get filling. It’s quite therapeutic really.
Few helpful tips
- Make sure you don’t overcook your pasta shells. They need to be slightly al dente which will make for easier filling.
- It might be worth cooking few extra shells just in case some of them break.
- I tend to use a spoon to fill my shells but you can try piping bag instead.
- I prefer making my own tomato sauce but you could use good quality shop bought one instead. Pay attention to the amount of salt and sugar though. You’ll be surprised how much of both you can find in commercially made sauces.
- You can boil your pasta well in advance but make sure you store it in the fridge separated and well covered to prevent it from drying.
Making Ahead, Storing and Freezing Advice
This delicious baked pasta is perfect for making ahead of time and/or freezing. It also makes great leftovers the following day as it reheats really well.
If you’d like to make it ahead simply make it as per recipe, assemble, cover well with aluminium foil and put in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. You can keep assembled dish in the fridge for 2-3 days although I would wait until ready to bake before putting mozzarella on top due to its water content. When ready to bake simply follow the instructions in recipe below. You might have to add few extra minutes baking time. Keep a watchful eye!
If you make one for the freezer cook and assemble as per recipe with the exception of mozzarella and parmesan cheese topping which you will add when baking. Cover your dish well to prevent freezer burn and freeze for up to 3 months.
Bake from frozen at 180°C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for approximately 45min (keep checking as it might need more time depending on your oven). Add mozzarella and parmesan for the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
You can also defrost it in the fridge overnight first, top with cheeses and follow the instructions for freshly baked shells adding few minutes baking time if needed.
How to make Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells – Step-By-Step Instructions
Tomato Sauce
- Heat the oil in a pan and add roughly chopped onion, celery, carrots and broccoli stalk and let them fry briefly (2-3 min).
- Add whole garlic cloves, tomatoes, basil, sugar and couple of good pinches of salt.
- Rinse out tomato tins with a bit of water (less than a quarter of a tin) and add that too.
- Stir well and bring to boil. Cover tightly with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer for anything between half an hour to an hour (however much time you’ve got).
- Keep en eye on the sauce and give it a stir from time to time. As long as the pan is tightly covered the sauce won’t be reducing rapidly but nice and slow, letting flavours develop.
- Puree the sauce using a stick blender to desired consistency, making it as smooth or leaving as chunky as you like.
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- Sauté roughly chopped veggies in some olive oil
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- Add tinned tomatoes and some fresh basil
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- Simmer (covered) for at least half an hour, up to an hour
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- Finish by pureeing until smooth
Spinach & Ricotta filling
- Pre-cook pasta shells in a large pan of salted, boiling water for 7-8 min, drain and run under cold water to stop cooking process. Separate shells to prevent them from sticking and set aside.
- Put fresh spinach on a colander over the sink and pour 1 or 2 kettles worth of boiling water to wilt it. For frozen spinach follow instructions on the pack. Drain well, squeezing out as much water as possible. Chop finely with a knife or food processor and leave to cool.
- Put ricotta cheese in a large bowl, add chopped spinach, grated parmesan, grated nutmeg, salt and pepper. Give it a good mix, taste and adjust seasoning as per your liking.
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- Ricotta, parmesan, spinach and seasoning in a large bowl waiting to be mixed
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- Spinach and ricotta filling ready to use
Assembly
- Start filling pre-cooked and cooled pasta shells using generous teaspoon of spinach ricotta mixture per shell. You can use piping bag here if you find it easier.
- Assemble your bake by spreading generous amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish and arranging your filled pasta shells on top. Follow with some more pasta sauce over the shells, mozzarella cheese and some grated parmesan.
- Bake in preheated oven at 180°C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for approx 20-25 minutes until golden.
- Enjoy!
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- Stuffed pasta shells on top of tomato sauce
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- Pasta shells topped with some more tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan ready to bake
Baked Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells
Equipment
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce (Feel free to use shop bought tomato sauce of your choice if you prefer)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 celery sticks roughly chopped
- 1 large or 2 small carrots peeled or scrubbed and roughly chopped
- 1 large or 2 small red onions peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 broccoli stalk (optional) roughly chopped
- 2 400g tins chopped or plum tomatoes
- couple sprigs of basil leaves and stalks
- 2 plump garlic cloves peeled and left whole
- 1/2 tsp sugar or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Pasta Shells with Spinach & Ricotta Filling
- 250 g conchiglioni pasta (large/jumbo pasta shells) approx 32 shells (see notes)
- 500 g fresh spinach or baby spinach or 300g frozen spinach
- 2 250g tubs ricotta cheese
- 60 g parmesan
- grating of nutmeg to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 125g pack of mozzarella
- More parmesan to grate on top before baking.
- Fresh basil and more parmesan to serve
Instructions
Tomato Sauce
- Heat the oil in a pan, add onion, celery, carrots and broccoli stalk (if using) and let them fry briefly (2-3 min).
- Add whole garlic cloves, tomatoes, basil, sugar and couple of good pinches of salt.
- Rinse out tomato tins with a bit of water (less than a quarter of a tin each) and add that too.
- Stir well and bring to boil. Cover tightly with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer for anything between half an hour to an hour (however much time you've got).
- Keep en eye on the sauce and give it a stir from time to time. As long as the pan is tightly covered the sauce won't be reducing rapidly but nice and slow, letting flavours develop.
- Puree the sauce to desired consistency using a stick blender, making it as smooth or leaving as chunky as you like.
Pasta Shells with Spinach & Ricotta filling
- Pre-cook pasta shells in a large pan of salted, boiling water for 7-8 min, drain and run under cold water to stop cooking process. Separate shells to prevent them from sticking and set aside.
- Put fresh spinach in a colander over the sink and pour 1 or 2 kettles worth of boiling water to wilt it. For frozen spinach follow instructions on the pack. Drain well, squeezing out as much water as possible. Chop finely with a knife or food processor and leave to cool.
- Put ricotta cheese in a large bowl, add chopped spinach, grated parmesan, grated nutmeg, salt and pepper. Give it a good mix, taste and adjust seasoning as per your liking.
Assembly
- Start filling pre-cooked and cooled pasta shells using generous teaspoon of spinach ricotta mixture per shell. You can use piping bag here if you find it easier.
- Assemble your bake by spreading generous amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish and arranging your filled pasta shells on top. Follow with some more pasta sauce over the shells, mozzarella cheese and some grated parmesan.
- Bake in preheated oven at 180°C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for approx 20-25 minutes until golden.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is per servings based on 6 servings, is approximate and should be treated as a guideline only.
- Total time above doesn't include the time required to cook tomato sauce.
- Feel free to cook few extra shells in case some of them break.
- Any leftovers should be cooled and can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat well before serving.
- This pasta is perfect for making ahead and is also freezer friendly. See above for details.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in February 2018 and revised in February 2020 with updated recipe card, helpful info and better layout improving user experience.
Italian Feast For Special Occasion
Even though this delicious stuffed pasta shells recipe is very family friendly it will also do really well as a dish for special occasion, part of dinner party spread or perhaps to treat your significant other (Valentine’s Day). If that’s the reason you’re making it I would suggest pairing it with my delicious Aubergine, Tomato & Mozzarella Bake to start and Easy Eggless Tiramisu to finish. Italian themed meal to impress!
More delicious pasta recipes you might enjoy:
Spring Lemon and Dill Salmon Pasta with Asparagus and Peas
Vegan Lentil and Spinach Lasagne
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Cook Blog Share with Everyday Healthy Recipes and Recipes Made Easy, Cook Once Eat Twice, Brilliant Blog Posts, Bake of The Week with CasaCostello and MummyMishaps
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Jo Muller says
Hiya, I fablous recipe idea again Jo but where can buy the pasta my friend!! Looking forward to doing some batch cooking this weekend, so thankyou very much for sharing
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Jo, You can get large shells (Conchiglioni) in any large supermarket. Tesco & Sainsbury’s even do it in their own Finest and Taste the Difference ranges. Happy cooking!
Alison says
These pasta shells are perfect from the sauce to the filling. A wonderful family meal!
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you for your lovely feedback Alison. I’m so pleased you like it!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
Stuffed shells are one of my favourite meals. These look so delicious!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Bintu! I’m glad you like them.
David says
Mmm, delicious! Nothing like a good baked pasta recipe. And nice touch to go the extra step with the homemade tomato sauce.
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks David! I’m a huge fan of homemade tomato sauce as with two fussy boys I am able to sneak a lot of veggie goodness into it which is brilliant! Every little helps as they say.
Carrie Robinson says
I just love stuffed shells! These looks delicious. 🙂
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks! 🙂
Danielle says
The pasta shells to fight for in the kitchen 🙂 The combination of spinach and ricotta is surely one of the best when it comes to pasta shells, so I just can’t wait to try these!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Danielle! 🙂 Couldn’t agree more, such a classic combo and with baked pasta a definite winner.
Deborah Regen says
Looks easy and yummy and filling with plenty of leftovers to savor another day. A winner! Pinned.
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you so much Deborah! 🙂 They are so easy to prepare and great to have at the ready for filling and nutritious brekkie.
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This looks absolutely scrumptious, I would be licking the plate clean!
joskitchenlarder says
Aaw, thanks Kat! I know the feeling lol 🙂
Monika Dabrowski says
Looks super tasty, pinned to my pasta board:)
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Monika! 🙂
jenny walters says
These look incredible JO.Right up my street as usual!!Pinned xx
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you! 🙂 Can’t beat a bit of baked pasta! 🙂 xx
Jenny Paulin says
woah! this looks amazing and oh so delicious! You have managed to make it look very attractive and delicious! I could happily tuck into this for my lunch today.
thank you for linking to #Bakeoftheweek xx
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Jenny! xx
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
Oh wow – these look and sound utterly delicious. Such beautiful photos too. I am such a sucker for these flavours, but I’ve never seen the presented in quite such a pretty way before – those big shells are gorgeous!! Eb x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks so much Eb! It is such a satisfying and comforting dish but I do agree, it is tricky to photograph and make look pretty. My secret here (shhh, classified info) lol was to save a portion to photograph when it was stone cold from the fridge the next day, it worked a treat. After I was done taking photos, I reheated it for a lovely lunch so it was win win. ? x
Maud says
Oh these look amazing and right up my street. I shall add them to next week’s meal plan. Thank you
joskitchenlarder says
Aw, thank you! You really made my day! I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we did! Let me know what you thought if you get the chance. 🙂
Jessica says
Oh these look delicious! I absolutely love spinach and ricotta + pasta! I might these ago! x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Jess! It’s a classic combination of flavours isn’t it? My version is properly comforting but with a lot of goodness thrown in as well! x
Corina Blum says
These look delicious Jo! I love the combination of spinach and ricotta – it goes perfectly with pasta. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Corina! It’s such a crowd pleaser this one! 🙂 x
Jacqui says
As you know I love Spinach and ricotta as a combination and I would this dish too as would the rest of my family. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Jacqui! Ooo yes, your spinach ricotta stuffed pancakes are fantastic! It is such a gorgeous tasting filling, isn’t it. My kids love it and aren’t even bothered by “the green bits” 🙂
Patrick says
Holy smokes these look amazing ! I need a fork to dig in.
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Patrick 🙂 They were really delicious if I can say so myself 🙂