Baked Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells

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

1. Make sure you don’t overcook your pasta shells. They need to be slightly al dente which will make for easier filling.
2. It might be worth cooking few extra shells just in case some of them break.
3. I tend to use a spoon to fill my shells but you can try piping bag instead.
4. 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.
5. 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

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5 from 5 votes

Baked Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells

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! 

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword spinach & ricotta stuffed shells, stuffed pasta shells

Equipment

• Large Stainless Steel Frying Pan with a Lid*
• Stick Blender*
• Ovenproof Baking Dish 33x23cm/13x9inch*

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 522kcal

Author Jo Allison

Ingredients

Metric - US Customary

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

Nutrition Facts

Baked Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells

Amount Per Serving (0 g)

Calories 522 Calories from Fat 216

% Daily Value*

Fat 24g37%

Saturated Fat 12g60%

Cholesterol 66mg22%

Sodium 567mg24%

Potassium 1175mg34%

Carbohydrates 50g17%

Fiber 7g28%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 29g58%

Vitamin A 10812IU216%

Vitamin C 122mg148%

Calcium 565mg57%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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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

Creamy Pasta Primavera

Vegan Lentil and Spinach Lasagne

Easy Carbonara Sauce

Roasted Tomato & Basil Pasta

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