Ricotta & Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ricotta and spinach stuffed pasta shells are the perfect comfort food. Baked to perfection with a butternut squash sauce, these shells are wonderful to share with guests or make-ahead and serve for a weeknight meal.

Ricotta & Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells

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Ricotta & Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells

Prep Time

15 min

Total Time

1 hour

Serves

4–6 people

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Ingredients

16 Large pasta shells (Plus a few extra just in case as sometimes they break when cooking)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups packed fresh spinach, chopped

450g ricotta

1/2 cup mozzarella

¼ cup parmesan

¼ tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Pinch chili flakes

1x 25oz jar of butternut squash sauce

Topping:

10-12 sage leaves, chopped thin

1/2 cup shredded parmesan reggiano cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F.
Cook the shells according to package directions, drain well and set aside.
In a skillet, add 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat and once the pan is hot, add garlic. Saute until just starts to turn golden, then add spinach, a splash of water and toss until it just starts to wilt. Take off heat.
Mix the cheese mixture together: cooked spinach and garlic, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, pepper, salt and chili flakes.
In an oven-safe baking dish, spread out the entire jar of sauce.
To assemble the shells, scoop the cheese mixture into each shell, dividing evenly between shells and place the shells into the sauce in the baking dish.
Top shells with shredded parmesan cheese and minced sage, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Then remove foil and cook 10-15 extra minutes until bubbling.

TIPS

Make these ahead of time! Follow the recipe up until the baking step. Instead of baking right away, tightly cover the pan with the shells with foil and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. When ready to cook, take them out of the fridge a half-hour ahead of time then place in the oven and cook according to the directions, adding 5-10 minutes if needed.