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    Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells with Sausage and Spinach

    Sep 8, 2017 · 23 Comments

    27.6K shares
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    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Sausage and spinach stuffed shells with ricotta cheese! These appetizing stuffed pasta shells are ideal for making in advance. In this recipe you can easily learn how to make them. And just pop them in the oven when you need them!

    Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells with Sausage and Spinach

    Easy to make weeknight one pot pasta dish! Prepare the shells ahead of time and simply pop them in the oven. I think there’s nothing better than having a restaurant quality pasta dish on the table within minutes! Especially when I’m treating my family and friends. They love a good stuffed pasta dish any night of the week! This pasta dinner recipe is simple, fast and delicious!

    How to make Ricotta Stuffed Shells Filling

    The pasta shells filling is made with pork sausage, spinach, tomatoes and ricotta cheese. And GARLIC! And yes, these delicious ingredients are rich, cheesy and so comforting. They also make your kitchen smell amazing and make you look good in front of family members.

    What kind of sausage to use

    Italian pork sausage is what I used in this recipe. It’s usually seasoned with fennel or anise. We get mild sausage in casings from our local store and it usually comes very long, shaped as a wheel casing.

    I remove it from the casings by cutting a slip down the sausage and pulling the casing away from the meat. This needs to be done prior to cooking.

    You can also buy bulk Italian sausage without any casings if you are able to find it. This way you won’t have to remove casings at all.

    How to choose Ricotta cheese

    Sausage Stuffed Pasta Shells

    When you shop for ricotta, make sure that it has nothing more than milk, salt, and either an acid or bacterial starter. Avoid anything with a gum listed. These gums bind water but release it as you heat the ricotta up.

    How to precook pasta shells

    Shells need to be precooked before filling them with a stuffing. I boiled mine in a large pot of salted water for 10 minutes, drained them, and then transferred to a baking sheet to cool.

    Make sure they are not lumped together at this point. They are going to stay there until the filling is done.

    How to make pasta shells filling

    Brown the sausage first

    Heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. As the sausage cooks, use a wooden spoon to break the sausage up into small pieces in the pan.

    Stir in the garlic, tomatoes and spinach

    Cook spinach, tomatoes and sausage on medium heat until heated through, about 4-5 minutes. You can also use your favorite tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones.

    Add ricotta cheese

    Sausage Stuffed Pasta Shells

    Next, you will add ricotta cheese to make the mixture creamy. Stir it well with the rest of ingredients.

    How to stuff shells

    Each shell is stuffed with a tablespoon of the filling. You can stuff them on the baking sheet and then transfer them back to the pan to reheat.

    Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells and reheat for 5 minutes. They are ready to serve as is, sprinkled lightly with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

    Or, arrange the shells into the baking dish, and bake for 25 minutes (this is a good way to reheat these shells if making them in advance – make sure to sprinkle generously with Parmesan).

    HOW TO FREEZE SAUSAGE STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

    Make sure to freeze them on the baking sheet as individual pieces. Doing so will keep them from sticking to each other. Once frozen, shells can be transferred into a zip lock bag for storage.

    HOW TO REHEAT RICOTTA PASTA SHELLS

    Preheat oven to 375F, arrange the shells into the baking dish, sprinkle with LOTS of Parmesan cheese and bake for 25 minutes (reheating in the oven is the preferred way to reheat these shells if making them in advance – just make sure to sprinkle generously with Parmesan).

    Are you enjoying Italian style pasta dishes as much as we do? How about these delicious pasta recipes with step by step instructions:

    • Chicken Pasta in Creamy White Wine Parmesan Cheese Sauce
    • Creamy Chicken Pasta in Mozzarella Cheese Wine Sauce
    • Baked Ziti with Sausage, Broccoli and Spinach
    Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells
    Print Recipe
    4.43 from 19 votes

    Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells with Sausage and Spinach

    These appetizing sausage and spinach stuffed shells are ideal for making in advance. You can either freeze or refrigerate. And just pop them in the oven when you need it!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time40 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian
    Keyword: stuffed pasta shells
    Servings: 4 servings
    servings
    Author: Olya

    Ingredients

    • 20 pasta shells, (jumbo)
    • 1 pound pork sausage, (casings removed)
    • 3 cloves garlic, (finely chopped)
    • 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
    • 2 cups spinach
    • 4 ounces ricotta cheese, (about ½ cup)
    • Salt and fresh ground black pepper
    • ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (more, if desired)
    • Parsley, optional for decoration

    Instructions

    • HOW TO COOK SHELLS: Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the pasta shells then follow package directions for cooking the shells (I cooked mine for 10 minutes). Drain, and then rinse the shells with cold water. Set aside on a baking sheet.
    • HOW TO MAKE FILLING: Heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. As the sausage cooks, use a wooden spoon to break the sausage up into small pieces in the pan.
    • Stir in the garlic, canned tomatoes and spinach. Cook until heated through and liquid reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat then stir in the ricotta cheese. Taste for seasoning then adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
    • HOW TO STUFF SHELLS: Each shell is stuffed with a heaping tablespoon of the filling. You can stuff them on the baking sheet and then transfer them back to the pan to reheat. Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells and reheat for 5 minutes. They are ready to serve as is, sprinkled lightly with Parmesan cheese and parsley.
    • HOW TO REHEAT SHELLS: Preheat oven to 375F, arrange the shells into the baking dish, sprinkle with LOTS of Parmesan cheese and bake for 25 minutes (reheating in the oven is the preferred way to reheat these shells if making them in advance – just make sure to sprinkle generously with Parmesan).
    Nutrition Facts
    Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells with Sausage and Spinach
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 469 Calories from Fat 324
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 36g55%
    Saturated Fat 13g81%
    Cholesterol 101mg34%
    Sodium 1037mg45%
    Potassium 608mg17%
    Carbohydrates 10g3%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 2g2%
    Protein 25g50%
    Vitamin A 1805IU36%
    Vitamin C 15.3mg19%
    Calcium 218mg22%
    Iron 2.9mg16%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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    Make sure to use a good heavy skillet here, such as cast iron and make sure it’s a large one too.  I used this 12 inch Lodge Cast Iron Skillet – it never sticks or leaves weird black dots like other cast iron skillets do. And it has over 9,000 positive reviews on Amazon.

    You might also like:
    Pork Chops in Garlic, Brown Sugar and Herb Wine Sauce
    Pan Seared Pork Chops in Garlic Brown Sugar Herb Wine Sauce

    Click here to pin this Stuffed Pasta Shells Recipe

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kay says

      January 18, 2022 at 6:54 pm

      I made this for dinner for the two of us tonight. It was really quick and easy, and absolutely delicious. Made pretty much by the recipe but added some tomato paste. Company grade! Did I say quick and easy? Didn’t require a lot of ingredients.

      Reply
      • Olya says

        January 20, 2022 at 4:30 pm

        This review truly made my difficult day, Kay! And thank you so much for your 5-star rating!

        Reply
    2. Olga says

      July 05, 2021 at 12:10 pm

      I had to use extra ricotta because the filling was still too liquidy.
      But then it came out good and was yummy!

      Reply
      • Olya says

        July 06, 2021 at 9:30 pm

        Good save on the liquid issue!

        Reply
    3. Karen says

      August 17, 2020 at 6:31 pm

      Tried the recipe with sausage family liked it, I had made a similar one except I use pancetta and add a pinch of fresh nutmeg in the seasoning

      Reply
    4. Marie says

      February 04, 2020 at 6:05 pm

      Do you have to prepare the ricotta?

      Reply
    5. Jane says

      February 04, 2020 at 5:50 pm

      Can you replace the ricotta with cream cheese?

      Reply
      • Olya says

        June 18, 2020 at 12:49 am

        Yes, you can.

        Reply
    6. Mafcia says

      December 05, 2019 at 11:41 am

      I’m not crazy about diced tomatoes any suggestions for a substitute ? Pasta sauce too thick, I have mushroom bruschetta from our local mushroom farm that has tomato in it or any idea how to mush the diced tomstoe. Sound yummy and will be making this as soon as I get all ingrediants

      Reply
      • Olga says

        December 07, 2019 at 12:06 pm

        Mushroom bruschetta sounds good, you can also use pasta sauce instead.

        Reply
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