Spinach Ricotta Shells (Printable Recipe Version)

Big pasta shells filled with cheesy spinach, tucked in tangy marinara and baked for an easy, shareable dinner.

# Ingredients You’ll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 to 15 big pasta shells (about 175 g)

→ Filling

02 - 500 g ricotta cheese
03 - 1 large egg
04 - 50 g Parmesan, grated
05 - 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
06 - 2 cups (60 g) fresh spinach, chopped up, or 1 cup (130 g) frozen spinach, thawed and well squeezed
07 - 125 g shredded mozzarella cheese, split in half

→ Assembly

08 - Salt, add as much as you like
09 - Fresh basil leaves, if you fancy for topping
10 - 1 teaspoon Italian herbs mix
11 - 15 ml olive oil
12 - Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
13 - 480 ml tomato-based marinara sauce

# Steps to Make It:

01 - Give your dish a few minutes to rest, so everything comes together. Throw on fresh basil right before you dig in, if you want.
02 - Pour the last of the marinara on top of the shells, sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella over them, cover up with foil, and bake for twenty minutes. Pull the foil off and let them bake another ten minutes, until bubbly and golden.
03 - Heat up your oven to 190°C. Pour half the marinara into the bottom of a 22x33 cm (9x13 inch) oven dish. Scoop about two tablespoons of the cheesy spinach mix into each shell, and line them all up in the dish.
04 - Warm up olive oil in a pan at medium heat, toss in the chopped garlic for about half a minute until it smells great, then add spinach and stir until it's wilted (takes two or three minutes). Let it cool for a bit, then mix into the ricotta blend with the Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
05 - Toss ricotta, 60 g of the mozzarella, Parmesan, and the egg into your biggest bowl. Stir it all up so everything's mixed and smooth.
06 - Drop the big pasta shells into a pot of salty boiling water and cook them for 8 to 10 minutes until they still have a little bite. Drain and let cool a bit.

# Extra Information:

01 - Want a silky filling? Use full-fat ricotta. But lighter ricotta works too if you need it.
02 - Don’t jam too much filling in the shells or they’ll burst open as they bake.
03 - Throw in sautéed mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, or fresh herbs if you want more flavor in the filling.
04 - You can freeze the stuffed shells before you bake them. Just thaw and cook like normal later.

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