vegetarian stuffed shells

Vegan Stuffed Shells make the perfect Italian comfort food! This easy-to-make stuffed shells recipe delivers big smiles and full bellies when served up for meals. It’s definitely a vegan baked pasta dish the whole family loves.

Vegan Stuffed Shells

(12-ounce) package of jumbo pasta shells

(16-ounce) block of extra-firm tofu (pressed)

onion

garlic

¼ cup of packed fresh basil leaves

oregano

salt

¾ teaspoon of ground black pepper

red chili pepper flakes (optional)

yeast

lemon

spinach leaves

vegan cheese shreds (optional)

basil leaves,

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the jumbo pasta shells according to the prebake cooking directions on the package. Then drain, rinse with cold water to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the tofu, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, red chili pepper flakes (if using), nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Pulse 15 times or until partially mixed. Add the spinach and pulse just a few more times until combined. The resulting texture should be ricotta­like. Do not overpulse or your ricotta will turn green!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pour half of the marinara sauce into a 9 × 13 ­inch baking dish, spreading to evenly coat the bottom of the dish.

One by one, fill each cooked shell with a generous spoonful of the tofu ricotta filling and place in the prepared baking dish. Continue until the tofu mixture is gone and the baking dish is filled. Sprinkle the vegan cheese (if using) on top.

Drizzle the remaining marinara sauce over the stuffed shells. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until the vegan cheese (if using) is melted and the edges of the shells are lightly browned. Garnish with the basil leaves (if using). Serve immediately and enjoy hot.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1661527501/iMu0h8RZI.mp4

Once you make this fresh pasta dish, it'll be one that you'll forever go back to each week! It uses very simple ingredients and is surprisingly easy to prepare.

This stuffed shells recipe features cheesy, saucy shells stuffed with a delicious spinach and ricotta filling. Make these stuffed shells for dinner tonight! Recipe yields about 28 shells, about 8 servings.

Best Stuffed Shells

(16 ounces) fresh baby spinach spinach Tuscan kale

extra virgin olive oil

jumbo shells

garlic, peeled and cut into several segments

(or 1 pound) ricotta cheese or cottage cheese

(2 cups) grated part-skim mozzarella, divided

(2 ounces) grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish

pepper,

red pepper flakes,

sea salt,

egg,

(24 ounces) marinara sauce, homemade*

basil

Preheat the oven to 375 with racks in the middle and upper third of the oven. Bring a large Dutch oven or stockpot of water to boil over high heat. Generously salt the water (use at least 2 teaspoons). If you&#8217;re not using frozen greens, fill a large bowl with ice water for blanching. 

If you&#8217;re using fresh greens, add them to the boiling water and cook just until wilted, about 20 to 40 seconds. Using tongs (leave the water in the pot), transfer the greens to the ice bath and let them cool down. Drain off the water and squeeze as much excess water from the greens as possible. Set aside. (If you&#8217;re using frozen greens, place them in a colander and run cool water over them until they&#8217;ve full defrosted. Squeeze out as much excess water as possible, and set aside.)

Bring the water in the pot back to a boil. Gently add the pasta shells in handfuls so they don&#8217;t break on the way in. Cook until pliable but just shy of al dente, about 10 minutes, stirring often so they don&#8217;t stick to the pot. Drain off the water, return the noodles to the pot, and gently stir in the olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking. Set aside.

Turn on your food processor and drop the garlic through the feeding tube. Once the garlic is chopped and stuck to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides. For good measure, squeeze off any remaining water in the greens, then add them to the bowl. Process until the greens are chopped into small pieces.

Add the ricotta and process until well blended. Add half of the mozzarella, reserving the rest for topping. Add all of the Parmesan and chives, about 10 twists of black pepper, the red pepper flakes and salt. Blend well. Taste, and add additional salt, pepper or red pepper flakes if desired. Finally, add the egg and process until blended. Set aside.

If you have an extra-large baking dish (larger than 9&#215;13 inches), spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce across the bottom. Otherwise, divide 1 cup marinara between a large (9&#215;13 inches) and medium-sized baker (say, an 8-inch square). You might need to add another splash of sauce to evenly coat the bottom of the pans.

Stuff each intact shell with a heaping spoonful (about 1 &frac12; to 2 tablespoons) of the green mixture. Place each stuffed shell in the baker in rows. (You might have a few leftover or broken shells; save them for another use.) Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the tops of the shells. Top the shells with the remaining mozzarella.

Cover the baker(s) tightly with foil and bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and place the bakers on the upper rack. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the mozzarella is fully melted and turning just slightly golden (you can bake longer for a more golden effect, but the greens will become less vibrant).

Garnish the shells with a light dusting of grated Parmesan and some small or torn fresh basil leaves. Leftover shells will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze them for several months.

These shells are incredible, I’ve been making this recipe for years and it’s my go-to recipe for when we have company. It’s easy to follow and always a hit with guests.

Made this for the first time this week and hands down this is one of my new favorite Italian recipes. My family loved it and said it’s now one we have to add to the dinner rotation. I plan to make double the amount next time so I can have leftovers for lunches for days after!

The spinach-stuffed shells were delicious. The ricotta and spinach mixture tastes scrumptious. I like the little bit of heat from the pepper and red chili flakes. One to two tablespoons of the mixture in each shell makes for a perfect-sized shell. The shells were much easier to put together than I anticipated.

Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I’ve served it to guests several times and have gotten compliments for it every time! (It can easily feed 8-10 people.) I made this without a food processor and made a few small changes. I sautéed minced onion and garlic, then added that to the filling instead of adding raw garlic. I baked it at 400 degrees to hurry things up. I also used more sauce. I usually freeze some of the leftovers.

How many packages of frozen spinach would you use?

Thank you.  That would have been obviously if only I had taken more time to think about it.  Duh.  Thanks for your patience.

Thank you for the recipe and inspiration, Kate! Your weekly email contained this recipe and it looked wonderful. I followed the recipe step by step. The only change I made was adding one pound of cooked Italian sausage to the spinach/ricotta mixture. It turned out perfect! The whole family enjoyed it! And it makes enough to share with the neighbors 

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/&rdquo;nH1RxJa4&Prime;.mp4

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Vegan Stuffed Shells

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