Stuffed Shells (Italian Recipe with Ricotta and Spinach)

Stuffed shells filled with ricotta and spinach are a delicious main course when you use my Italian recipe. Why not try this tasty and healthier recipe for a change? I bet you’ll never use another one again!

Originally published on July 6th, 2015 as part of my Miele dishwasher review. 

As you probably know by now, pasta is one of my favorite things.

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However, being Italian, I figure it’s in my DNA and I just go with it. Telling me that pasta makes you fat makes me laugh. It’s not pasta that makes people fat, it’s the type of pasta that makes people fat! (I don’t just mean the pasta itself, but all the ingredients within the recipe.) Things have been changing in Italy with the American influence of fast food and frozen meals, but I am telling you, years ago I don’t remember seeing overweight people in Italy (except for a few older ladies who were a bit heavy).

The old photo above is some of my family in Italy; if all pasta and bread made people fat, everyone in this photo would be morbidly obese. Trust me on this: if you make this stuffed shells recipe and my other pasta recipes with the ingredients indicated. Then you make other American-style pasta recipes (I wish I could link to some, but it would not be nice to call out a bad recipe) using their ingredients, there would simply be no comparison in the flavor, nutrition, calories, overall healthiness, and quality of the final dish. 

What are Stuffed Shells Called in Italian?

The Italian name is conchiglie ripieni, which literally translates to stuffed shells! To be honest, we never had these when I was growing up. This is a newer trend in pasta from what we know from my mother growing up in Italy, too. My mum’s not as keen on them as I am, but then again, she doesn’t really like lasagna!! Eeek!

What is Baked Stuffed Shells?

The grammar nut in me wants to say it shoud be “What ARE baked stuffed shells?”, but that’s not what people ask! As noted above, baked stuffed shells are more of an American-Italian dish, but they can be filled with the same fillings as manicotti and ravioli, for example. This recipe has a classic ricotta and spinach, but a meat filling, or just cheese is popular, too.

So, if this is an American dish, why am I calling it an Italian recipe? Because the way it’s made is Italian. The sauce is an authentic Italian tomato sauce, the filling is exactly how we fill other pasta; you get the idea.

What goes with stuffed shells?

A knife and fork!! Seriously, if you want to serve stuffed shells the Italian way, then absolutely nothing! Italian pasta dishes, no matter if you’re serving spaghetti with a plain tomato sauce, lasagna, ravioli or stuffed shells, is never served with a side dish! It’s one of the things that kind of makes me cringe when I see advice being given on serving green beans or chicken with a pasta dish! Those people need my friend Ale Gambini’s book: No Ketchup on Spaghetti! I hope it becomes a New York Times bestseller because everyone needs to read this book!

Can you Freeze Stuffed Shells after Baking?

You absolutely can freeze stuffed shells after, or even before, baking! They freeze really well, too! When you want to bake them, let them defrost in the fridge then bring to room temperature, and bake as directed below in the recipe.

With that information, let’s get to this stuffed shells recipe. Yes, the recipe is a bit daunting to see all the different ingredients for the different parts, but if you just follow the steps one at a time, it’s easy enough for a child to make! Full printable recipe below.

Stuffed Pasta Shells with Spinach and Ricotta and Homemade Tomato Sauce

recipe by Christina Conte (family recipe)                 serves 8
(As with all of my recipes, quality of ingredients is key. Please try to use the brands I specify for best results.)

Ricotta and Spinach Filling

Begin by steaming the spinach in a pot with a little water, for about 5 minutes. Drain and cool, then squeeze the remaining liquid from the spinach and place in a large bowl. Add the ricotta, egg, salt and pepper and mix well. Add the shredded mozzarella at this time if you are using it.

Besciamella (white) sauce

Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat, then add the flour and stir well. Continue to cook while stirring for about 3 to 4 minutes, but do not let it brown. (Cooking the flour well is important because the sauce will have a “raw-flour” taste if it isn’t cooked long enough.)

Have the milk close by in a jug that is easy to pour from, and add a little drop of milk. The milk should sizzle and steam immediately, if it doesn’t, turn up the heat a little. Once the milk does sizzle, begin adding a little at a time, and stirring quickly to keep the sauce smooth.

The secret to not having lumps in white sauce is to gradually increase the amount of milk you add each time; if you add too much at once, especially early on, chances are you will end up with lumpy sauce (which is completely reparable with an immersion blender)!

Start with about 2 tablespoons of milk, then 2 more, then a little more each time. Once the sauce begins to form, you can add more milk each time. Just make sure all the milk has been absorbed after each addition, before adding more.

When the sauce is finished, add salt, nutmeg and white pepper to taste, and remove from heat and keep a lid on the pot.

Pasta

Partially cook the pasta shells; I undercook them so that if you bite into the pasta it should be about half-way cooked. Reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water, then drain most of the remaining water and immediately add cold water to cover the shells. This is to stop them continuing to cook.

Assemble the Stuffed Shells

Now you are ready to assemble the stuffed shells. Put a little sauce in the bottom of a large, rectangular baking tray  (you will probably need another tray, too). Using a spoon, hold a shell and fill it with some of the ricotta and spinach filling.

Place the shell in the tray and continue with the rest of the shells and filling until they are all used. Finish the rest in another tray, if necessary.  At this point, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Heat the besciamella sauce, if it has become too stiff, then gradually pour over the tray(s) of stuffed shells. Don’t flood the tray with white sauce, you can see how much I poured over the shells in this photo.

Mix some water with the tomato sauce in a bowl. Now, spoon the sauce over the stuffed shells, but again, don’t overload them.

Finally, pour about a cup or so of the reserved pasta water in between the shells, so that they will continue to cook in the oven.

Bake the Stuffed Shells

Sprinkle with some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, or Pecorino Romano cheese, then cover the tray with parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Put into the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, then remove the paper and foil and check to make sure that the stuffed shells aren’t too dry (add more pasta water if it looks this way).

Continue to bake for another 10 minutes or so, uncovered, then remove from the oven and replace the parchment paper and foil for about 10 minutes so that the stuffed shells absorb more of the liquid. This will also help them to hold together, when being cut. (You need parchment below the foil so that the tomato sauce doesn’t “eat” the foil, which you will in turn end up ingesting, which is not a good thing.)

Serve

Serve the stuffed shells while still hot.

It’s so tasty! Let me know what YOU think! Buon appetito!

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Continue to Content

Stuffed Shells (Italian Recipe Using Ricotta and Spinach)

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Bake Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

An Italian recipe for stuffed shells filled with ricotta and spinach and homemade pasta sauce.

Print

Ingredients

FILLING

• 2 cups (16 oz) good quality ricotta (like Grande, or one from an Italian deli) I dislike most major store brands like Polly-O and Frigo :(
• 12 oz (3/4 bag) frozen chopped, organic spinach (or 2 bunches of fresh spinach, washed and chopped)
• 1 egg (range free)
• (optional: 1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese)
• 1/2 tsp sea or Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

BESCIAMELLA (WHITE) SAUCE

• 1/2 oz (1/8 stick) butter, like Kerrygold
• 1 oz (a little less than 1/4 cup) all purpose flour
• 12 oz (1 1/2 cups) milk, whole (preferably at room temperature although the "proper" way is heated).
•  1/4 tsp sea or Kosher salt (to taste, at the end)
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of white pepper

PASTA

• 12 oz box of jumbo pasta shells (or cannelloni tubes) made in Italy
• salt to cook the shells

HOMEMADE PASTA SAUCE (see directions for link to my recipe)

• Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan) or Pecorino Romano to sprinkle on shells

Instructions

Oven temperature: 375°F (190°C)

HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE

Make as my quick pasta sauce (search recipe on my site), except use a deep pot and cook the tomatoes slower and simmer for about 45 minutes.

FILLING

1. Begin by steaming the spinach in a closed pot with a little water, for about 5 minutes. Drain and cool, then squeeze the remaining liquid from the spinach and place in a large bowl.
2. Add the ricotta, egg, salt and pepper and mix well.

BESCIAMELLA (WHITE) SAUCE

1. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat, then add the flour and stir well. Continue to cook while stirring for about 3 to 4 minutes, but do not let it brown. (Cooking the flour well is important because the sauce will have a “raw-flour” taste if it isn’t cooked long enough.)
2. Have the milk close by in a jug that is easy to pour from, and add a little drop of milk. The milk should sizzle and steam immediately, if it doesn’t, turn up the heat a little. Once the milk does sizzle, begin adding a little at a time, and stirring quickly to keep the sauce smooth.
3. The secret to not having lumps in white sauce is to gradually increase the amount of milk you add each time; if you add too much at once, especially early on, chances are you will end up with lumpy sauce (which is completely reparable with an immersion blender)!
4. Start with about 2 tablespoons of milk, then 2 more, then a little more each time. Once the sauce begins to form, you can add more milk each time. Just make sure all the milk has been absorbed after each addition, before adding more.
5. When the sauce is finished, add salt, nutmeg and white pepper to taste, and remove from heat and keep a lid on the pot.

PASTA

1. Cook the pasta shells partially; I undercook them so that if you bite into one it should be about half-way cooked.
2. Reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water, then drain most of the remaining water and immediately add cold water to cover the shells. This is to stop them cooking further.

ASSEMBLY

1. Put a little sauce in the bottom of a large, rectangular baking tray. Now you are ready to fill the shells. Using a spoon, hold a shell and fill it with some of the ricotta and spinach filling.
2. Place the shell in the tray and continue with the rest of the shells and filling until they are all used. You may need another smaller dish if they don't all fit in the large tray. At this point, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
3. Heat the besciamella sauce, if it has become too stiff, then gradually pour over the tray(s) of stuffed shells. Don't flood the tray with white sauce. Add some of the pasta water to some of the pasta sauce in a bowl. Now, spoon the pasta sauce over the shells, but again, don't overload them.
4. Finally, pour about a cup or so of the reserved pasta water in between the shells, so that they will continue to cook in the oven.
5. Sprinkle with some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, or Pecorino Romano cheese, then cover the tray with aluminum foil (If the foil touches the sauce, put a layer of parchment first so that the tomato sauce doesn't "eat" the foil.)
6. Put into the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, then remove the foil and check to make sure that the shells aren't too dry (add more pasta water if it looks this way). Continue to bake for another 10 minutes or so, uncovered, then remove from the oven and replace the parchment and foil for about 10 minutes so that the shells absorb more of the liquid. This will also help them to hold together, when being cut.

Serve the Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells while still hot.

Notes

Contrary to most beliefs in North America and the UK, dishes like stuffed pasta, lasagna and cannelloni are NOT served with anything else. That's right NO SIDE DISHES. So if you want to be more authentically Italian, serve these on a plate without anything else. You can serve a salad afterwards, as is usually done in Italy, too.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 4 shells
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 414Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 713mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 15g

Nutrition information is only estimated (does not include mozzarella).

Did you make this recipe?

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