It's time to impress your family and friends with this super easy Vegetarian Stuffed Shells recipe. We take ricotta cheese, spinach, and chopped mushrooms and stuff them inside jumbo pasta shells with tons of Italian-inspired seasonings. Then, we bake everything in a ton of marinara sauce with extra mozzarella on top until it's hot and bubbly!
I love making stuffed shells because they feel and look so fancy, even though they require the smallest effort. Sometimes I keep it vegetarian, sometimes I add Italian sausage or even make a seafood version.
The best part - and y'all know I get hype over this - is they are so freezer-friendly! Normally, I make enough for about 3 meals and then freeze the rest to pull out on nights I really don't feel like putting forth any effort on dinner.
Ingredients
- Ricotta Cheese: The ricotta cheese is going to give us a traditional taste to this flavor profile, plus it's extra creamy and good. If you don't like ricotta cheese, I suggest cream cheese as a substitute.
- Veggie Filling: For these meatless stuffed shells, we're going to use spinach and mushrooms as our vegetables of choice. The great thing is you can customize this to your personal tastes; try some sundried tomatoes or a pea puree filling - the choice is yours!
- Jumbo Pasta Shells: I've never had trouble finding these in my local Kroger, but you can always order from Amazon if you can't find them. We need the really big shells so it's easy to stuff everything inside.
- Marinara Sauce: So I typically just make my own marinara sauce because it tastes so much better... and I've left instructions for that in the recipe card below! However, if you are super short on time, a jar of your favorite sauce will work.
How to Make Vegetarian Stuffed Shells
- Start by boiling your jumbo shells for 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain the water, then add the shells to an ice bath so they will cool down and stop cooking.
- In a large bowl, mix together your ingredients for the filling. I add everything except the egg, then taste (so I can adjust any seasonings to preference), then mix in the egg last.
- Drain the shells once more, then stuff each one with the filling mixture. You can use your hands and a spoon or a piping bag.
- Add some marinara sauce to the bottom of a baking pan. Top with the stuffed shells, then cover with extra marinara on top.
- Finally, sprinkle some shredded mozzarella on top and bake for 15 minutes. For an added bonus, turn your oven to broil and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to get the top nice and golden brown. That's it!
The filling should look like this after mixing well.
You can stuff these to your own preference!
This is the pan right before baking. It's really easy.
Or, you can bake as usual and then freeze the shells and tomato sauce all together. To reheat, add the shells + sauce to a saucepan with a bit of water and then cover with a lid so it can steam.
Serve with a side salad for some extra veggies. Let me know in the comments - what are some of your go-to dinner ideas?
FAQs
Of course! See the recipe notes below (in the recipe card) for freezing instructions.
I would suggest cream cheese, or blended cottage cheese as a substitute.
I normally use the Barilla brand, called "Jumbo Shells". I've also seen store-brand versions at Target.
Other Cozy Dinner Recipes You'll Love!
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Easy Salmon Wellington (Puff Pastry Salmon)
Vegetarian Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 5 oz. jumbo pasta shells
- 4.5 oz. white mushrooms finely chopped
- 2 oz. frozen chopped spinach thawed
- 12 oz. ricotta cheese
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 ct. egg large
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese for garnish
- 6 - 8 oz. marinara sauce
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water and salt until it is at a rolling boil.
- Add pasta shells and cook for about 2 minutes less than the directions on the package - these will fully cook in the oven.
- Once the shells are done, drain the water and blanch them with an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain once more, and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the chopped mushrooms, spinach, ricotta cheese, and seasonings.
- Taste, adjust any seasonings to your preference, then mix in your egg thoroughly.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. In a 9x13 baking dish, spread the marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan.
- Take your ricotta mixture and stuff the shells. You can use piping bags or a regular serving spoon and (washed) hands.
- Layer the stuffed shells on top of the marinara sauce. Top with any remaining marinara sauce and extra cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered. Then, turn your oven to low broil and cook for another 2-4 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- Sprinkle freshly chopped parsley on top and serve hot. Enjoy!
Notes
- To freeze, stuff the shells as written above and then layer on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place shells in the freezer for an hour to ensure that they will not stick together.
- After an hour, remove and add the shells to a large freezer-safe bag.
- To reheat, bake frozen shells and sauce uncovered at 375°F for 20-30 minutes until fully heated through. Enjoy!
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The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $2.17
- Total Cost (4 servings): $8.69
- Those Other Guys: $16.99 per serving
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think!