If Meatless Monday is your jam, then this recipe is just what you need! If you like quick and easy meals, then this recipe is also for you!
I’m a huge pasta lover and if it involves cheese and marinara sauce, I’m all over it. Seems to explain why I found this dish so fulfilling. When I cook, I prefer meals that are rich in flavor, quick, easy, and something that will stretch at least 2-3 days. These cheese and spinach stuffed pasta shells were just that! To my surprise, stuffing the pasta shells were very therapeutic!
What I think I love most about this dish is that it’s TODDLER FRIENDLY and you can easily make it your own! Some ways I thought of recreating this soon is by adding mushrooms and ground turkey to the sauce. If you decide to try it, get creative— you won’t regret it! I love spicy marinara so I made one dish with spicy marinara sauce and one with regular marianara sauce.
To start, here’s all that you will need:
:: Ingredients ::
- 1 box of jumbo pasta shells
- 4 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 32 oz of ricotta cheese
- 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (extra to garnish)
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon italian herbs
- 1/2 teaspoon basil (extra to garnish)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley
:: Instructions ::
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Place large sauce pan with water over high heat to boil, then add pasta. Cook pasta according to package. Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat to high heat, add the oil. Once oil simmers, add garlic and cook until golden, roughly 1-2 minutes.
- Add chopped spinach and sauté for 3-4 minutes, then set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, salt, black pepper, italian herbs, basil, onion powder, and parsley until well mixed.
- In a 9×13 dish, pour 1 1/2 cup of pasta sauce into baking dish.
- Stuff each pasta shell with cheese and spinach mixture, then arrange in baking dish.
- Pour 1 1/2 cup of marinara sauce over the stuffed pasta shells
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake in over for 25-30 minutes
- Remove aluminum foil and continue baking for 10 – 15 minutes or until top browns. Also a great time to top with shredded parmesan and/or mozzarella.
- Serve warm, toped with shredded parmesan and basil!
