I absolutely love to make cheesy stuffed shells loaded with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, spinach, marinara, and savory Italian sausage. It's a meal that can satisfy anyone's hunger making it a go-to family favorite dinner. Since everyone in my house loves ricotta filling, I make my stuffed shells with LOTS of extra cheese filling. Yum!
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) and lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan or a 3+ quart dish.
Prepare The Meat Sauce
Brown the 1 lb Italian sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, crumbling while it cooks. Drain off the excess grease if needed when done.
1 lb Italian sausage
Pour the 24 oz marinara into your skillet of browned sausage and stir to combine.
24 oz marinara
Spread a 1-1½ cup portion of the meat sauce over the bottom of your greased baking dish.
Cook The Pasta
Cook the 12 oz jumbo pasta shells 1-2 minutes shy of al dente according to the package instructions while browning the Italian sausage. Drain and rinse in cool water then set aside.
12 oz jumbo pasta shells
Combine Cheese Filling Mixture
In a medium mixing bowl add the 16-32 oz ricotta cheese, the first portion of 3-4 cups mozzarella cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 2 cups baby spinach, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup fresh basil, and 1 teaspoon salt.
16-32 oz ricotta cheese, 3-4 cups mozzarella cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 2 cups baby spinach, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup fresh basil, 1 teaspoon salt
Mix until well combined and the spinach is evenly distributed in the filling.
Stuff The Shells & Bake
Spoon the cheese mixture into the cooked pasta shells then transfer the stuffed shells to your prepared baking dish.
Pour the remaining meaty pasta sauce over the assembled stuffed shells, then sprinkle the second portion (168 grams) of shredded mozzarella cheese over the dish.
Cover with foil or a lid and bake at 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) for 15 minutes.
Remove the foil or lid and brown the topping for the last 10-15 minutes until the cheese is fully melted and golden.
Notes
Tips:
I use much more ricotta cheese for my filling as I find that 15-16 ounce containers will not make enough filling for a full dish of shells. If I have extra filling, I just spoon it around the stuffed shells to use it all up.
Any time you are going to bake pasta, you should cook it 1-2 minutes shy of al dente, as I do here. The shells will finish cooking to perfection in the oven.
You can easily fill the shells with a spoon or a piping bag. Try not to over-stuff them, or the filling will spill out of the shells as they bake. I use about 1.5-2 tablespoons of ricotta filling per shell.
If you need to omit the egg in the ricotta filling, simply squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible from the ricotta cheese. Use a cheesecloth to wrap the ricotta in for this. You can also bundle the ricotta in cheesecloth and tie it off, then let it set in a colander over a bowl to drain.
Using a disposable foil pan makes these stuffed shells a perfect entree for potlucks. You could even double the recipe for larger crowds.
Storage:
Once cooled, transfer the stuffed shells and sauce to a sealed storage container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Stuffed shells with spinach and sausage make for a great freezer-ready meal! You can freeze the baked stuffed shells and reheat them, or freeze them un-baked and let them thaw in the fridge before baking as directed above.
Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave, or you can cover them in a baking dish at 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) for 15-20 minutes.