Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta cheese, mozzarella and spinach topped with a turkey meat sauce. Here’s a great way to sneak spinach on your kids’ plate!
Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce
Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Meat SauceMore Italian pasta recipes you might enjoy are Pasta with Butternut Squash Sauce, Spicy Sausage and Baby Spinach, Orecchiette Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Spinach Lasagna Rolls, and Brussels Sprouts Carbonara.
This recipe just got a makeover. Some of you may have seen this in the archives, or have even made this before, today I decided to give it a face-lift with new photos and address some issues some people had with not having enough stuffing for the shells.
These are very satisfying, three are more than enough to fill you up, or two with a salad on the side. A perfect dish if you have company as this makes a large amount, or you can bake half and freeze the rest for another night.
Thank you Julie Hamilton for sharing this recipe with Skinnytaste.
Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 27 9 oz Barilla Jumbo Shells ( or GF shells)
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey
- 32 oz crushed tomatoes, I used Tuttorosso
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
- 8 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 egg
- 16 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
- Boil water and cook shells according to package directions, make sure to make them al dente.
- Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in oil.
- Add turkey and salt and brown until cooked, breaking up in small pieces.
- Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil, then simmer on low, covered, about 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, mozzarella, and parmesan.
- Once shells are cooked and cool, fill each shell with (about 2 heaping tbsp) cheese mixture and place on a large baking dish, or two smaller dishes, covering the bottom of the dish with a little sauce.
- Top shells with half of the sauce, cover with foil and bake 40 minutes; uncover foil and bake 5 more minutes.
- Serve with additional sauce on top.
