These stuffed pasta shells will be the highlight of your week! Sweet roasted red pepper sauce mixed with creamy mascarpone and earthy spinach all stuffed into perfectly chewy al dente pasta shells and baked with cheese.
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This stuffed pasta will be your new favourite recipe. It's quick and easy but everyone will think you put in so much effort! The only thing you need to do is make a simple tomato sauce, mix some creamy mascarpone with a jar of red pepper sauce and wilt some spinach. That's it! Oh. And boil some pasta. But that really doesn't count. It only takes a pan of water and 10 minutes!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's healthy and comforting at the same time.
- Stuffed pasta shells only take about 45 minutes from start to finish.
- Makes amazing leftovers.
- Vegetarian and perfect for meatless Monday.
- Full of contrast- sweet (red peppers), creamy (mascarpone), and earthy (spinach).
- Baked with cheese!!!! ??
Ingredients needed
- spinach
- large pasta shells (I found these in the pasta aisle at my local Aldi and have seen them there for the last few months.)
- mascarpone- you can use ricotta as well, I just much prefer the texture of mascarpone. Cream cheese will have too much moisture for this.
- jar tomato and grilled peppers stir through sauce.
- box tomato passata
- onion
- garlic
- shredded mozzarella
- salt, pepper and some olive oil
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1 & 2
Making the filling
- Wilt the spinach in a pan with about 100ml water. Let the water boil and remove from the heat. Add the spinach and let wilt for a minute. Use a slotted spoon or tongs and remove the spinach from the water. Let the spinach cool and use a paper towel to squeeze out the excess water.
- In a small bowl mix the mascarpone, red pepper sauce and wilted spinach.
- Boil the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and let the shells cool.
Step 3 & 4
Making the sauce
- Once the shells have cooled, stuff them with the mascarpone filling.
- To make the simple tomato sauce, sweat the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until they are soft and translucent.
- Add in the passata and let simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Spoon the sauce into the bottom of a skillet or oven-safe baking dish. Place the stuffed shells in the pan.
Step 5 & 6
Baking the pasta shells
- Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella onto the stuffed shells and sprinkle with a few thyme leaves, but only if you have them. Thyme leaves are completely optional, I just had them for another recipe.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and just starting to turn golden.
Stuffed pasta shells FAQ
These stuffed pasta shells are truly a show-stopping dinner that's perfect to serve for company, but cosy enough to have on any night of the week while watching Netflix!
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Simple and Healthy Vegetarian Stuffed Pasta Shells
Ingredients
- 20 (20) large pasta shells
For the filling
- 1 (1) x 250g tub mascarpone
- ½ (½) jar red pepper sauce
- 300 g (9 ½ cups) spinach, wilted
For the sauce
- 1 (1) onion, diced
- 4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) dried rosemary
- 1 (1) box tomato passata
- 200 ml (6 ¾ floz) vegetable stock made with a stock cube.
For the topping
- 175 g (1 ½ cups) shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Cook the pasta shells according to the package instructions. Once cooked, drain the pasta and set them aside to cool.
- Wilt the spinach in a pan with about 100ml water. Let the water boil and remove from the heat. Add the spinach and let wilt for a minute. Use a slotted spoon or tongs and remove the spinach from the water. Let the spinach cool and use a paper towel to squeeze out the excess water.
- In a small bowl mix the mascarpone, red pepper sauce and wilted spinach. Once the shells have cooled, stuff them with the mascarpone filling.
- To make the tomato sauce, sweat the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until they are soft and translucent. Add in the dried herbs and mix well. Pour in the passata and vegetable stock and let simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Spoon the sauce into the bottom of a skillet or oven-safe baking dish. Place the stuffed shells in the pan. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella onto the stuffed shells and sprinkle with a few thyme leaves, but only if you have them. Thyme leaves are completely optional, I just had them for another recipe.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and just starting to turn golden. Use a spoon to divide between plates.
Notes
- This recipe makes enough to feed 6-8 people as a side dish to go along with all your other holiday dishes, or it will serve 4 people as a main dish.
- You can use ricotta instead of mascarpone as a straight substitution.
- These stuffed shells are amazing as leftovers the next day. Reheat them in the microwave to keep them soft and chewy. Reheating them in the oven will take too long and dry the shells out.
- Feel free to make the sauce and the filling the day before and simply assemble everything on the day of serving to keep it all really easy.
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