These Spinach Stuffed Shells are the perfect weeknight dinner. Made with pantry staples, this one needs to be on your meal rotation!
This post is brought to you in collaboration with Nancy’s Yogurt.
Winter is coming quickly here in Oregon and chilly weather always makes me want to cuddle up with a good book, a warm cup of coffee and the smells of marinara sauce bubbling on the stovetop. One of my favorite ways to use up that sauce is to make spinach stuffed shells. They are super easy and a great way to sneak spinach into my kids without them complaining.
Using Nancy’s cottage cheese is one of my favorite tricks to making our spinach shells with what we have on hand. Ricotta is something I only really buy if someone requests it because I really don’t care for the texture that much, but cottage cheese is always in the house. And spinach is a mainstay. You can even use this same concept as a lasagna or a layered spaghetti dish if you don’t have shells on hand.
This recipe is one that I make with very few measurements and it’s super forgiving in that sense. A little extra of any of these ingredients won’t hurt anything so it’s one that I never even use a recipe for.
Using a good chunky marinara sauce is my favorite way to make this dish, but I’ve also made this with jarred sauce that I spiff up with a pound of ground beef or sausage in a pinch. I’ll be sharing this homemade marinara sauce tomorrow on the blog so be sure to check back to get that recipe if you don’t have a family fav!
Here is to couch snuggles and delicious easy recipes bubbling in the oven this year.
P.s. head over to our Facebook page to check out the video of this recipe!
Spinach Stuffed Shells Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box shells I don’t usually use all of them–12-20 are adequate for a large pyrex
- Filling:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen spinach
- 1/2 cup Nancy’s cottage cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese optional
- 2-3 cups chunky marinara sauce
- shredded cheese to top
Instructions
- 1. Cook noodles 2 minutes under package directions so they are flexible but not quite al dente.2. Mix filling ingredients together.3. Stuff shells with mixture.4. Add a layer of sauce to the bottom of the pan to prevent burning. Add shells and top with remaining sauce.5. Add shredded cheese to the top of sauce. Cover in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.6. Serve hot and enjoy!
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Nancy’s Yogurt. We are proud to work with companies we believe in to bring you free content every week.
I make this using half ricotta and half crumbled feta. Instead of marinara sauce I use one or two tablespoons of tomato paste and a few drops of water (a pinch of sugar neutralizes the acidity). Then I make a bechamel sauce using 2 tbs butter & flour, 2 c. milk, temper and whisk in two beaten eggs and a cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Pour this on top, sprinkle with parmesan and dust lightly with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
It’s kind of a variation of Greek Pastitsio.
It’s also very delicious.