Spinach and ricotta stuffed shells
65 min · 34 g protein · 402 cals / serving
Jumbo shells packed with a creamy, lemony spinach filling, baked in a bubbling garlic-and-oregano tomato sauce under a blistered layer of mozzarella and parmesan. Blended cottage cheese does most of the work the ricotta usually does, so the filling is silky and generous and every shell is about twice as much cheese as pasta.
Ingredients
- 14 jumbo pasta shells (about 3 1/2 oz) pasta
Tomato sauce
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 3/4 cups (about 2 lb) canned crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 2/3 lb baby spinach
Filling
- 2 cups cottage cheese (1%)
- 1/3 cup part-skim ricotta
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan, divided; or a vegetarian hard cheese (traditional parmesan uses animal rennet)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- a pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
To serve
- a handful of leaves fresh basil
Steps
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Cook the shells in well-salted boiling water for 2 minutes less than the package says, so they hold their shape when filled. Drain, rinse with cool water and lay them out on a tray so they don't stick together.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the crushed tomatoes, oregano and a pinch of salt. Simmer, partly covered, for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until slightly thickened.
- Meanwhile put the spinach in a large skillet over medium heat with a splash of water and add it a few handfuls at a time, turning until it has all wilted. Tip it into a sieve, let it cool for a few minutes, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can and chop it.
- Blend the cottage cheese until completely smooth (a food processor or stick blender takes about a minute). Stir in the ricotta, egg, two thirds of the parmesan, the lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, pepper and the chopped spinach.
- Spread half the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) baking dish. Fill each shell with a heaped 3 tablespoons (50 g) of the filling, mounded high, and nestle them in, open side up; spoon any leftover filling between the shells. Spoon the rest of the sauce around and between the shells.
- Scatter over the mozzarella and the rest of the parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake 10–15 minutes more, until the sauce is bubbling, the cheese is spotted brown and the filling is hot through (160°F in the middle of a shell). Rest 5 minutes and finish with torn basil.
Good to know
Why blend the cottage cheese?
Blended, it turns as smooth as ricotta and bakes up creamy rather than curdy. Nobody at the table will know it is there, and it carries far more protein than ricotta for the same spoonful.
Can I make it ahead?
Assemble the dish up to a day ahead, cover and refrigerate. Bake straight from the fridge with 10 extra minutes under the foil. Leftovers reheat well and the filled, unbaked dish freezes for up to two months.
Frozen spinach instead?
Use about 1 lb frozen chopped spinach, thawed; it is already wilted, so you need less. Skip the skillet and squeeze it very dry.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 82
- Protein
- (34%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (24%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (42%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 334 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1608 kcal goes into the pot and 2407 g of ingredients comes out as about 1950 g of food: 82 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.