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Cheesy stuffed pasta shells stuffed with spinach and three types of cheeses. This cheesy and healthy meal tastes like a classic lasagna with the ricotta cheese stuffed inside the pasta shells. But this meal is much quicker and easier to make than lasagna. Three types of cheeses are used in this cheesy pasta, ricotta, grated parmesan and shredded mozzarella cheese. This pasta is great for a healthy and hearty vegetarian meal for a tasty dinner.
Large shell pasta is used for this dish, prepare it according to the package directions and set it aside. The frozen chopped spinach will also need to be thawed according to the package directions before adding into the cheese mixture. For the spinach ricotta mixture, ricotta cheese is mixed with thawed spinach, grated parmesan cheese, minced garlic and mozzarella cheese. To fill the pasta shells with the cheese mixture, you can either spoon it into each shell, or you can pipe the spinach ricotta mixture into the shells instead. Place the filled pasta shells in a baking dish and cover with marinara sauce, and more shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, uncover the pasta and continue to bake until the cheese has fully melted.
Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 12 oz. large shell pasta
- 1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese
- 1 ( 10 oz.) box frozen spinach, thawed
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 ( 28 oz.) jar marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside. Thaw the frozen spinach according to the package directions.
- Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over the bottom of a large baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, thawed spinach, grated parmesan cheese, minced garlic and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Stuff each pasta shell with the spinach ricotta cheese mixture. Place the pasta shells into the baking dish. Cover with the remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese has melted.