These are my scrumptious, tacky stuffed shells with spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes! This recipe is vegetarian, freezer-friendly, and an ideal straightforward weeknight dinner for the entire household.
Stuffed shells are the perfect consolation meals dinner, and these ones are SO straightforward to make! Baked till browned and bubbly, my stuffed shells with spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes are good for weeknight dinners. I all the time referred to as these “stuffed shells Florentine”, after rooster Florentine, since they’re loaded with spinach and topped with cheese. I make the filling from scratch, and it’s very a lot a kind of recipes you could adapt with additional elements from the fridge.
Tacky Stuffed Shells With Spinach, At a Look
- Sufficient to feed a small military. The recipe makes lots of filling, sufficient to stuff about 20 jumbo shells. It’s sufficient to feed a household (with leftovers!), and it makes this an amazing potluck dish, too.
- Sneaky veggies. Like my spinach lasagna, baked stuffed shells smothered in cheese are a straightforward solution to embrace greens in our weekly pasta evening. The shells are filled with spinach, garlic, meaty mushrooms, and juicy tomatoes on a mattress of savory marinara sauce.
- Simple to make. These stuffed shells with spinach are prepared in beneath an hour. Boil the pasta shells when you put together the filling, then stuff the shells and bake. I additionally embrace make-ahead instructions so you possibly can freeze your stuffed shells for a future last-minute dinner.
Collect Your Elements
- Jumbo Pasta Shells – Additionally referred to as conchiglioni in Italian. This may be your favourite model. Barilla, Ronzoni, and DeLallo all make jumbo shells, or you should utilize a retailer model, like Walmart or Goal.
- Butter – For sautéeing the mushrooms. I a lot favor butter over oil when cooking mushrooms, as they have a tendency to absorb no matter they’re sautéed in. Butter provides taste!
- Mushrooms – Any variety. Brown and white mushrooms, Child Bellas, oyster mushrooms, or shiitakes are good choices.
- Garlic – Freshly minced, or you should utilize ½ teaspoon of garlic powder instead of every clove. Finely diced yellow onion would additionally work on this recipe.
- Canned Tomatoes – Canned diced tomatoes, drained. Attempt fire-roasted tomatoes for a smokier taste.
- Child Spinach – I like to make use of contemporary spinach. In case you’re utilizing frozen spinach, you’ll want to thaw it totally and drain the surplus liquid. You can even use chopped Swiss chard or kale.
- Herbs – Italian seasoning and dried basil. Be happy to swap dried basil for contemporary; on this case, you’ll want about 3 occasions as a lot contemporary.
- Marinara Sauce – Select your most well-liked jar of marinara sauce or tomato sauce. You probably have a do-it-yourself recipe, that can work, too!
- Mozzarella Cheese – Freshly shredded mozzarella is greatest. One other melty cheese, like provolone or cheddar, additionally works properly. You can even use a smooth cheese, like Italian ricotta.
Fast Variations
Recipe Suggestions
- Substitute the mushrooms. In case you dislike mushrooms, you possibly can depart them out or substitute floor meat, reminiscent of beef, rooster, or pork. An alternative choice is use cooked, shredded rotisserie rooster.
- Thaw frozen spinach first. In case you’re utilizing frozen spinach as an alternative of contemporary, it’s tremendous necessary to thaw it fully and squeeze out any extra liquid earlier than you add it to the filling. If the spinach is watery, your shells shall be soggy.
- Use freshly shredded cheese. In case you’ve ever puzzled why pre-shredded, packaged cheese doesn’t soften as easily as freshly shredded cheese, it’s as a result of it has a waxy coating that forestalls it. Shred the mozzarella contemporary from the block for the perfect outcomes.
- Don’t overcook the pasta. I recommend leaving your jumbo shells barely undercooked to start out, since they’ll end cooking within the oven. Overcooking makes the shells fragile and mushy.
- For extra flavorful pasta shells, add 2-3 tablespoons of desk salt to the water earlier than you boil your pasta. Salted water is the important thing to well-seasoned pasta.
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Prep. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
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Cook dinner the pasta shells. Cook dinner the jumbo shells in boiling water for 8 minutes, or till al dente. DO NOT overcook as a result of they are going to tear and disintegrate.
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Sauté. In a big skillet, soften 1/2 tablespoon butter over medium-high warmth. Add sliced mushrooms and cook dinner for five minutes. Stir in garlic; add remaining butter, and proceed to cook dinner for 1 minute.
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Make the filling. Add in drained tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and basil; deliver to a simmer.
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Stir within the spinach. Since we’re utilizing lots of spinach, you’ll want to cook dinner it in batches. As quickly as one batch is cooked down, add the subsequent (I break it up into 3 batches). Take away from warmth. Style for seasonings and alter accordingly.
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Stuff the shells. Drain shells and rinse with chilly water; pat dry with paper towels. Unfold 1 cup of marinara sauce on the underside of a 9×13 baking dish. Stuff every shell with the spinach combination and prepare over the marinara sauce within the baking dish.
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Prime with cheese and bake. Sprinkle the stuffed shells with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or till bubbly. Take away from oven, garnish with parsley, and serve.
- Put together the whole lot as much as the purpose of baking. DO NOT bake.
- Let cool and canopy tightly with plastic wrap and once more with foil. Freeze for as much as 3 months.
- When able to bake, take away foil and plastic cowl; bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or till bubbly and barely browned on prime.
Energy: 368kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 18g | Fats: 9g | Saturated Fats: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 2g | Trans Fats: 0.1g | Ldl cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 797mg | Potassium: 857mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4998IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 317mg | Iron: 4mg
Dietary data is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values might fluctuate in accordance with the elements and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
Find out how to Make Stuffed Shells
Comply with the steps beneath to organize tacky spinach stuffed shells with mushrooms and tomatoes. First, you’ll fill the pasta shells, then you definitely’ll bake them beneath a blanket of mozzarella cheese.
- Cook dinner the pasta shells. First, boil the pasta shells in accordance with the package deal instructions, simply in need of al dente. The shells are simpler to stuff, and so they’ll proceed to cook dinner whereas they bake.
- Sauté the mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms with butter over medium-high warmth. After a couple of minutes, stir within the garlic and slightly extra butter.
- Make the filling. Add the drained canned tomatoes to the skillet with the mushrooms. Then, add the seasonings. Carry the pan to a simmer, and stir within the spinach in batches. As quickly as one batch cooks down, add the subsequent.
- Put together the shells. Drain after which rinse the pasta shells with chilly water, and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Assemble. Unfold about 1 cup of marinara sauce into the underside of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Then, fill the shells with the spinach combination and place them on prime of the marinara sauce. Lastly, sprinkle over a layer of shredded mozzarella.
- Bake. Bake the stuffed shells at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes. When the cheese is bubbly, take the shells out of the oven and garnish with contemporary parsley for serving.
Make It Forward
These stuffed shells freeze nicely, making them a beautiful dinner to organize upfront. To prep these shells for freezing:
- If you’re able to bake, take away the foil and plastic wrap. Bake the stuffed shells from frozen at 350ºF for 45 to 50 minutes, or till bubbly and barely browned on prime.
- Put together and assemble the stuffed shells within the baking dish, however DO NOT bake.
- Permit the dish to chill fully. Afterward, cowl the shells tightly with plastic wrap, then with foil. Freeze for as much as 3 months.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. The baked stuffed shells might be saved hermetic within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
- Reheat. Heat up leftovers within the microwave, or you possibly can reheat the shells within the oven.
