This Spinach & Zucchini Stuffed Shells is a delicious twist to an Italian classic, and a wonderful vegetarian dish to feature for Meatless Monday. This is a great dish to make ahead and cook later on during the week when you don’t have the time to do all the labor, and want a delicious meal!
Spinach & Zucchini Stuffed Shells
This is a great dish to make ahead and cook later on during the week when you don’t have the time to do all the labor, and want a delicious meal!
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 303kcal
Ingredients
- 12 shells i like to cook 14-15 in case some break while boiling
- 1 container ricotta cheese
- 1 box spinach thawed and drained well
- 1/2 cup of shredded zucchini drained well
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 4 tbsp Parmesan reggiano
- 4 tbsp shredded mozzarella
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 2 cups homemade marinara
Instructions
- Get a large sauce pan, fill it with water and bring it to a boil. Add the shells, and stir often so they don’t stick together.
- Take thawed out spinach and squeeze all the liquids out of it. The spinach should not have any liquids left in them. If they do your filling will become runny. Shred zucchini and squeeze all the water out of it. Dice onions and mince garlic.
- In a large mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, spinach, zucchini, onion, garlic, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan reggiano and mozzarella, Italian seasoning, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir until it’s all blended well together.
- Drain shells, and rinse well. Add ice cubes to the strainer so they can cool faster.
- In a square baking dish add a cup of sauce to the bottom of the pan.
- Take a shell and stuff it until it’s full (not overly filled, but enough to where the seams barely meet). Place the shell seam side up and repeat this step until all shells are filled.
- If consuming right then; pour the marinara sauce over the shells making sure all of the shells are covered. Sprinkle two tablespoons each Parmesan reggiano and mozzarella over shells. *If preparing this for later reserve the other cup of sauce and cheese so that you can pour it over it once you are ready to bake.
- Cover with tin-foil for 30 minutes and bake. Remove tin-foil after time is up and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is golden brown!
Nutrition
Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 1054mg | Potassium: 599mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1255IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 393mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @KatieJasiewicz or tag #katiescucina!
Mmm. This looks good. I might have to try this for dinner soon.
It's pretty easy to make and taste delicious!
I like stuffed recipes. I wonder if theres a blog out there dedicated to all things stuffed… Anyway, these look great. Thanks!
LOl Asheligh you crack me up! There must be… and if there isn't maybe you should start another blog on stuffed foods! 🙂 These are awesome, and best of all my husband loves them!!
I got the general idea of this recipe. Seems to be missing key points though. Like, a large container of ricotta is a vague measurement. Also no oven temperature is provided. I’m still trying this, finagling it my way but an inexperienced cook might have trouble.
Hi Eva–thank you for visiting and taking the time to leave the comment. This is a very old recipe and as I read it now–yes very vague! I’ll work on remaking it (with accurate measurements) to repost in the future.