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A gold serving spoon dishing up a homemade stuffed shell with sausage.

Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Sausage

Stuffed shells with sausage are pasta shells stuffed with an easy spinach ricotta filling and topped with a simple sausage marinara sauce.
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: baked shell recipe, baked shells, stuffed shells with meat, stuffed shells with spinach
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 720kcal
Author: Kate

Equipment

  • Large skillet
  • 9x13 baking dish

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1 pound ground mild or hot Italian sausage
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup diced white or yellow onion
  • 1 teaspoon salt + 2 tablespoons for pasta water
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 5 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 24 ounce jar marinara sauce

Filling

  • 15 ounce container whole milk or part-skim ricotta
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 cups fresh spinach finely chopped
  • ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 30 jumbo shell pasta

Topping

  • 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Ricotta filling

  • In a small bowl combine your ricotta, egg, salt, and pepper until combined.
  • Stir in the spinach until combined.
  • Cover, and place the ricotta filling in the refrigerator.

Pasta

  • Bring a large pot of water to boil.
  • Add 2 tablespoons of salt.
  • Stir in the pasta and cook for half the time that the package directions call for for al dente.
  • Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
  • Drain the pasta, and set aside.

Sauce

  • While you're boiling the water for the pasta, add the ground sausage to a large skillet.
  • Cook over medium heat, stirring to break it up, until no longer pink.
  • Drain the fat and transfer the sausage to a paper towel lined plate.
  • Add the olive oil to the now empty skillet, along with the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
  • Sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly.
  • Stir in the basil, red pepper flakes, and oregano, and cook for 1 minute, stirring regularly.
  • Add the marinara, pasta water, and cooked sausage, and stir to combine.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Once at a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Assembling

  • While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray, and set aside.
  • Using a spoon, fill each shell ¾ full with ricotta filling and place on a plate.
  • When the sauce is done, add ⅓ of sauce to the bottom of your baking dish, spreading evenly.
  • Place the shells in the pan on top of the sauce.
  • Top the shells with the remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese.
  • Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Uncover and continue baking for additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the pan is heated through.
  • Top with fresh basil just before serving.

Notes

  • Ground Italian sausage: You can use hot, mild, or sweet Italian sausage. You can also use ground beef. However, Italian sausage gives this dish the best flavor.
  • Marinara: Choose a sauce that you like the flavor of.
  • Ricotta cheese: I don't recommend using fat-free ricotta in this dish.
  • Nutrition values are estimates. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 720kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 2217mg | Potassium: 900mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2523IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 465mg | Iron: 4mg