Easy Cheesy Stuffed Shells Pasta is a delicious main deal for the whole family. This recipe combines ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses, and spinach stuffed into the shells. A spicy layer of Hot or Mild Italian sausage completes the meal. A family favorite Italian dinner! *This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure page.
Hello, friends! I am popping in today to share these stuffed pasta shells with sausage and my love of Italian food. Anyone who knows me can tell you I am a major cheesehead. Smoked Gouda, Swiss, Sharp Cheddar, you name it and I probably love it. I even grate my own parmesan. It is much cheaper that way too!
So, of course, delectable cheese combinations find their way into my family’s dinner as well. Cheese and Italian food are the most frequent combination and with good reason. It’s delicious! One of my family’s favorite suppers is my Sausage and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells. Now I may be a cheesehead, but this dish really does need something more than just the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan base. So I add spinach which also makes me feel good as a mom when I tell people, “Yes, my son eats spinach, no problem!” (We can keep the cheese part just between us.)
For this meal, I do have a few tips that are included in the full recipe at the bottom of this post. First, let’s talk about garlic. Garlic is synonymous with Italian cooking and yet I am not that big a garlic fan. I mean I like it, but I want it to enhance a meal, not wince at the garlic flavor.
Ok, now forget everything I said and add a TON of garlic to this dish. Over the years, I have found that the cheese filling really mellows the garlic flavor when it is baking in the oven. What works is basically adding garlic into the cheese filling a teaspoon at a time until you think you have put a little too much. Even at 4 tsp, I wince my eyes and think “Whew! Garlic!” (not in a good way) I’m telling you to go overboard! Be fearless! It will be amazing!
The second tip is that this stuffed shells recipe has always made more than a 9×13 standard baking dish size. This is not a mistake. I have had some boxes of those jumbo shells with like 1/3 of them broken and other times I just put the additional ingredients in a separate baking dish (I have used up to a 5×9 pan) for additional leftovers or possibly even a vegetarian variety. The best idea though is to freeze the second sausage and spinach stuffed shells dish after it’s stuffed and set up for another night.
I’m hungry now. It’s almost midnight here so I’m thinking cheese and crackers for a late night snack. Do you have a favorite cheesy dish? I would love to hear about it, and maybe even swap some cheesehead love! (Or is that too cheezy, HA!)
Sausage, Ricotta, and Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells
Easy Cheesy Stuffed Pasta Shells are a delicious main deal for the whole family. This recipe combines ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses, and spinach stuffed into the shells. A spicy layer of Hot or Mild Italian sausage completes the meal. A family favorite Italian dinner!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Skill Level : beginner
Prep Time : 20 minutes
Cook Time : 50 minutes
Passive Time : 10 minutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 1 package jumbo pasta shells 16oz
- 4 cups ricotta or cottage cheese
- 12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 Eggs lightly beaten
- 4 tsp garlic powder *see note
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 cup parmesan grated or shredded is fine
- 1 large jar spaghetti sauce
- 4 cups spinach rough chopped and stems removed if you prefer
- 1 lb ground Italian sausagedried parsley for garnish
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