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Stuffed Shells with Cheese
The secret to getting this Sunday night dinner worthy meal on the table any day of the week is that you don’t boil the pasta! Save yourself the time and hassle of boiling the noodles and just fill them uncooked. Nestle them in classic tomato sauce, top with shredded cheese and bake to al dente perfection in the oven!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10-12 servings 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stove Top + Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 24 oz. your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 12 oz. water
- 4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, divided
- 3 oz. fresh spinach, chopped
- 15 oz. whole milk ricotta
- 8 oz. shredded mozzarella
- 2 oz. shaved Parmesan
- 1 egg
- 25 jumbo shells, uncooked
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add onion along with a pinch of salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and saute for another minute or so.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Stir in oregano, sage, spaghetti sauce, 12 oz. water, 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley and another couple pinches of salt and pepper.
- Keep sauce over medium heat while you fill the shells.
- In a large bowl combine spinach, ricotta, about 1/2 of the mozzarella, all of the Parmesan, egg and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Fill uncooked jumbo shells with a couple tablespoons of filling each.
- Nestle stuffed jumbo shells into the sauce in a single layer. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and cover with tin foil or a lid.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until noodles are al dente. Broil on high for 1-2 minutes until the cheese gets golden brown.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!
Notes
- Fill the empty 24 oz. pasta sauce jar halfway (with 12 oz. of water) then shake the water up in the pasta jar and pour the water into the pan. This will ensure that you get all remaining marinara sauce out of that jar!
- Shred your own cheese. Buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself!
Pre-shredded cheeses are coated with cellulose to help the shreds not stick together. Which also means that it won’t melt as well. I’ve often found that buying cheese in blocks is cheaper than pre-shredded too! - Feel free to add browned ground beef or Italian sausage to the pasta sauce mixture if you want to get some extra protein. I love to add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce as well for a little kick!
