Classic Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Shells Are the Perfect Holiday Pasta Dish

I’m a big fan of changing things up for Christmas, because it seems like for so long that we were just eating turkey year after year. There is nothing wrong with turkey, except for the fact that I just ate it a month earlier for Thanksgiving.

This year I’ve decided to pull out the old recipe book and make some stuffed shells for the family. I made a few changes to the original just because I want it to be mine, and because well I’m not much of a fan of frozen cream of spinach (no offense, Mom & Grandma!). Regardless of the changes, this is still an incredibly easy recipe to make and is always delicious.

Any pasta starts with a good sauce, so I made a very simple marinara consisting of only olive oil, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and salt & pepper. I like simple sauces where ingredients taste as they should so this sauce was perfect for me. However, I want you to know that you can absolutely use your family’s spaghetti sauce or any other red sauce that you love, heck maybe it’s even a Puttanesca.

Once the sauce is cooked, I simply let it stew over low heat until it’s time to pour it in the bottom of the casserole dish. In the meantime, you want to make your stuffing for the par-boiled shells. Since I love changing up recipes, I want to encourage you to add in or take out anything at this stage. Maybe you like fontina cheese instead of mozzarella, or perhaps you like kale instead of spinach, or maybe you want to use vegan ricotta (do they make that?)... it doesn’t matter because I want you to be able to tailor this recipe to your liking.

Stuff up the shells, place them in the sauce and bake away. If you are one of those people who like really crispy lasagna, then I totally suggest taking the foil off and baking it for another 15 minutes and you’ll get the shell noodles really crispy on the edges. It's totally up to you! Happy cooking everyone!