At our church in Texas, we were part of the sweetest home group. We often enjoyed a fellowship meal together. One of our friends in the group was vegetarian. I would make this for her when the theme was Italian.

As I was planning for friends to come visit this past weekend, I needed vegetarian friendly meals and remembered this recipe.

It is super easy to make, and it pairs well with Italian Meatballs for the non-vegetarians in the group.

Ingredients

12-14 jumbo pasta shells
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh spinach
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
basil for serving, if desired
extra parmesan cheese for serving, if desired

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until tender about 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the spinach mixture to a large bowl and add in ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Spread about 1/2 of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Stuff shells with the spinach cheese mixture and place in the baking dish.

Top with the remaining sauce and bake for 20-30 minutes or until warmed through.

Serve immediately with basil and parmesan cheese, if desired.

Ideas

While this is fantastic as is, it's also great with Italian sausage added to the filling. Brown Italian sausage with salt and pepper and fold into the filling before stuffing the shells.

The original recipe yields 12-14 stuffed shells. I like to add a little extra ricotta and shredded Italian chesse to the filling, so I can end up with a few more.

I suggest boiling a few extra shells to account for mishaps. Sometimes they split when boiling, or they tear when filling.

Recipe credit: https://chefsavvy.com/spinach-and-ricotta-stuffed-shells/