This spinach and cheese stuffed pasta is my favorite pasta recipe. Giant pasta shells are stuffed with a mixture of spinach, herbs and three cheeses. It's pasta heaven.
10ouncesspinach, frozen, thawed, drained and chopped
3cupsricotta cheese
2cupsshredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2cupgrated Parmesan cheese, divided
2tablespoonsparsley, chopped fresh
1teaspoonoregano, dried
salt and pepper, to your taste
Instructions
Cook the shells according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
Spoon 1 cup of spaghetti sauce into a lightly greased 13"x9"x2" inch baking dish. Set aside the remaining sauce.
Make sure the spinach is well drained. Squeeze it out to make sure as much moisture is out of it as possible. Combine the spinach, ricotta cheese, 1/2 of the grated mozzarella, 1/2 of the Parmesan, the parsley and oregano. Add a bit of salt and pepper to the mixture and mix it all together well.
Stuff each shell with about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture and place them in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese and mozzarella.
Cover and bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes then uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Notes
The shells don't have to be stuffed until they are heaping full. Fill them until the cheese and spinach mixture is just about to the top of the shells. It gives just the right ratio of pasta to filling.
You can make this a lower calorie dish by omitting the mozzarella cheese entirely. I often do that and it's delicious. Or just sprinkle a bit on top before baking.
I prefer a thinner tomato sauce for this baked pasta dish. When you bake the pasta it draws moisture from the sauce as the pasta cooks in it. If you use a very thick chunky sauce I think it gets dryer. Just my opinion and of course you can choose whatever kind of sauce you prefer. That's part of the joy of cooking.
If you like things spicy add some dried red pepper flakes to the sauce or a bit of hot sauce. I am not a super spicy eater so I like this the way it is, savory but not spicy.