Loaded with ricotta, fresh mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, and lots of love! This pasta dish is a total crowd-pleaser. I love making these when I’m craving lasagna but don’t want to hassle with making an entire pan of lasagna. Ya feel me?! When the lasagna craving hits we also love making this Skillet Rotini Lasagna and this Ravioli Lasagna Recipe! Colder months means cozying up with all of the comfort food and this meal fits the bill. Grab your jumbo shells and let’s get to it!
Jumbo Shells: Undercooking the shells 1-2 minutes or just until al dente is perfect because they will continue to cook in the oven. Tip: always cook a few extra shells just in case some tear or break when cooking. Ricotta cheese: I love using a whole milk ricotta. It’s creamy and just so perfect. Garlic: freshly minced Marinara sauce: any jarred marinara or tomato sauce works perfectly here. We love Rao’s. Shredded mozzarella: Buy fresh, low-moisture mozzarella for best results
Parmesan cheese: Same goes for the Parmesan, buy a block and shred/grate yourself for best results. Baby spinach: This recipe hasn’t been tested with frozen spinach so I can’t advise on how that would work. I’d imagine frozen would work well though too! Seasonings: salt, pepper, onion powder, fresh basil Optional: To make this a heartier meal, we love adding in ground Italian Sausage. As you can see from the photos, we love adding the Italian sausage in ours!
If wanting to add Italian sausage, cook it separately and layer it down in the shell first, then add the cheese mixture. Instead of spinach, you can use kale or arugula. Change up the cheese if you prefer. Asiago, Fontina, Cottage cheese are all good options. I still recommend using ricotta as the base and wouldn’t skip out on that. Instead of red sauce, use a different sauce such as Alfredo. So YUM! Add more veggies when sautéing the spinach: broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc.
