Who doesn’t love cute little pasta bundles?? These Pesto Stuffed Shells remind me of little baby lasagnas that have yet to grow into their adult form. They have all the same goodies as a spinach lasagna, like ricotta, mozzarella, Italian herbs, and Parmesan, but are rolled into easy-to-portion pasta shells. And to make life easier, I used store-bought pesto for the filling, which takes care of all the seasoning needs in one swoop. So fast, so easy. And these little Pesto Stuffed Shells freeze beautifully, so don’t be afraid of the large batch size. simply let them cool completely after baking, transfer to a freezer safe container, and stash ’em in your freezer for later!
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Serving Ideas?
This is such a classic comfort meal that I suggest pairing it with something simple, like Homemade Garlic Bread and a simple side salad of baby greens and Italian Dressing. If you happen to have any leftover vegetables in your fridge (carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms) add those to your side salad for extra vegetable goodness!
How Many Does This Make?
This recipe made about 22 stuffed shells for me, but your distance may vary. I suggest boiling about 25 shells just in case you have extra filling or a couple of them rip during the stuffing process. I used about 2/3 of a 12oz. box of jumbo shells, which gave me 22 individual shells.
Make Ahead Ideas
Yes! If you want to assemble the stuffed shells the day before, refrigerate, then bake the next day, that will work just as well. You may need to add a few extra minutes onto the baking time, to account for the dish being chilled when it goes into the oven.
How to freeze
I prefer to freeze my Pesto Stuffed Shells after baking. I divide them into single servings (about two stuffed shells each), chill them completely in the refrigerator first, then transfer to the freezer the next day. I like to use the small square Ziploc containers.
If you love this recipe then try our Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef next!
Pesto Stuffed Shells
Servings 5 4 shells eachIngredients
- 1/2 lb. frozen spinach, thawed ($0.85)
- 15 oz. ricotta ($1.99)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella ($1.00)
- 1/2 cup basil pesto ($0.85)
- 1 large egg ($0.27)
- 8 oz. jumbo pasta shells (about 22-25 shells) ($1.66)
- 24 oz. pasta sauce ($1.19)
Instructions
- Make sure the spinach is completely thawed, then squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. Add the spinach to a large bowl with the ricotta, mozzarella, pesto, and egg. Stir until the ingredients are well combined, then refrigerate until it’s ready to be used.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the jumbo shells. Cook the shells just until they’re tender, making sure not to over cook the pasta. The longer the shells boil, the more likely they are to tear during the stuffing process. Drain the shells in a colander and then rinse briefly with cool water to make them cool enough to handle.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread about 1 cup of pasta sauce in the bottom of a large casserole dish.
- One by one, stuff each shell with a couple tablespoons of the cheese, pesto, and spinach mixture. Place the shells in the casserole dish as you stuff them.
- Once the shells are all stuffed, pour the remaining two cups of pasta sauce over top. Bake the shells for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the sauce is bubbling up around the edges. Serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down to see the step by step photos!
How to Make – Step By Step Photos
First prepare the filling for the shells. Make sure your 1/2 lb. frozen spinach is completely thawed, then squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. Combine the spinach in a bowl with 15oz. ricotta, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 1 large egg, and 1/2 cup pesto.
Mix those ingredients together until they’re well combined, then refrigerate them until they’re ready to be used.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add about 22-25 jumbo pasta shells (about 8oz.). Boil the shells just until they’re tender, but still sturdy. Over cooking the pasta shells makes them difficult to stuff without ripping. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water to make them easy to handle.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread about 1 cup of pasta sauce in the bottom of a large casserole dish (about 9×13″).
Stuff each pasta shell with about 2 Tbsp of the prepared spinach and pesto cheese filling, then place them in the casserole dish.
Line the shells up with one another so they are fairly closely packed.
Finally, pour the remaining 2 cups of pasta sauce over the shells.
Since the shells are stuffed with cheese, I didn’t feel the need to top them with even more cheese… but that’s just me. ;P
Bake the Pesto Stuffed Shells in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce is a little bubbly and browned around the edges.
Serve the pesto stuffed shells hot. Pairs beautifully with Homemade Garlic Bread!
Looking for a meaty stuffed shells recipe? Try these Italian Stuffed Shells from our friends at TheCookieRookie.com.
Is there any way I can meal prep this for 5 days of the week? If so, how should I go about it?
Hi Ava! You’re in luck! We actually have a whole separate post on meal prepping this one! :) https://www.budgetbytes.com/pesto-stuffed-shells-meal-prep/
Recipe seems like it was missing some flavoring but that could also be because I didn’t have any pesto. Would definitely make again but add some seasonings to spinach cheese mix, and also the pesto.
Has anyone tried this with filling other than ricotta? I only have cottage cheese and fresh mozzarella I will be shredding. Can I sub one of those for ricotta?
Made this once before and we LOVED it!
I’ve made this many times and it’s amazing! But my toddler doesn’t like the spinach — can I just omit it entirely or would I need to make any adjustments?
Yes, you can just do a straight cheese filling, although you might need to increase the amount of the other filling ingredients to compensate for the loss of volume with the missing spinach. :)
This recipe was quick and easy to put together, and the results were delicious! Cleanup was a breeze. There were lots of extra shells and cheese mixture, so I baked an additional 8×8″ pan of pasta (so glad I had an additional jar of sauce in the pantry!).
I didn’t want that much dairy, so I subbed 2 cans of canellini beans masked up for the ricotta. Still plenty flavorful and creamy! I’d make it again
This is one of my favorite recipes! I’ve made it many times over the years. I usually use fresh, chopped spinach.
I love this recipe. I made this for a church function last night and it was hit. Almost 1000 shells and we fed about 80 families. Thanks!
Dang, Tracie!! That’s a whole lot of work. Congrats! XOXO -Monti
To die for! Whole family devoured. Paired with a delicious fresh salad. Chefs kiss!!
This is one of my favorite recipes to make, but for the past year or so, the grocery stores have been out of jumbo shells. But I recently found some manicotti and was wondering if there’s anything different I should do to make a stuffed manicotti version of this. Any ideas?
I did this! I finally found one store with jumbo shells, but I have made this recipe before with manicotti and it turned out the same. Harder to stuff than the shells, but tastes the same.
This was my first time making stuffed pasta of any kind and it was such a decadent meal! I did use fresh spinach that I already had on hand, and I sauteed and chopped it as recommended to someone else in the comments (cooked the leaves whole, refrigerated it for a while to set, and then chopped right before making the filling). I can’t wait to make this again!
Making this today – my son has made it and loves it! If I am assembling it a few hours ahead of time, should I put the sauce on top now? Or wait until I’m about to bake it?
I would probably wait until you’re ready to bake it so the pasta doesn’t end up absorbing too much moisture from the sauce.
can fresh spinach be used?
Yes, but you’ll probably want to chop and sauté it first to remove some of the moisture. :)
Absolutely delicious! My family loved it
This recipe is delicious and easy. Just so everyone knows, I once forgot the egg and it was fine.
This recipe comes together so quickly and easily! We love sharing extra servings with friends and family as well as freezing for later.
I made this exactly as written and it was FABULOUS! I was worried my 7 yr old would turn her nose up at the spinach, but the pesto masked any trace of it. Everyone asked me to make it again! Thank you!
I love this recipe! Can’t even tell you how many people I’ve recommended this to. I bring leftovers to work and everyone tells me how good it smells. My family loves this. I add provel cheese on top because I’m from STL and love cheese. I like to add more sauce than recommended so the leftovers aren’t dry.
Super delicious!! Plus super easy follow along instructions and cheap! I’ve made three or four of these receipts now, I love this site!
I use a 1/2 batch of the slow cooker marinara recipe for this and it’s AMAZING. Easy to freeze the other half for another recipe too (I’m thinking baked ziti).
Made these last week and froze in individual portions for my work lunches – it was delicious. I actually left out the pesto altogether and used a spicy arrabiati tomato sauce..
How perfect! Great idea Pam!
does anyone know the nutritional facts on this recipe?
Hi Lindsay-
I’ve just learned about HappyForks.com, which has a really handy recipe analyzer. The whole recipe has 1506 calories, so 1 serving would have about 300 calories. Not bad!
Could these be made without the egg? Allergic… bummer. P.S. I LOVE every recipe I’ve tried of yours!
Yes, you could do that, but the filling will be a lot more “loose” :)
How do you cook them after you freeze them? I’m looking for freezer meal options and these sound great!
I’ve never frozen them before cooking, I always cook them first, divide them into single portions, then freeze them that way so I can reheat one portion at a time in the microwave.
Do you reheat them with the sauce on top, or do you just bake the shells + filling and then add the sauce after reheating?
Either way is great Tina!
I’ve been making a similar recipe from my Canadian Living cookbook for years. Never fails.
Pro tip: prepare it the day before. The flavours really come out that way.
Made these tonight with some garlic bread. I used fresh spinach instead of frozen and some garlic powder – the boyfriend said they were really good and gave me an A for dinner. Thanks, Beth for the great recipe!
This dish was absolutely devine!!!! Had my whole family licking their Curley afterwards. Definitely going into my cookbook. Thank you soo much for the recipe.
You’re so welcome Nancy! Glad to hear they enjoyed it.
This was super yummy and fun and easy to make. It will be a regular in our household!
Making these for dinner tonight!
These are so good, my husband who hates stuffed shells loves them! I think they’re even better left over.
Made these today and they were awesome! Even my pesto-hating husband liked them. :) I did add a few dashes of Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper to my filling and topped the whole pan off with mozzarella. Made them even more delicious!
Thanks I need ideas on easy meal preps. Thinking about going back to school and need new simple ideas for easy preps on a budget. Thank you!
I have never made shells before, but all the Kitchen Hits from my kitchen are your recipes and I figured , why not try shells. Did Not Dissapoint!!! This was amazing, thanks for your awesome recipes as always!
This is a great recipe but where in God’s name do you find basil pesto for $0.85 per half cup? Jars o basil pesto are so expensive everywhere I look.
Aldi! :D
so right
How do these reheat? I want to make freeze them in single servings. We don’t have a microwave and we work different shifts, it’ll be nice to have some good meal in the freezer to fall back on and this looks delicious. TIA!
This is one of my favorite meals to freeze and reheat, although I use a microwave.
I stumbled on this recipe looking for pesto stuffed shells. My thought was to use a creamy pesto sauce instead of marinara. Has anyone tried a a creamy pesto sauce with this or a similar recipe?
You certainly could use a creamier pesto sauce on top. I have a few pesto’s here on the site as well: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/07/white-pizza-with-parsley-pesto-drizzle/ https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/07/kale-pesto-pasta/ https://www.budgetbytes.com/2009/11/bacon-pesto-pasta-bake/
This recipe is soooo sooo good! I add a can of mushrooms just cuz I love mushrooms and a bit of parm.
As so many others have mentioned, this recipe freezes beautifully. I just add the desired amount of shells/sauce in a sandwich baggie, defrost and then microwave until hot. Great w/ garlic bread and a salad. Nom!!
Hi, found this through your meal prep link on the sidebar. I’m thinking of using it for a freezer meal swap I do with some friends where we each make the same meal 5x and then swap with each other. Do you think this could work? And do you know how long it would take to cook from frozen? Would you modify anything to go straight to freezer without cooking it first? Do you have any other recipes that you think would be great for a swap??
I realize that’s a lot of questions, but I love your site and can’t wait to try this recipe.
I think this would work well for a freezer swap! Unfortunately I don’t know how long it would take to cook from frozen, though. I usually freeze my food after cooking and in single serving portions, so I don’t have a lot (or any, really) experience with freezing before cooking. I do have round ups of food that I like to freeze leftovers of (after cooking), if that is any help. :) Top 10 Recipes for Freezer Leftovers Top 10 Freezer Meals
CAT – I was just looking for the answer to this as well. I found on another site that freezing unbaked is probably best. When ready to eat, defrost first, then bake @ the specified temperature and time. If baking straight from frozen, add 60 minutes or so. That is my plan anyway :)
These taste absolutely amazing! Definitely a keeper. I couldn’t find jumbo pasta shells so I used 14 pieces of manicotti which was just the right amount for this recipe.
Love this recipe, the girlfriend and I devoured these. Do you think adding 2-3 more eggs for some cheap extra nutrition would work?
I think you could add 1-2 more eggs but any more and I think the texture would get kind of strange. :)
I know this post is ancient, but I just saw it on you right meal prep!
Wondering…is there some way I could eliminate the cheese? Ive made lasagna with sautéed mushrooms and zucchini instead of cheese and that has worked…may it work for this?
I’m not vegan…I’m just a freak of nature who gags at the texture of cheese :(
Hmm, I suppose you could stuff the shells with sautéed vegetables, but personally I think it would be lacking.
I just made this for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. My boyfriend and son loved it….and so did I. One of the best dishes I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
These have easily become a family staple in my house. I make a ton and freeze them. Super si pile on those nights you don’t want to cook. Thanks for sharing!
Do you freeze them after you cook them, then thaw and reheat? Or do you freeze them without cooking them?
I like to cook first, then freeze, and reheat in the microwave. That’s the easiest method for me.
I don’t know if you’re still responding to this post! But was wondering if we HAVE to use a glass pan. Would like to make this but my cooking supplies are low b/c I’m a student living in a dormitory :( All I have is a normal baking pan
You can definitely use a metal or ceramic baking dish if that’s what you have. :)
Thank you!!! This turned out great even though I kind of overcooked the pasta haha :)
I know this post is super old, but could I add some diced zucchini and Mexican squash to the cheese mixture? I worry that it would end up a watery mess.
It will definitely add some moisture. To combat that, you can sauté the squash in a skillet first until most of the moisture comes out (or roast it in the oven, but that will take a bit longer).
I sauted about half a zucchini and squash, and threw them in the ricotta mixture. This was sooooo good and definitely hit the spot. Thanks! I can’t wait for the leftovers tomorrow.
Can the egg be substituted with anything else?
Not in this one, unfortunately. You really need that egg to solidify the filling so that it doesn’t ooze all over.
I made this last night to take to a friend with a new baby and for my family, and it was a big hit! I added 12 oz of frozen chopped spinach to the filling mixture instead of using fresh, then added some parmesan cheese as well. With the extra spinach, it could have used some salt, but I didn’t add that. As some others did, I also used about half the amount of pesto. Overall, it was a great success!
Made these last night and my husband loved them! I did too-which is rare because frequently I’m too tired after making a meal to want to eat! Very easy to make, I thought. I didn’t know if I should cover them with foil while I baked them, so I did, to be on the safe side. It turned out great. Budget Bytes is becoming my GO-TO site when I start my weekly menu planning.
God bless you for posting this :) These are seriously the BEST stuffed shells I’ve ever had! I use the Classico brand basil pesto, part-skim ricotta and part-skim mozzarella, Ronzoni jumbo shells and Ragu “tomato, garlic & onion” pasta sauce. I use a whole 6 oz. bag of fresh baby spinach and cut up the leaves with my kitchen scissors so that I get about 2 cups chopped fresh spinach. I also add a 1/2 cup of grated romano cheese to the filling mixture. They are just so incredibly delicious! This will forever be my go-to recipe for stuffed shells :) I think it would make awesome lasagna too but I haven’t tried that.
I forgot to mention that I omit the mozzarella from the filling and only use grated mozzarella on top of the shells, to protect them from drying out during baking. I find that if you put mozzarella cheese in the filling for stuffed shells or lasagna that it makes the filling too runny. I scaled back the pesto to only 1/3 cup instead of a half cup, since it is very flavorful and I felt a half cup was too much. These always turn out fantastic! :)
My husband & I both found the basil to be a bit strong so I wld def cut back a bit. And that was with adding the 2 C spinach. I might add another C of spinach as well. It was good just a little strong with basil. :)
LOVE this recipe! I have made it a few times now and it is delicious. I do cut the basil pesto in half because although I love it, it is a little strong for those who do not. YUM!
Made this for dinner tonight after finding it on Pinterest while looking for some inspiration. I paired it with roasted asparagus and rotisserie chicken…..Delish! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Yum!! My family of 5 enjoyed these SOOO much. Thanks for a great recipe! We added a little bit of cottage cheese to the mixture, and used homemade spinach/basil pesto. Will add to our “regular” menu! Thanks!!
Worked out so well, although the process of putting the mix in the shells was a bit awkward (but I will get better at it), slash I may or may not have eaten half a dish to myself!!
Wow! These were so easy and fast! Not to mention yummy!!
If basil pesto isn’t available in your area, you can try to make this fresh parsley pesto. I like it just almost as much, it’s super quick, and very inexpensive!
For those of us who don’t have cheap basil pesto at the store, how do you make it from scratch on a college student budget?
about to dig into these! just waiting for parmesan knots to finish. thanks for the awesome recipe! :)
Making this tonight…Cheese is ridiculous in New York. Still cheaper than going out though.
Ah i’ve never seen shells this size, and even if i found some I’d never be able to get gluten free ones. ah this looks so yummy though!
Oh, and I also used the ziploc bag trick…I do that with manacotti, too. Soooo easy! I highly recommended it versus spooning the mixture in.
Just made this tonight. It was amazing! I’ve made shells multiple times before, but the pesto basil really made the dish! I did not use spinach, but stuck to the recipe every other way. Every plate was clean within minutes. Definitely a keeper!
I have to make this! Looks great and love all the reviews this has received so I know we will all love it! Thanks for posting!
I have made this recipe so many times. I use it when we are having guests over. It is always a big hit. Thanks!
delicious! my boyfriend at about half the pan ( :/ ) adding spinach is a great idea. i want these everyday
Put your cheese mixture into a Ziploc bag, cut the off one of the edges, and squeeze as a pastry chef would to ice a cake. Much less mess.
This was amazing! I’m not a fan of ricotta so I just used cottage cheese and it turned out so yummy. I can’t believe how simple this was, thank you so much!
great dish! Accidentally put cup of pesto in recipe instead of a half, but it still turned out great!
Absolutely amazing! First time using pesto and definitely not the last!
I found this recipe via Pinterest and just finished eating it! So delicious. I had to cook my shells about 14-15 minutes, and they didn’t break when I was filling them. I added some garlic and Italian seasonings to the filling, but totally forgot that I had olive oil and garlic pasta sauce, so they were pretty garlicky! They were fantastic! Will make again- thank you so much :-)
I came across through Pinterest and so glad I did!
Just made this for dinner to my picky daughter and boyfriend who both loved it! I’m a beginner cook so I really appreciate all your pics as it makes it so easy to follow. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes…tomorrow Coconut Chicken w/sweet chili sauce!
Found this on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and been dying to try this- and just made it tonight. So delicious and easy!! I was a little worried when I first poured the shells into the strainer because they looked a little floppy, but running cold water over them made them curl up and look right. Yay! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Found this from digging around on Pinterest. Decided I had to make it. I actually spent $13.08 on it, which came out to $0.72 per shell(I managed to make 18) w/ approximately 3 shells per serving which equals $2.18 per serving. Slightly off, but close enough, probably b/c this was created a year ago and there’s been some inflation of grocery prices.
Break down:
Jumbo Shells = $2.59
Pasta Sauce= $2.99
Ricotta= $1.99
Mozzarella- $2.00
Basil Pesto= $2.99
Egg = $0.15(already had in the fridge so I just used this recipe’s estimated cost)
Spinach= $0.33 (I already had some in the freezer, although frozen, I used this recipe’s estimated cost)
Oil= $0.04(already had on hand, so I used the estimated cost)
For a total of $13.08. I also used a coupon for the pasta sauce since I was also buying alfredo and it was a buy 2 coupon, and I used my Kroger savings card for 2/$4.00 on the mozzarella since I had to buy another package for a recipe for thanksgiving.
Also found through pinterest – am going to try this tomorrow – always love something with pesto – love your pics too.
I found your blog threw pinterest. I must say I’m glad I did. These shells were a big hit. Thanks so much for giving me budget friendly foods.
Mmm so yummy looking. Perfect comfort food. (What’s more comforting than pasta and cheese?) Thanks!
When I first came upon this recipe, it looked great, but I was afraid it would be too difficult for me. I was wrong! I followed the directions and the outcome was fabulous – not to mention my kids loved them and believe me, they are picky eaters!
made this for dinner tonight, it was incredibly easy and delicious! can’t wait to try more of your recipes, thank you!
Made this the other night, it is a GREAT recipe. All together with garlic bread it came out at about 15$ at wal-mart.
This is awesome! But, just so you know, it’s kind of a wives tale that oil prevents pasta from sticking- oil and water don’t mix, ever! A tablespoon of vineger instead works wonders.
This looks delicious. I would love for you to link it to my blog hop!
http://theiowafarmerswife.blogspot.com/2011/05/vegetarian-recipes-blog-hop.html
We tried this tonight and it was an instant hit. Love it!!!!
i LOVED this! i worked all day today and came home and made this in less than 30 minutes. it was easy AND delicious. it totally made my night! i’ll definitely be saving this recipe! thanks!
this was so delicious! i cut out the mozzarella (so it’s a bit more figure friendly) and added a bit more spinach and pesto in its place. i also sprinkled some parmesan cheese on the bottom and top layers of sauce. i tossed my left-over shells and filling with some sauce and popped it in the freezer – gotta love squeezing two different dishes out of one recipe. your recipes are such a life saver and are always so tasty!
Just made them! About to eat, thanks for the wonderful website!
I was just wondering if there was a good substitute for ricotta as I do not enjoy the flavor of ricotta but I do like eating this kind of stuff.
Thanks!
These are so yummy! I undercooked the first batch and they were runny, but i adjusted my oven and they’re the perfect texture. I’ll be making these the next time people come over :)
This was a EXCELLENT DISH and affordable to boot! A++++
Made this last night without the spinach and it was great! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this last night, but I added sausage to the mixture and topped it with a little extra mozzarella. It was so good, I will definitely make this again!
What a treasure of a blog! I like to post step-by-step photos, because I hope to encourage fearful folks to cook. You are so right, in that it’s easy and it’s a lot cheaper. I also think it’s a lot of fun! As for this recipe, you answered my need to make a recipe for a free pasta sauce I was sent, to sample (and recommend, of course). I have every single ingredient and I cannot wait to go home and make this dish. I really like how you break down the cost of each dish. Having been a single mom for 12 years, I learned how to budget cook to survive. Now that I’m married, I indulge in fancier ingredients once in a while– but I’m still a Basics Kinda Gal.
Once again, great blog! I’m going to recommend it on my own blog roll.
Debby
looks terrific and vegetarian to boot. Love the addition of spinach. Thank you for posting!
Tasty. I just had spaghetti squash and meat sauce over the weekend as I was craving pasta and red sauce. This looks great!
Definitely a stunning dish! Love it!
I must try this delicious-looking stuffed pasta! Excellent click!
Beautiful stuffed shells! I love the addition of pesto to the cheese filling.