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.
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