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!
What Should I Serve with Stuffed Shells?
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 Pesto Stuffed Shells 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.
Can I Make Stuffed Shells in Advance?
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 Do You Freeze Pesto Stuffed Shells
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.
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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 Pesto Stuffed Shells – 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 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!