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.
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/