Stuffed Shells with Ricotta, Spinach, and Portobello Mushrooms
Updated March 26, 2019
I never get sick of Italian food. Sometimes I think I am Italian, my name is Maria, I have dark hair, I could pass, right? 🙂 I love pasta, pizza, gelato, panini, etc. Italian food always hits the spot for me.
I recently made stuffed shells for dinner. I started with the classic ricotta spinach mixture. I also added in portobello mushrooms, onion, garlic, and red peppers. I made a homemade marinara sauce and topped the shells off with cheese.
I loved peeking in on the bubbling shells that were oozing with cheese. The house smelled amazing too. I am glad I added in the extra vegetables, the portobello mushrooms and red peppers worked well with the spinach and cheese.
I think this is a great dish to serve to guests. You can prepare the filling and stuff the shells in advance. Keep the stuffed shells covered in the refrigerator until you are ready for dinner. Bake them 35 minutes before the guests arrive and you will have an amazing dinner with no last minute hassles.
Stuffed Shells with Ricotta, Spinach, and Portobello Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 large portobello mushroom chopped
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 15 oz ricotta cheese - I used low fat
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese shredded (divided)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated (divided)
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach thawed, drained, and chopped (use a potato ricer to get rid of the water)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- Dash of crushed red pepper
- Salt and pepper
- About 3 cups of marinara sauce I made my own, you can use store bought
- About 18 jumbo pasta shells cooked al dente, read box instructions:)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish or Pyrex 9 by 13 pan with cooking spray. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Once hot, add the onion, cook until soft. Add in garlic, mushrooms, and red peppers. Remove from heat and cool.
- In a large bowl combine the ricotta, ¼ cup of the mozzarella, ¼ cup of the Parmesan, stir well. Add in the egg, spinach, dried basil, crushed red pepper,salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Mix well until creamy. Add the mushroom, onion, red pepper mixture.
- Pour ½ cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of your sprayed baking dish. Place the cooked shells in the pan. Make sure they are spaced out evenly. Stuff each shell with cheese/veggie mixture. Use a spoon, it might get messy:)
- Pour the remaining sauce over the stuffed shells. Add the leftover mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes. You want the shells to be bubbling with goodness. Let cool for a few minutes and serve warm.
Have you tried this recipe?
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I do something very similar for first dates because it can be prepped ahead of time so I can relax before she shows up.
I love these types of dishes too because they have endless options.
Oh yeah most people think I should be Italian too so yeah us!
I love Italian food, especially pasta dishes! It looks delicious.
I am definitely making these this week…..they look awesome….and I LOVE your blog.
This is a family favorite. I could live off of Italian food too!
I love stuffed shells! I grew up on these which my grandmother would make for me when I stayed with her. Definitely one of my favorite comfort foods.
I'll adopt you as my Italian sister!! YUM Maria, these look awesome!! great pics!
I could pass for an Italian at least once a week as far as my culinary tastes go. These shells with the mishrooms added are amazing.
Ha, So I'm guessing you're not Italian? That's ok, you don't have to be to appreciate stuffed shells 🙂 Nice job on the veggie front!
I love Itlian food too – filling and delicious! I especially like lots of noodles.
Nice job on your stuffed shells!
Now those looks amazing and this has everything my children love especially the spinach! Thanks for sharing and terrific photos!
~ingrid
I havent stuffed shells in years.
I like the addition of portobellos!
Great pics!
Well, these looked so good that I made them today! My half Italian son said, "Best shells ever! The vegetables in the cheese mixture make it taste so much lighter than the usual shells."
I didn't use frozen spinach. Instead, I emptied a bag of baby spinach into a dry pot and cooked it on low, stirring occasionally until it was completely wilted. Then I chopped it up and used it as the recipe instructed.
I scraped the gills out of the mushroom before chopping. You didn't say to do that or not.
I had more filling than 18 shells could hold, so next time (and there will be a next time on this recipe), I'll cook up 22 to 24 shells.
Thank you for posting this. I was looking for a better stuffed shells recipe. This one's a keeper.
Thanks everyone!
Carini-I am so glad you liked the shells! Thanks for letting me know!
That looks heavenly! I am a happy camper with a plate of Italian food, too.
wow! these look amazing! I was just thinking about making stuffed shells but couldn't find them in the market. I love how yours has a filling that has my favourite ingredients. yum!
This looks like a perfect meal! I'm seriously dying to make it now! 🙂
Looks delicious – great flavors!
yes, Yes, YES. This is right up my alley. Up and down and all throughout my alley. So Love it!!!!
They are gorgeous! So colourful and delicious.
I want to be Italian when I grow up…
Honestly, I thought you were Italian!
With dishes like this you sure would fool anyone!! This rocks!
That looks really delicious. Love the flavors you have going on.
I haven't made these in a zillion years and when I did they didn't look as good as yours. And because I'm starving right now, it's just about killing me!
Those stuffed shells look really food!
A perfectly delicious dinner!
With food looking this good (sans viande), you make it very easy to like Italian food every day!
I've got some shells in the pantry that still need cooking.
These look great! It’s been a while since I made stuffed shells. Gotta remember that next week for meal planning.
Going to try these for New Years Eve Dinner.
I made two batches of these for my freezer. I can’t wait to eat these. Thank you for the recipe.