Spinach and ‘Ricotta’ Vegan Stuffed Shells
Vegan stuffed shells are made with vegan ricotta, spinach, and flavorful pasta sauce for a comforting meal that’s easy to make and ready in about 40 minutes!
With a winning medley of carbs, creamy vegan cheese, spinach, and your favorite pasta sauce, this spinach-ricotta stuffed shells recipe is the ultimate comfort food!
And don’t forget a slice of bread to get every last bit of ricotta and sauce, this No Knead Bread is perfect!
Why We Love This Recipe!
- It’s a simple Italian meal that’s both versatile and on the table in no time.
- Vegan stuffed shells are 100% kid-friendly, and dairy lovers will never guess they are completely plant-based!
- These stuffed ricotta shells can be made ahead and are freezer friendly, making them a great recipe to prep and stock in the freezer for later!
Without further ado, let’s make stuffed shells!
Ingredients You’ll Need
In this recipe, cooked jumbo shells are stuffed with spinach ricotta cheese and baked with pasta sauce for a wonderful vegan Italian meal.
Here is everything you’ll need, including tips and variations:
- Jumbo Shells: Source out large jumbo shells and cook according to package directions. The shells were super easy to fill using a spoon, with none of them falling apart or breaking.
- Vegan Ricotta: Making your own homemade vegan cashew ricotta or tofu ricotta is super easy, and only takes a few minutes. You can make it ahead of time, storing it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days before using.
- Spinach: Use fresh or frozen spinach. Both work well, so use whatever you prefer or is more convenient. If using fresh, simply steam the spinach until wilted, and give a good chop to cut it up. Frozen spinach should be thawed and squeezed to remove excess water (you can do this right in the package by cutting the corner and squeezing the bag.
- Pasta Sauce: Make your own quick and easy Marinara Sauce or use your favorite pasta sauce.
- Final Touches: Finish it off with a little fresh basil or oregano for a pop of color and another layer of flavor. A good dusting of Almond Parmesan is also a perfect garnish for these stuffed shells.
How To Make Vegan Stuffed Shells
- Cook the pasta shells according to the package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, mix the vegan ricotta with the spinach in a medium-sized bowl.
- On the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish, evenly spread a whole jar of pasta sauce.
- Fill each pasta shell with a rounded tablespoon of the ricotta mixture and place it into the baking dish (shown above). I was able to get 3 rows of 6. The amount may vary depending on the size of your baking dish.
- Cover and bake for 15 minutes (the sauce should be nice and bubbly). Remove the cover and continue to bake for another 10 – 15 minutes.
- Let rest a few minutes and wipe clean the rim of the dish if you like (it will be messy from the bubbly sauce). Lastly, sprinkle with almond parmesan and herbs of choice.
That’s it, these spinach-ricotta stuffed shells make a fantastic vegan family-style dish everyone at the table will love!
Top Tips
- Baking dish. If you don’t have a rectangular baking dish, an oval or round baking dish will work just as well.
- Top with sauce. Instead of pouring the whole jar of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, save a little sauce, or only pour 1/2 of the sauce into the dish and top the stuffed shells with the remaining portion.
- Adjust the spinach. Use fresh or frozen spinach, or omit it altogether.
Commonly Asked Storage Questions
Yes! To freeze vegan stuffed shells before baking, prepare the recipe as directed up until baking using a freezer-sage container. Store in the freezer tightly covered with saran wrap and foil for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, bake as directed, adding an extra 5 – 10 minutes at each temperature called for in the recipe.
Make ahead: When making ahead, vegan stuffed shells can be filled and kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours in advance. When ready to bake, simply place it in the oven and bake as usual.
Cooked: Cooked, or leftover, stuffed pasta shells can be stored in the refrigerator, in an air-tight container, for up to 5 days.
Reheat leftover stuffed pasta shells by putting them into a shallow oven-safe dish, cover, and bake at 350 degrees F. until heated through about 15 minutes. Remove the cover and serve. Alternatively, microwave serving size portions using 30 – 60 second intervals until warmed through (be sure to cover with a microwave-safe cover).
Serving Suggestions
Stuffed shells are great alone or can be made into a full-course meal. Here are a few of my favorite options:
- Toppings: Add a sprinkle of Almond Parmesan and fresh chopped oregano or basil for a finishing touch.
- Salad: Pair with a simple Classic House Salad or hearty Vegan Caesar Salad on the side.
- Soup: Serve with a bowl of Vegan Minestrone Soup.
- Bread: Serve with a chunk of homemade crusty Artisan Bread or bread sticks for swiping up the last bits.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes!
You can never have too many comfort recipes on hand. Try these other delicious vegan pasta dishes to comfort your soul and make you feel at home. You may just find a new favorite recipe for the meal rotation!
- Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
- The Ultimate Vegan Lasagna
- Simple Cheese Manicotti
- Easy Mac and Cheese with Peas
- Eggplant Puttanesca
If you try this vegan stuffed shells recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintSPINACH AND ‘RICOTTA’ VEGAN STUFFED SHELLS
Made with simple vegan cashew or tofu ricotta, spinach, and flavorful pasta sauce, it’s both heavenly and comforting! Easy recipe and ready in 40 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6 (3 shells per serving) 1x
- Category: Entree, Pasta
- Cuisine: Vegan, Italian
Ingredients
- 18 jumbo shells
- 2 cups vegan ricotta (Cashew Ricotta or Tofu Ricotta)
- 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained or 5 oz. box of fresh spinach, steamed
- 1 jar (25oz) pasta sauce (or homemade Marinara Sauce)
To serve
- fresh chopped oregano or basil
- almond parmesan
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Pasta: Cook pasta shells according to package directions.
Ricotta Stuffing: Combine the cashew ricotta with the spinach, set aside.
Prep the baking dish: Pour the entire jar of pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, spreading evenly to all edges. Alternately, pour half the pasta sauce, fill with stuffed shells, and pour the other half over top.
Stuff Shells: Scoop out rounded tablespoon of the spinach-ricotta and stuff each of the pasta shells, placing them in the baking dish. (I was able to get 3 rows of 6, your results will vary depending on your baking dish.)
Bake: Place baking dish, covered, in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, sauce should be bubbly. Remove cover, reduce heat to 375 degrees F. and cook for 10 – 15 minutes more.
Serve with fresh chopped herbs of choice and a good dusting of almond parmesan.
Serves 6 (3 shells per serving)
Store: Cooked, or leftover, stuffed pasta shells can be stored in the refrigerator, in an air-tight container, for up to 5 days.
Notes
Make ahead: When making ahead, stuffed shells can be filled and kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours in advance. When ready to bake, simply place in the oven and bake as usual.
If you’d like to add a layer of vegan cheese over top before baking, I recommend using Myoko’s Vegan Mozzarella. It melts great and tastes fantastic for a vegan cheese!
I love and recommend using this Le Creuset baking dish (<< affiliate link) with lid when making these stuffed shells or lasagna.
Updated: Vegan Stuffed Shells was originally published in February 2019. It has been retested and updated with new photos and helpful tips in February 2021.
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Happy Thanksgiving! I made this for my family for Thanksgiving and doubled the recipe and it was a big hit thank you so much! We will be making this again and again!
★★★★★
Tastes Amazing!!!
★★★★★
What a terrific recipe! The ricotta was ahhmazing! I took it to a dinner party, vegans as well as non vegans loved it!
★★★★★
YUM!! These were unbelievably yummy! We couldn’t find any large shells in any grocery stores near us for some reason, so we improvised and made lasagna rollups instead. They were delicious!! I found myself craving more even days after we finished them all!
★★★★★
I have the same problem! Giant Eagle is the only place I am able to find the jumbo shells
Hi
I’ve only just found you and I’m so excited to try your recipes starting with your ricotta “cheese” can I use the same recipe but for cannelloni tubes instead ?
Terri xx
★★★★★
Yes, you sure can! If you need a reference, check out my Simple Vegan Manicotti recipe. Enjoy!
The best stuffed shell recipe and instructions ever!
★★★★★
Unbelievably good. Made just as described except I did use both the apple cider vinegar *and* the lemon. I love tangy things like sour cream and sourdough bread, so wanted the tang the apple cider vinegar would add, but also love lemon. Next time I would use both again for the stuffed shells, but if making the ricotta for another use, I would use half a lemon with the ACV–just think it does end up tasting a bit like lemon ricotta if you were using the ricotta on something that may not be hidden behind a sauce as much.
I lost 3 of the 18 shells I cooked because my burner has a “High Boil” feature that I should have turned down to regular boil once I added the shells to the water. My baking dish also only fit 14 stuffed shells, so I ended up just not using one of my 15. If I were taking this dish to a party (if this weren’t amid Covid), then I would use a larger baking dish, cook 20 shells in case I lost any, and shoot for the 18. However, I found I only had enough filling also for just 14, so I would add about a quarter more of everything. I did only use 9 oz. of spinach, as I used a steamed spinach package, but next time would use minimum 10 oz frozen so that would help. I also didn’t like how the steamed spinach package I tried seemed to break down the spinach more than I wanted to, but the taste was still great.
I used one large garlic clove (instead of small) and my favorite jarred sauce, which is Paul Newman’s Roasted Garlic sauce. I didn’t feel the garlic stood out too much so would do the same next time (love garlic). I also added a pinch of my husband’s dried oregano to the ricotta as well as to the final dish topping. It’s probably a bit stronger than the jarred kind, fyi. If I were making the ricotta for use in something more neutral, then I would not add oregano and stick with the recipe on that.
I also added fresh basil and a toss of shredded mozzarella when plating. I love Mykenos shreds but don’t have it locally so used Violife. It didn’t melt on top much but was still good. If making this for a party, then I would get the Mykenos mozzarella or add the Violife kind before taking the aluminum foil off when baking, instead of after as I did.
Solid recipe. Will be a definite hit if tried with nonvegans too.
I am so excited to know now that I can make an incredible ricotta for other uses too: lasagna, calzones, spreads, on pizza … Was supposed to freeze the leftovers but between my husband and I both sneaking snacking on the leftovers the next day, they were gone by day’s end.
Thank you soo much for this incredible and easy recipe!!!
★★★★★