Which is easier: feeding a baby or stuffing pasta shells? While you scratch your head and puzzle over that question, I’ll explain my logic. Both require an apron or bib, a spoon, and lots of patience. On a good day, feeding a baby only requires two hands—one to hold the spoon and one to wipe her mouth. But stuffing pasta shells requires at least three—two to hold the slippery little bugger open and one to cram the cheesy filling inside.
But I’m not an alien mutant with three hands, so the fingers on my two hands needed a refresher course in cooking acrobatics. They conveniently forgot their pasta-holding flexibilities since the last time I made this dish, and only after nearly ripping half of the shells did I finally get into the rhythm…
Pry shell open with two hands
Keep shell open with thumb and forefinger of left hand
Shove ricotta in as fast as possible with right hand
Drop shell into baking pan
Do a little celebration dance!
My dance only got bigger once the shells came out of the oven. Cheesy, saucy, and delicious, they were well worth the time and effort! And probably much easier to make than feeding a baby.
Substitute your favorite spices or cheeses in place of the oregano or mozzarella. Top with grated Parmesan for an extra cheesy treat!
Adapted from CL’s Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9”x13” baking pan with nonstick spray. Spread ½ c. of the marinara sauce across the bottom. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combined ricotta through black pepper, mixing well.
- Working with one shell at a time, fill with 1-2 tbsp of the cheese mixture. Lay in the prepared pan.
- Once all shells are filled, spread the remaining marinara sauce evenly across the shells. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Note: These freeze well once cooled to room temperature. To reheat, allow shells to thaw in the fridge or on the counter before microwaving.
I love meals like this…pasta with cheese…yummy!
Me too! I seem to be in a pasta phase… More to come this week! And thank you for all of your comments, I appreciate them all!
You’re welcome, I enjoy your blog! Thank you for sharing all these yummy recipes! 🙂
My pleasure! It’s always really uplifting to hear someone enjoys what I’m doing.
How do we save this recipe?
I just updated the recipe format, so there should be both a “Save” and “Print” button in the upper right hand corner. Hope that helps!