Italian Shells
Ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan with Italian sausage, mushrooms and spinach in a pasta shell, smothered in marinara sauce. @mostdeliciouslife.com
Ingredients
- 12 ounce jumbo pasta shells
- 1 pound turkey sweet Italian sausage *optional
- 1 medium onion, diced *about 1 cup
- 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 15-16 ounce ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 egg
- ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes *optional
- 1½ tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 5 ounces spinach, roughly chopped
- 3-4 cups marinara sauce
- 1½-2 cups mozzarella, shredded **for top of shells
Instructions
- Cook shells according to package directions for al dente. Rinse, drain and cover until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Brown sausage and onion until meat is cooked and onion is softened. Add in mushrooms and garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Drain off any extra liquid and set aside.
- In large bowl, mix together the ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Stir in egg and seasonings. Mix well.
- Add meat mixture to cheese mixture. Mix well. Stir in spinach.
- Spoon about 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" cake pan or large baking dish.
- Spoon a rounded tablespoon of filling into each shell and place into baking dish. Continue until filling is used up.
- Spoon remaining marinara sauce onto shells and top with remaining cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until center shells are hot.