These spinach and ricotta stuffed shells are such a comforting, flavorful dinner! To get ahead, you can stuff the shells and place them in the baking dish with the marinara up to 4 hours in advance. Cover with foil and store them in the fridge until you're ready to serve. Then, just bake and eat!
¼ cup grated pecorino cheese (plus more for sprinkling)
2 garlic cloves (grated)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¾ teaspoon sea salt (plus more for the pasta water)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Marinara Sauce* (plus more for serving)
Chopped fresh parsley (for serving)
Categories
Main Course
Cuisine
American
Italian
Steps
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Place the spinach in a steamer basket and set over a pot with 1-inch of water. Bring the water to a simmer, cover, and let steam for 1 minute, until the spinach is wilted. Transfer to a strainer and squeeze out the excess water and chop the spinach.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta shells for 10 minutes, until al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
In a medium bowl, combine the spinach with the ricotta, pecorino, garlic, oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
Spread the marinara in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the filling and place in the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with more marinara on the side.
Reviews
Jennifer on 2026-07-28 19:14:58 (5 stars): I made this recipe tonight. It was amazing! The lemon added such great flavor.
Annmarie on 2026-07-21 14:35:43 (5 stars): Excellent recipe
Muffy on 2026-06-26 19:10:15 (5 stars): Now one of my go-to Italian dishes. It's amazing -delicious! Thank you for this incredible recipe.
Amber Smith on 2026-06-24 11:37:23 (5 stars): Have made this recipe a few times now and it’s become a family fave in our house! I sometimes add meat to the sauce. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Griselda on 2026-06-18 18:32:03 (5 stars): Delicious recipe! I was unsure of what to do with the remaining cooked stuffed shells (I cooked the whole box)- in retrospect, I should have counted out 20-25 uncooked before tossing them into the boiling water. Nonetheless, it was a great recipe, will be using in the future, Thank you!
H on 2026-05-28 00:46:51 (5 stars): I added ground turkey but this recipe was to die for! I spent about $13 (already having the seasonings). 10/10
Jen on 2026-05-27 19:11:02 (5 stars): Delicious! The lemon adds nice depth to the filling
Leah M on 2026-05-24 00:31:19 (5 stars): This recipe was creamy and saucy. Yum! We used pesto for the sauce and a little extra lemon and it was delicious :)
Cheryl on 2026-03-27 16:49:41 (5 stars): I topped it with a bit of marinara and fresh basil
Love all L and L recipes!!!!!
Emily on 2026-03-15 18:01:27 (5 stars): We make this recipe over and over again!
I disagree with an earlier comment that the lemon ruins it.. it absolutely needs this flavour and adds so much to it.
I did up the amount of spinach, just because I had it (almost 10oz) and it works up perfectly, with a bit of extra greens.
