After taking the photo for our sausage stuffed shells recipe, I scrambled into the kitchen to grab plates, knifes, forks and napkins — you know, like any normal person would do before sitting down to have a nice meal with their husband. Just as I was leaving the kitchen, I realized something. I left the shells with Adam. Alone.
How he did it, I’m not sure, but in the time it took me to go to the kitchen, grab our supplies and get back to him, he had finished at least half of the shells. Being someone who likes to look on the bright side of life, that made me think the recipe was a success and as Adam mentioned to me just after his last stuffed shell, hey, maybe we can say these are finger food!
So, there you go. Serve these stuffed shells as the main event or serve as finger food — while the the filling is not dry, it really isn’t overly soft either, so taking a bite doesn’t leave you with a mess.
How to make Our Sausage Stuffed Shells Recipe with Spinach
Our stuffed shells recipe is pretty simple. Cook some large pasta shells according to the package directions. Then, when they are cooked, drain and add to a large bowl filled with ice water.
Now, on to the filling. Start by removing the casing from sausage links. Just use a sharp knife to pierce the casing and peel it off the meat.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the pork sausage to the pan and use a wooden spoon or similar to break the sausage apart. Cook the sausage until browned.
Add a tablespoon of minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Watch the garlic does not burn, here.
Pour in a can of diced tomatoes, juice and all.
Now defrost some frozen spinach in the microwave (this takes 1-2 minutes), once defrosted, squeeze the spinach over a bowl. We do not want the water, only the spinach. By the way, you could use fresh spinach here, instead.
Add the spinach to the pan and stir.
Now, remove the pan from the heat and add in some ricotta cheese. This will make the filling creamy. Taste for seasoning, then use a spoon to fill each pasta shell.
Sprinkle a little cheese on top of the stuffed shells then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tips of the shells begin to crisp up and brown.
Did you like our Sausage Stuffed Shells Recipe with Spinach? If so, we bet you’ll love these, too!
- Taco Stuffed Shells Recipe, packed with smokey cumin and chili powder
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells Recipe, a riff on our favorite Hot Wing recipe
- 16-18 jumbo pasta shells
- 1 pound fresh pork sausage links, casing removed
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze dry
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook according to package directions. Drain well then add to ice water until ready to stuff.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork sausage then use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage, cook 5-6 minutes until browned.
- Add garlic and cook 30 seconds then add tomatoes and spinach (make sure the thawed frozen spinach has been squeezed dry); cook 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in ricotta cheese.
- Using a spoon, fill pasta shells with pork filling and arrange in a baking dish (9-inch x 9-inch baking dish works well). Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese then bake in the oven 25-30 minutes until cheese has melted and tips of shells begin to crisp and brown.
About the Author
Joanne
I'm Joanne Gallagher and alongside my husband, Adam, I develop, test and share favorite recipes from our kitchen. I'm completely in love with food and you'll most likely find me covered in flour, chocolate or both.
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That’s it. I’m moving in.
Your step by step photos are lovely. I’m saving this recipe. Thanks!
That dish looks so very delicious. I love how you arranged the shells in a circular pattern. Saw this photo on FoodGawker!
Thanks so much! That dish is similar in size to a round cake pan, which would work nicely, too!
Joanne
A beautiful and comforting dish. Love the simple yet tempting presentation.
This would be awesome with some spicy italian sausage. If you love to cook check out Chppd.com its fun and you could win cool stuff.
Gawd, these look sooooo good! The filling has all my fave pasta ingredients in it, too.
-Joanne
Oooh, those look good, and your tutorial makes it look so easy and doable that I am inspired to make them! Thanks for that! And as for eating half of them by the time you got back, I could have done the same thing. Lol. We only get 30 minutes at work to get to the lunch room (2-5 mins depending on who is loping in the hall in front of you), 5-10 minutes to wait for our turn at the three microwaves, 2-5 minutes to warm your food, 3 minutes to get a wet wipe to clean a table, 3 minutes to let your food cool enough to eat, 2 minutes to eat, and then another 2-5 minutes to lope behind those who are meanering back to the call center floor. Ergo, yes, I could eat half of those in the time it took you to get back. : )..
too funny! we’re glad you understand where we are coming from
-Joanne
Wow- this looks great! Can’t wait to try it. I’m including it on my “found on pinterest Sunday” post! yumm So glad I found your blog too.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
I have been browsing Foodgawker for ideas of what to serve for Christmas Eve. This is a winner! It looks gorgeous and sounds easy for guests to eat. My family thanks you in advance.
Trying it out right now! I don’t eat pork., so I used chicken sausage. Can’t wait to see how they taste and what my guests thinks of them! Thanks for the new recipe and the tutorial.
Saw this in the morning, made it for dinner tonight! SOOOOO good. I changed the tomatoes to a large can of crushed, through half in with the stuffing and then spooned the other half over each shell before baking.
Also seasoned with pepper, salt, oregano, basil, and parmesan. Used Turkey Sausage for less fat too.
I loved it, thanks so much for making our bellies happy tonight!
threw…red wine talkin!
this looks delicious. something to try over xmas break when i have time to cook. thanks for posting.
I was browsing for ideas to revamp our Boxing Day brunch menu; every year for a group of about a dozen friends & family, we prepare a large, many coursed meal as a way of saying “thank you” for their frienship, love & support and it’s one of the few times we all get together and just enjoy ourselves.
This is a perfect, simple first course which will be great to have out as a finger food. I’m thinking I may add some more cheese and breadcrumbs as an additional binder for the filling, I would have never thought to do this & it’s wonderful!
Thank you so much for sharing!
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
These look sooo yummy! I’m thinkin I might try to make them for our Christmas Eve dinner this year…we always do italiano and I want to try new stuff! Hope I don’t screw them up too bad!
This looks delicious, I’ve never made stuffed shells! Why do you have to put the shells in cold water after cooking them?
Hi Shannon, we add them to cold water so they do not dry out while we make the filling.
-Joanne
Made them as planned! They turned out AMAZING and were a big hit with everyone! Even the kids!
Joanne,
I wanted to let you know that I made these shells for my Christmas Eve party and they were a huge hit! Everyone raved about them. Here’s the link for my post, with credit given to you and a link back to your blog.
Thanks for sharing!
daisy
Awesome! So happy that you and your guests liked them!!! Love the post, too!
Joanne
Ooops, here’s the link:
http://daisyt13.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/baked-sausage-and-spinach-shells/
daisy
I’ve made these four times already, and we love them! If you don’t mind, I’d love to blog about making them and link back to your website for the original recipe! Thanks for sharing these!
I literally gave myself a pat on the back when I made this. I saw this recipe two nights ago and wanted to show off to my husband (we just got married 3 weeks ago) that I could make this. The next day, I bought all of the ingredients and got to work. IT WAS A HIT!! Hubs was verrry happy. I will be attempting more of your recipes soon. Thanks!
Saw it this morning, made it for dinner tonight. Amazing. I actually made a double batch to feed my roommates.
These look amazing!! Totally making these tonight. What kind of side item, if any, would you put with it?
My family and I will make one of the most beautiful dishes, The stuffed shells with sausage and spinach that was inspired by Adam and Joanne. Thou, I might say I will add a little of Puerto Rican homemade hot sauce.
plan to make for super bowl party – looks like finger food to me
Amazing! I made this as my first meal to impress the boyfriend. We both loved it! I shared some with my coworkers the next day and they liked it as well. Thank you!
So happy to see that you and your boyfriend loved the recipe
-joanne
These are yummy! However, the shells seem to break easily. I tried not cooking them so long in the water, and they were hard, and then when I left them in longer, some of them tore. I couldn’t find a happy medium. Only a few remained completely in tact. I still stuffed the torn ones, and they were good anyway! I wonder if some shells are better quality than others.
I know what you mean, i do think it is the brand. We currently are using San Giorgio — we have not had issues, but are looking for other brands to test out.
Make sure you cook them in a large pot of boiling water, so they have room to move around.
-joanne
Hi Jadablue,
I have found that if you add a little evoo to the water while you boil the shells, they won’t tear or break. I have been using the cheapo store brand of shells with no problem. Also, to Joanne, GREAT RECIPE!!
Hi Christine! Thanks so much for your tip
Great idea!
-joanne
How long should these keep for? I was thinking of making them as finger food snacks for a party but would need to make them the day before because of prep time constraints.
Brittany, you would be fine making them ahead of time. We suggest no more than 2 days if kept tightly covered in the fridge and no more than a month if tightly covered in the freezer.
-joanne
Thanks!!!
These look amazing! My dad and bf will go crazy, BUT I hate tomatoes!!! Anyone have a suggestion for a substitute? I’m afraid I wont be able to because the sauce is in the recipe too!
Jessymay, You should be fine if you remove the tomatoes. There really is not much of a sauce here since any juice from the tomatoes actually gets reduced down. Flavor-wise, the shells will still be delish!
If you are going to use sausage, just remove the tomatoes, if you use ground chicken or turkey, add a splash (1/4 cup) of chicken stock to add back some moisture.
-joanne
Joanne,
This recipe looks great. I was wondering what would you substitute for ricotta?
Thank you.
Hi Aminah, Give goat cheese a try, it will melt into the shells really nicely. If that isn’t up your alley, you could try cream cheese or mascarpone cheese. Hope that helps!
-joanne
OMG!! This was fantastic! I did add mushrooms and it was very easy and everyone loved it!! It wasn’t as heavy as I would of thought, it was perfect! Great to add to our meal plan for sure!! Thank you so much!!
so happy you liked it, Jill!
-joanne
Thanks so much for this recipe! I just made it and the whole family loved it. The recipe was easy to follow and quick to make. Will definitely be making this again
So glad you liked it!
Thank you so much for this recipe! My family LOVED it….and they are very picky eaters!
Just made this. Just love, love this dish!! Thank you so much!
I made these last nite! So frigin delish! Thanks for sharing….
so glad you liked them!
Very tasty. I had more than enough filling for 16 shells and used the rest to make sandwiches. Will have to try the taco version next.
Great Recipe!!! I have been looking for a good stuffed shell recipe. I have a question…..do you think I can substitute the sausage for shrimp?
Shrimp is a great idea. Let us know how it goes if you decide to try it out!
I made these as an appetizer for a party and they were great!
What kind of side items do you suggest??
Hi Leslie, Try a light salad or even some cooked/steamed vegetables. The shells are pretty substantial, so anything light on the side would be great.
Hi Joanne & Adam! I found your recipe on pinterest and made a double batch tonight for dinner. It was a huge hit! My family loved it and we will definitely make them again. I did tweek the recipe a bit by using rolls of bulk pork sausage, onion and both fire roasted tomatoes & a can of tomatoe, basil & garlic tomatoes. Not big differences but it was delish! Thanks for sharing your recipes and a little piece of yourselves with us….I love your Blog! Keep cooking and writing.
I love your photos of step by step instructions…so nice. Great dish!
thank you!
Do you have to use frozen spinach or does fresh baby spinach work just as well?
fresh spinach is fine, too!
trying this tonight..I may have got the wrong sausage..but I am gonna use Italian sausage .hope they come out great !
I just wanted to drop a comment to say thank you SO much for this recipe. My family absolutely loved it!
I made these last night.. and for some reason when i took them out of the oven the pasta became hard, almost dried it out… what did i do wrong?
Hi Kelly, the shells should get a little crispy around the edges, but not super hard. If the shells were not full, that could have lead to the shells drying out a bit too much… sorry it didn’t work out for ya!
Delicious, flavorful and unique. If I make again, would probably serve the shells with a side of marinara for dipping.
I tried this recipe a few months ago and loved it! I had the wrong sausage so I said I wanted to make it again….and today’s the day! Wish me luck! I also liked it better with some marinara sauce on top!
I’m doing this for lunch tomorrow it looks incredible!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!!
This was so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could not get enough. I do not like spinach, but you could not even taste it.
Made these tonight, was delicious!!!! my hubby loved them too
I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it was a hit with my family. My husband even asked me to sub the sausage for Italian sausage. Next time.
Great recipe.
I made this 8/26/12. It was DELICIOUS! My husband said it tasted like something you’d eat in a fancy restaurant. I did make some modifications, however: I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta; I used diced tomatoes WITH green chilies instead of just diced tomatoes; I added grated parmesano romano cheese to the mixture; I used 2 pounds of bulk sausage instead of one pound of sausage.
I found this to be soo yummy.!!!! I did use Cream Cheese instead of the Ricotta because I do not care for how ricotta tastes or texture. Turned out wonderfully and was a big hit with my family even with my picky eater.
Thank you
Hi Nicole, So happy you (and your picky eater) enjoyed them!
Love this recipe! I am wanting to make this for a family in need of some extra meals. If I make it ahead of time and freeze it for them, how long would you recommend cooking it for? Can they cook it from frozen or would it need to completely thaw first? Thanks!!
Heather — Yes, you can cook from frozen, we would suggest 45 minutes to an hour. (You may also want to add a little pasta sauce to the top before freezing, this way everything will stay moist during the extra cooking time).
Found this on Pinterest and boy, was it a hit! I made these last night, with a few minor changes. I doubled the recipe, used basil, oregano flavor canned tomatoes, added italian seasoning, used hot italian sausage and topped with a marinara sauce. I had four hungry guys to feed and they were moaning through the whole meal and going back for seconds. Needless to say, they said the recipe was a keeper. Thanks for posting!
So glad you and your family/friends liked it!
Super easy for a weeknight meal and tasted great! I used hot italian sausage – delicious!
Great idea to use the hot Italian sausage!
I will never make regular stuffed shells again! I used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and added a few Italian staples that were missing from the ingredients like fresh basil and oregano, as well as garlic powder and parmigiana cheese. I also lined my pan with home made marinara sauce that I had left over from a previous meal. Such a delicious dish!
Thank you! Love all your additions
I just made the recipe and it’s in the oven now. The stuffing is good and I’m sure the whole thing will be delicious but it definitely didn’t only took 5 minutes to prepare…
Hi Annie! You’re right — that was a mistake in the recipe. We made the prep time 15 minutes. Thanks so much for bringing it to our attention
I made these tonight and they were pretty amazing! I substituted cream cheese for the ricotta (I get squeemish around ricotta and cottage cheeses) and they were still fantastic! I also added some shaved parmesan to the filling mix. I’ll be making this for the in-laws and other guests when they visit. These have a huge WOW Factor and they’re sooooooo easy. Thank you!
Great! We’re so happy you loved them
AMAZING!!! I just finished eating (way too many of them) and they rock! Cant wait to make them for my dinner swap!!
I made these when I found the recipe thinking they sounded good. Told my husband that I would end up making our granddaughter that lives with us a grilled cheese, cause she wouldn’t eat eat. Imagine my Surprise
she loved them and requests that I make the recipe often. Thank You for a wonderful recipe that included vegetables that I have never got her to eat before!!
Yay! So happy everyone liked it!
I just made this tonight and it was a HIT!! A few modifications though, I used oregano, basil, and more garlic. Also, I added a little more ricotta, a bit of mozzarella, and some parmesan to the mix. Either way, we loved it and my husband was excited to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I had to remind him that tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Haha Thank you for the great recipe!
I just came across this today & had everything I needed so i made it tonight for dinner! I added a little extra cheese because we’re cheese fanatics, but it was amazing! It made us 24 shells, and every last one of them was eaten! Thanks!
Ok..these were EXCELLENT! Made a batch pre-Christmas just to make sure it was sufficient for the fam. Ate practically by myself in 2 days. On schedule to make for Bible study girls last brunch of the year. Thanks for the yumminess!!
Awesome!
I made this recipe last night, Christmas Eve, for my family. The only thing I did, was substituted the sausage for turkey breakfast sausage. They were awesome! Your directions were perfect, which made it easy to make, and easy to repeat the recipe when everyone was asking how to make them. Thank you!
Thanks
So happy you and your family loved them!
I made this for supper, very yummy..
Step by step was perfect!!! Loved this recipe!
My sausage took about 15 mins to cook and then I added the other ingredients.
I found you from Pinterest and i will definitely bookmark your site. I love your recipes.. I cannot wait to try to recipe.
Hmm it looks like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I
guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any helpful hints for inexperienced blog writers? I’d genuinely appreciate it.
HI there — Thanks so much. We would be happy to chat over email ( inspiredtaste (at) gmail.com ). For now though, check out this awesome blog post by Lori (Recipe Girl). She compiled over 150 links to help bloggers.
Link: http://www.recipegirl.com/2013/03/26/how-to-be-a-food-blogger/
I have made this and now use the small sweet peppers instead of pasta shells. It’s better to me, but the sausage stuffing is great. Everyone I’ve given these to loves them. Great recipe, it’s a keeper and I make over and over.
Love your idea for using small peppers instead of pasta!