This is my family’s favorite stuffed shells recipe with a delicious filling made with sausage, ricotta cheese, and spinach! Super flavorful and so easy to put together!
Everyone I’ve made these stuffed shells for has loved them! The first time I made these, I briefly stepped away from the table only to return and discover that Adam had already devoured at least half of the shells on his own.
At that point, I should have realized how much people would love these sausage and spinach stuffed shells. So many of our readers have loved this recipe, and I can’t wait for you to try it, too. For more stuffed shells recipes, see these veggie stuffed shells, or our buffalo chicken stuffed shells. I also love this incredible cheese manicotti!
Key Ingredients
- Pasta Shells: I use large dried pasta shells and cook them in boiling water until al dente before filling.
- Sausage: My go-to is Italian bulk sausage, but fresh sausage links with casings removed are great, too. For an extra kick, use hot or spicy sausage.
- Tomatoes and Spinach: For convenience, I use canned tomatoes and frozen spinach. Thaw and squeeze out any excess moisture from the spinach before adding it to the filling.
- Ricotta and Mozzarella: I prefer whole milk ricotta and shredded mozzarella, but cottage cheese is a delicious substitute for ricotta.
- Marinara Sauce: A bed of marinara sauce is essential for baking these stuffed shells. Use homemade marinara, this easy red sauce, or your favorite store-bought pasta sauce.
How to Make Sausage Stuffed Shells
I make the easy sausage filling while the pasta shells cook in boiling water. I brown the sausage and then stir in garlic, tomatoes, and spinach. Then, to make it creamy, I stir in the ricotta cheese.
I stuff the ricotta sausage mixture into the shells, place them on a bed of marinara sauce, sprinkle them with cheese, and bake until the edges of the shells begin to brown, and the cheese melts.
The final step involves filling each shell with the sausage mixture, sprinkling cheese on top, and baking until the cheese melts and the tips of the pasta shells turn golden brown.
These stuffed shells are excellent by themselves or served with a salad. I especially love this homemade Caesar salad or my honey mustard salad dressing!
Sausage Stuffed Shells
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
The sausage and ricotta filling for these easy stuffed shells holds up well. These double as dinner or finger food. The sausage you choose is up to you. Chicken or turkey sausage instead of pork sausage would be great. If you select a lower-fat sausage, add some oil to the pan before browning. When making stuffed shells, add a few more dried pasta shells to the water than you think you will need since some will rip. The filling for this recipe should fill about 16 shells.
You Will Need
20 jumbo dried pasta shells
20 jumbo dried pasta shells
1 pound (450g) fresh Italian pork sausage, casings removed
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (10oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (1 ¼ cups)
1/2 cup (113g) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup (56g) shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 cups (470ml) marinara sauce
Directions
1Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Set aside a 3-quart baking dish.
2Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta shells and follow the package directions for cooking. Drain and rinse the shells with cold water.
3Meanwhile, heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. As the sausage cooks, use a wooden spoon to break the sausage up into small pieces in the pan.
4Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, and thawed and ringed-out spinach. Cook until heated through and the liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.
5Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the ricotta cheese. Taste for seasoning, then adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
6Add about 1 cup of the marinara sauce to the bottom of the baking dish.
7Fill each shell with sausage filling and arrange them in the baking dish. Scatter mozzarella cheese on top.
8Bake until the tips of the shells begin to brown, and the cheese has melted about 25 minutes.
9Warm the remaining sauce and serve alongside the shells.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Sausage with casing: If you cannot find bulk sausage, buy sausage formed into links, and then remove the casings by cutting a slit down the sausage and pulling the casing away from the meat.
- Use fresh spinach: Cook 1 pound of fresh spinach until wilted, squeeze out excess moisture, and add to the filling.
- Storing: Leftover shells can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and about 3 months in the freezer.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Wow! This tasted exactly as I had hoped it would…and my family is happy too! Thank you!
YUM! Will definitely be making these again.. Since we’re older and don’t eat a lot at a meal, I was able to get 2 meals out of the recipe – one for dinner, one for the freezer!
As soon as I saw this recipe I new I had to make it. I make stuffed shells all the time but never like this. I bet it would be good with an Alfredo sauce drizzled over the top with a sprinkle of Parmesan.
I used the bacon mushroom and swiss links from Costco and replaced the ricotta with goat cheese. I also replaced the mozzarella topping with Munster. Due to the links already being seasoned, I chose not to add salt and pepper. Everyone loved it and it came out fantastic. Thank you!
Love the subs! 🙂
Make this keto by using mini sweet peppers instead of shells– or I suppose you could do hot peppers if you like. Cut off the top. Slice the pepper open and take out the seeds with a sharp paring knife. If the peppers are big, you could cut them in half, but mostly, I’ve just used whole mini peppers. I took them to a picnic and they were all gone in moments.
I always use fresh spinach..a whole bag because it cooks down. And I use Jimmy Dean regular pork sausage. So yummy!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!