Our family loves this veggie stuffed shells recipe with jumbo pasta shells and a simple ricotta and sautéed vegetable filling.

I’m always game for stuffed shells, and this version made with a cheese and vegetable filling is high on my list. If you’ve been following us for a while, you already know we like to tuck in fresh veggies whenever we can, and this veggie stuffed shells recipe is a great example of that.

The shells bake on top of a bed of marinara sauce until the cheese is bubbly and melted. It’s a keeper, for sure. If you love veggie-heavy pastas, like me, you may also enjoy this veggie spaghetti or our popular vegetable lasagna.

Key Ingredients

• Pasta Shells: I use large dried pasta shells and cook them in boiling water until al dente, then fill them. It’s a good idea to cook a few extra shells than you think you’ll need, as some might tear during boiling. Don’t worry about any leftover or broken shells (they make a tasty snack with extra cheese filling or marinara sauce). You can also swap the shells for manicotti shells or the crespelle we make in our homemade manicotti recipe.
• Vegetables: I love loading these stuffed shells with vegetables! My go-to combination is mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, and garlic, sautéed until tender. Feel free to get creative and add your favorite vegetables or swap some out.
• Cheese: I use whole milk ricotta cheese and Parmesan for a rich and creamy filling. To finish the dish, I top the stuffed shells with mozzarella cheese for a delicious, melty topping. If you’re making vegetarian stuffed shells, omit the Parmesan cheese or use a vegetarian-friendly alternative.
• Herbs: To make these extra delicious, I mix in lots of fresh basil leaves and a bit of dried oregano.
• Marinara Sauce: You can use your favorite store-bought jarred pasta sauce or one of our homemade sauce recipes. Try this homemade marinara or this easy pasta sauce.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Veggie Stuffed Shells

Tip 1: Cook the shells until al dente. When making stuffed shells, you will need to boil jumbo shells in salted water first. They usually take 8 to 10 minutes. You are looking for them to be tender with a bit of a bite left, not super soft. Once you are happy with them, drain them so they are ready to fill.

Tip 2: Quickly cook the vegetables. While the shells boil, you can cook mushrooms in a wide, oven-safe skillet. Give them some space and let the first side brown (as we do in this video on how to cook mushrooms). Once the first side is golden brown, stir, then add bell peppers and cook until slightly softened. Finally, stir in a generous amount of spinach and cook until wilted. It all goes quickly and adds so much flavor to the filling.

Tip 3: Make the ricotta filling. Stir the ricotta cheese, fresh basil (yum), salt, pepper, oregano, and shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano in a bowl. Then, fold in the sautéed veggies. (Remember: if you are making vegetarian stuffed shells, leave the Parmesan out.)

Tip 4: Prepare the baking dish. I love adding my sauce to the bottom of the baking dish instead of spreading it on top of the shells. This way, the tops of the shells get a little color and crisp up around the edges. By the way, if you use an oven-safe skillet for the vegetables, you can use the same pan for baking. Otherwise, a baking dish will work perfectly.

Tip 5: Stuff the shells and bake. Fill each cooked shell with a spoonful of the cheese and vegetable mixture, then nestle them into the marinara sauce. Top with cheese for a melty, golden top. Bake uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Serving Suggestions

Since there’s a nice assortment of vegetables stirred into the filling, you can view these stuffed shells as a standalone dinner, with no other dishes required. That said, if you’re feeling feisty, we do have several suggestions for what works nicely with them. First, a salad is always welcomed, and I love these shells with something simple like greens tossed in Italian dressing or simple Caesar.

You can always bump up the veggies on your plate, too. I love this with our roasted broccolini or roasted cabbage (both work nicely when swooped through the sauce). And, my son loves a side of garlic bread, which is also perfect for dipping into the sauce.

More Stuffed Shells Recipes

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If you loved my seafood lasagna, you are going to love these Jumbo pasta shells, which are generously filled with a creamy, savory seafood filling and coated in a rich Alfredo-based sauce.

Seafood Lovers Dream

Is it true that you either love seafood or hate it? Where are my seafood lovers at? This recipe combines creamy, cheesy deliciousness with succulent crab and shrimp, all loaded in a jumbo pasta shell. All my seafood-loving follower’s dreams just came true!

How to Make Seafood Stuffed Shells

You’re going to want to make this seafood stuffed shells recipe again and again. The prep and assembly time is only about 20 minutes, and then the oven does the rest of the work. It looks and tastes really elegant, but it’s actually so easy to make!

1. Cook the Shells: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook the shells according to the package directions until they are al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Make the Filling: In a large bowl, stir the ricotta cheese, egg, old bay seasoning, Italian seasoning, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper. Fold the shrimp and crabmeat into the filling mixture.
3. Make the Sauce: In a separate bowl, whisk together the alfredo sauce, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour about ½ cup of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.
4. Fill the Shells: Take one jumbo shell in one hand and stuff it with about 2 tablespoons of the filling seafood mixture.
5. Pour Over the Sauce: Place the seafood stuffed shells open-side up in the sauce-lined baking dish. Until the filling has been used and the dish has been filled. Pour the rest of the sauce over the stuffed shells.
6. Make the Topping and Bake: In a small bowl, whisk together the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, butter, and seasoning. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the sauce-covered shells and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the shells are heated through and the topping is browned. Remove the seafood stuffed shells from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

More Delicious Seafood Recipes

If you liked these seafood stuffed shells, you would love my creamy lemon garlic seafood pasta. You should also try these other seafood-inspired recipes.

Appetizers

Salmon Rillettes

2 hours 40 minutes

Recipe Skill Levels

Sushi Bake

1 hour 3 minutes

Dinner

Tuna Steak

34 minutes

Dinner

Marry Me Shrimp Pasta

30 minutes

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Our family’s favorite sausage stuffed shells recipe has an incredibly flavorful filling made with sausage, ricotta, and spinach. It’s also surprisingly easy to make.

Everyone I’ve shared these with has loved them. The cheesy, sausage filling tucked inside each shell makes this recipe hard to resist. The first time I made them, I stepped away from the table for just a minute and came back to find that Adam had already eaten half the pan.

That’s when I knew this one was special. So many of our readers have fallen for these sausage and spinach stuffed shells, and I can’t wait for you to try them too.

Key Ingredients

• Pasta Shells: Use large dried pasta shells and cook them in boiling water until al dente before filling.
• Sausage: Italian bulk sausage is my go-to, but fresh sausage links with the casings removed work just as well. For extra kick, try using hot or spicy sausage.
• Tomatoes and Spinach: I use canned tomatoes and frozen spinach. Be sure to thaw the spinach and squeeze out any excess moisture before mixing it into the filling.
• Ricotta and Mozzarella: I like whole-milk ricotta and shredded mozzarella for the creamiest filling. Cottage cheese is a great substitute for ricotta. It’s actually what I use in our popular manicotti recipe.
• Marinara Sauce: You’ll bake the shells on a layer of marinara sauce. You can use homemade marinara, our easy pasta sauce, or your favorite store-bought pasta sauce.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Sausage Stuffed Shells

Tip 1: Make the filling while the pasta shells cook. While the pasta shells cook in boiling water, I make the easy sausage filling. I brown the sausage, then stir in garlic, tomatoes, and spinach. Then, for my favortie part. To make it creamy, I mix in the ricotta cheese.

Tip 2: Bake on a bed of marinara. I love how the shells turn a little golden and crisp on top as they bake. Placing them on top of the marinara sauce instead of covering them helps with this.

I stuff the ricotta sausage mixture into the shells, set them on a bed of marinara, sprinkle cheese over the top, and bake until the edges begin to brown and the cheese melts.

Serving Suggestions

Serve these with a crisp green salad tossed in a simple vinaigrette, or go classic with our Caesar or Italian chopped salad. Add slices of cheesy garlic bread, homemade focaccia, or a crusty baguette on the side for soaking up the sauce. For a little extra veggies, roasted vegetables like broccoli, zucchini, or asparagus are perfect.

More Stuffed Shells Recipes

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Marry me stuffed shells take the viral sauce you love and turn it into a cozy, baked pasta moment. Think creamy chicken-stuffed shells, melty cheese, and just enough sun-dried tomatoes for that extra swoon-worthy touch.

Ingredients for Marry Me Stuffed Shells

• Add Spinach: Stir 1–2 cups fresh baby spinach or 1 cup thawed, well-drained frozen spinach into the sauce during step 3 for a pop of green.
• Cooked Chicken: Rotisserie chicken works great, but leftover shredded, chopped chicken, or canned chicken works as well.
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes: I usually use julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, but dry-packed works too. If using dry-packed, soak them in the chicken broth for 15–20 minutes, then strain and use both as directed.

• Want extra sauce? Go for it! If you love a really saucy pasta, make 1½ to 2 times the sauce so there’s plenty to spoon over every shell.

How to Make Marry Me Stuffed Shells

My family can’t get enough of this dish. The creamy sun-dried tomato sauce is always a hit on busy weeknights. Pair it with focaccia bread for the ultimate meal.

Shells & Filling

1. Boil the Pasta: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray a 3-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then cook the jumbo pasta shells according to the package directions for al dente pasta. Drain the shells and rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process. Toss lightly with 1-2 teaspoons of olive or vegetable oil to prevent sticking.
2. Mix the Filling Ingredients: Add the chicken, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to a large bowl and mix until combined. Set aside.

Sauce & Assembly

3. Start the Sauce: Add the butter to a large skillet and melt over medium heat. Once melted, add the garlic and cook for about 30-60 seconds, until fragrant. Add flour and whisk to form a paste. 
4. Add Broth, Cream, and Cheese: Cook for 1-2 minutes before slowly whisking in the chicken broth, cream, and parmesan until smooth and combined. It will be quite thick as you first begin to whisk in the liquid.
5. Add Tomatoes and Seasoning: Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, paprika, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Continue to whisk the sauce for a few minutes until it thickens.
6. Start Assembly: Add about ¾ of the sauce to the bottom of the prepared baking dish. 
7. Stuff the Shells: Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the filling. Arrange the filled shells in an even layer on top of the sauce. 
8. Bake: Spoon the remaining sauce evenly over the top of the shells. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the shells are starting to brown. Let the marry-me stuffed shells rest for about 5 minutes before garnishing with fresh basil if desired, and serving. 

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