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. I do the same when making our minestrone soup with sausage, too!
- 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
Sausage Stuffed Shells
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
The sausage and ricotta filling for these shells holds up beautifully, making them just as perfect for a cozy dinner as they are for serving as finger food. You can use any type of sausage you prefer. If you’re using a leaner sausage, add a drizzle of oil to the pan before browning to keep the filling rich and flavorful.
When cooking the pasta, add a few extra shells to the pot, as some may tear during boiling. The filling in this recipe makes enough for about 16 filled shells.
You Will Need
20 jumbo dried pasta shells
1 pound fresh Italian pork sausage, casings removed (450g)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, 1 ¼ cups
½ cup ricotta cheese (113g)
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (56g)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 cups marinara sauce (470ml)
Directions
1Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Set aside a 3-quart baking dish.
2Cook the shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
3Make the filling: Meanwhile, heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 10 minutes, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, and the thawed, ringed-out spinach. Cook until heated through and the liquid has reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the ricotta cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
4Assemble: Spread about 1 cup of marinara sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Fill each shell with the sausage mixture and arrange them in the dish. Sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese.
5Bake: Bake until the tips of the shells begin to brown and the cheese has melted, about 25 minutes. Warm the remaining marinara sauce and serve it alongside the shells.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- 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.
- 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.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Yum! delish! Will make often!
After accidentally buying two large bags of spinach I came across your recipe in a bid to use it up. I already had the pasta in, but swapped the Italian sausage for Lincolnshire ones I had in the fridge, along with some oregano and fresh rosemary. As my son has allergies, I used violife creamy and original grated as a dairy swap. It’s so phenom-a-nom-nom-nom that I make it in bulk and freeze portions for when I get the craving for it, thankyou for sharing the joy!
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!