These Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells are a delicious oven baked pasta dish that can be made as a midweek meal or for a special occasion. Get the recipe below.
My Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells recipe combines the creamy richness of dairy-free ricotta with sautéed spinach, all tucked inside tender pasta shells and baked in a savoury tomato sauce.
It’s one of those dishes that pleases both vegans and non-vegans alike, making it ideal for weeknight meals or special occasions.
Spinach and ricotta is such a classic flavour combination that everyone loves. If you love it as much as I do you might also like some of these dishes:
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Ingredients
The ingredients list for this recipe is quite long. You could use store bought vegan ricotta rather than make your own but I much prefer the flavour of making it myself. The choice is yours. The full list of ingredients you'll need is as follows:
- Jumbo pasta shells
- Onion
- Carrot
- Celery
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Passata
- Tofu
- Nutritional yeast
- Lemon juice
- Spinach
- Nutmeg
- Salt
- Vegan mozzarella
- Basil
If you wanted to take this recipe to the next level you could also make your own vegan mozzarella using this recipe.
Step-by-Step Instructions
There are quite a few steps to this recipe but I promise it's worth it!
- Step 1: Boil the pasta shells in a large pan of salty water for 10 minutes or until al dente.
- Step 2: Drain the pasta shells and leave them to cool on a wire rack to stop them from sticking to one another.
- Step 3: While the pasta is cooking, fry the onion, celery, carrot and garlic in a little olive oil.
- Step 4: Once the vegetables have softened pour over the passata and simmer while you make the vegan ricotta and spinach mix.
- Step 5: Thaw the spinach and squeeze out any excess moisture.
- Step 6: In a blender, blitz the vegan ricotta ingredients until smooth.
- Step 7: Mix the spinach with the vegan ricotta.
- Step 8: Pour half of the sauce into an oven dish.
- Step 9: Spoon the spinach and vegan ricotta mix into each of the cooked pasta shells and arrange them over the pasta sauce.
- Step 10: Spoon over the rest of the sauce and top with the vegan mozzarella.
- Step 11: Bake in a pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the mozzarella is golden brown.
- Step 12: Top with fresh basil and serve.
Hint: don't overcook the pasta shells. If they are too soft they may break when you fill them.
Substitutions
Don't have all the ingredients listed? Don't worry there are a few substitutions you can make.
- Pasta - instead of jumbo pasta shells fill cannelloni
- Leafy greens - swap spinach for kale or another leafy green veg
- Vegan cheese - if you can't get vegan mozzarella choose another vegan cheese that will melt like vegan cheddar
Variations
Put your own twist on the recipe with some of these variations:
- Spicy - add chilli pepper flakes while cooking to add some heat to the dish
- Extra veg - you can add more vegetables to the tomato sauce, perhaps diced courgette or even mushrooms!
- Mince - swap the tofu for vegan mince for a meatier dish
Equipment
You'll need a chopping board and good knife for you veg prep. A high speed blender is essential for making the vegan ricotta.
You'll also need a saucepan to boil your pasta and a frying pan to cook your sauce. You'll bake the pasta shells in an oven dish: I use a round, enamel dish.
Storage
These Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells are great for making in advance. Arrange them in the oven dish and cover with tin foil. You can then freeze them or store in the fridge until you're ready to re-heat in the oven.
If you choose to freeze, leave to defrost at room temperature before cooking.
Top Tip
Make filling the pasta shells less fiddly by putting the spinach and vegan ricotta mix into a piping bag.
FAQ
Yes! Make up to a day in advance and store in the fridge before reheating. Alternatively store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
No! Blitz the mix in the blender a little longer to make sure it's smooth.
The recipe
Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 saucepan
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 high speed blender
- 1 oven dish
Ingredients
- 200 g jumbo pasta shells
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 4 sticks celery finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 500 ml passata
For the filling
- 280 g extra firm tofu
- 1 lemon juice only
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 0.25 teaspoon nutmeg
- 200 g spinach frozen
For the topping
- 100 g vegan mozzarella
- 1 bunch basil leaves only
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4.
- Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water until just tender.
- Drain the cooked pasta and leave the shells to cool on a wire rack to stop them sticking.
- Fry the diced vegetables and garlic in a little olive oil.
- Add the passata and bring to a simmer.
- Thaw the spinach and squeeze out the excess water. Leave in a sieve over a bowl to drain.
- Blend the tofu, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and nutritional yeast until smooth.
- Mix the thawed spinach, nutmeg and blended tofu together.
- Pour half of the sauce into the bottom of your oven dish.
- Fill the shells with the tofu and spinach filling and lay them in the sauce in the oven dish.
- Spoon over the rest of the sauce and top with the vegan mozzarella.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned and bubbling.
- Top with the fresh basil and serve.
Nutrition
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