Sausage Stuffed Shells with Marinara Sauce

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

I made this recipe last night for dinner and it was sooo yummy! I even had some of the leftovers today for lunch and it was just as good as last night. This recipe is pretty simple and quick to make. I have a fall version with butternut squash that I will make once the weather cools down a bit. This Texas heat is absolutely insane right now.

TIPS:

• For the Italian Sausage I used a Hot Italian Sausage from HEB. It adds a lot of flavor!! Don’t worry it’s not spicy at all in this recipe. You will love it! I’ve linked it below under ingredients
• Jumbo Shells- you will only need 16 shells. I usually boil a couple extra in case one breaks or messes up when trying to stuff it.

Ingredients:

• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 3 cups spinach
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound jumbo shells
• 15 ounces ricotta
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup parmesan, shredded
• Additional parmesan, shredded
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Boil water in a large pot for the shells, and cook according to the package.
3. Meanwhile, cook sausage over medium heat.
4. Add spinach and garlic to the cooked sausage and cook until the spinach is wilted then remove from heat.
5. In a large mixing bowl, stir together ricotta, parmesan, and egg. Add sausage and spinach into ricotta and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Grease bottom and sides of a 9X13 baking dish. ( I used spray coconut oil)
7. Pour half of the marinara jar into the baking dish and spread the sauce with a spoon to get an even coating on the bottom the dish.
8. Fill cooked pasta shells with 3-4 tablespoons of filling.
9. Arrange shells in marinara sauce in the 9×13 baking dish.
10. Sprinkle additional parmesan on top of each shell.
11. Bake for 20 minutes