From the roundup: 22 Easy High Protein Fall Dinners the Whole Family Will Actually Eat
These cottage cheese and spinach stuffed shells have become my go-to on nights when I need something that feels substantial but I am not dealing with raw meat. The filling comes together in one bowl, and once the shells are stuffed and in the pan, the oven does the rest. Active time is about 25 minutes, most of which is just squeezing spinach and spooning filling into shells.
The cottage cheese is not a gimmick. It blends into the ricotta so the filling stays creamy, and it adds enough protein that six shells actually keeps everyone at the table full. I have made this with all ricotta before and the texture difference is subtle, but the protein bump is real, which matters when this is the whole meal.
One thing worth knowing: the shells go into the oven 2 minutes undercooked on purpose. The first time I made this I cooked them all the way through and several split open in the dish. Pull them early, rinse with cold water right away, and lay them flat so they do not stick to each other while you get the filling ready.
Why you will love this
- One baking dish, one mixing bowl, and a pot for the pasta. Cleanup is manageable even on a school night.
- The cottage cheese and ricotta filling has more protein per serving than a standard all-ricotta recipe, which matters when there is no meat in the dish.
- You can fully assemble it the night before and refrigerate it, so dinner the next day is just preheating the oven.
- It serves six generously, and the leftovers reheat well without turning rubbery.
- The ingredient list uses one standard jar of marinara, so there are no partial jars hanging around in the fridge.
Tips for success
- Undercook the shells by 2 minutes and rinse them with cold water immediately after draining. They finish in the oven and will split if they go in already soft.
- Squeeze the spinach harder than you think you need to. Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and wring it over the sink until almost nothing comes out. Wet spinach is the main reason this dish turns watery.
- Spread a full cup of marinara on the bottom of the pan before adding the shells. Skipping this step means the shells on the edges will stick and tear when you serve them.
- Let the finished dish rest for 5 minutes before scooping. The filling is loose right out of the oven and needs a few minutes to set so it does not fall apart on the plate.
If your filling turns out watery
- Almost always the spinach. Even if it looked dry, give it another hard squeeze before it goes into the bowl.
- Whole-milk ricotta releases less liquid than part-skim during baking. If you use part-skim, pat it with a paper towel before mixing.
- Make sure the foil is tight for the first 20 minutes. A loose cover lets too much steam escape and can dry out the tops of the shells before the sauce has time to thicken.
Substitutions
Full-fat ricotta gives the creamiest filling, but part-skim works if that is what you have. For the cottage cheese, small-curd at 2 percent or whole milk both work fine. If jumbo shells are not available, manicotti tubes are a direct swap. Fill them with a small spoon or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off. Fresh spinach can replace frozen: wilt it in a dry skillet, let it cool, then squeeze out all the water before adding it to the filling.
For a meat version, stir about half a pound of cooked, crumbled Italian sausage into the marinara before spreading it in the pan. It does not need to go into the filling itself. If someone at the table is avoiding gluten, most brands of jumbo gluten-free pasta shells hold up well here as long as you watch them closely during the par-cook since they tend to soften faster.
Make-ahead and storage
Assemble the whole dish up to 24 hours ahead, cover it tightly with foil, and refrigerate. When you are ready to bake, add 10 minutes to the covered portion of the bake time since you are starting from cold. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, or cover the pan with foil and warm it in a 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes.
This freezes well either before or after baking, for up to 2 months. If freezing before baking, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed, adding the extra 10 minutes for a cold start. If freezing already-baked leftovers, portion them into an airtight container and thaw in the fridge before reheating so the shells do not get mushy.
Cottage Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, and cook the jumbo shells for 2 minutes less than the package directions say. You want them pliable enough to fill but firm enough that they hold their shape. They will finish cooking in the oven. Drain them carefully, rinse with cold water so they stop cooking, and lay them out on a clean kitchen towel or parchment so they do not stick together.
- Squeeze every bit of water out of the thawed spinach. This step is not optional. Wet spinach will make the filling watery and soggy. Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and wring it hard over the sink until almost no liquid comes out.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the ricotta, cottage cheese, squeezed spinach, beaten egg, minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and dried oregano until everything is evenly combined. Stir in 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella and 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Taste the filling and adjust the salt if needed.
- Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce across the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish in an even layer. This keeps the shells from sticking to the bottom.
- Use a small spoon to fill each pasta shell with about 2 heaping tablespoons of the cheese and spinach filling. Nestle the filled shells side by side in the baking dish, open side up. Do not pack them too tightly.
- Spoon the remaining marinara sauce evenly over and around the stuffed shells. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan over the top.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes covered, then carefully remove the foil and bake for another 12 to 15 minutes. The dish is ready when the sauce is bubbling at the edges and the cheese on top is melted and lightly golden in spots. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving so the filling sets up slightly.
Notes
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