Baked Stuffed Shells With 3-Cheese Filling

These classic stuffed shells are just the ones your mom made, but better. A touch lemon and red pepper flakes adds so much brightness and flavor, and the cheese blend is just right. You’ll only need one bowl for mixing the filling and a high-quality store-bought marinara will do just fine. Cozy, simple, and just the thing for a weeknight dinner recipe.

One of the best things about this recipe is that they were built for make-ahead success. Simply assemble the pan, wrap it well, and freeze. When you’re ready, slide the dish straight from freezer to oven, adding just 10–15 extra minutes of covered bake time. It’s one of the few freezer meals I actually like!

What You’ll Need

I am never embarrassed to make this with a nice store-bought Mariana like Rao’s, but of course homemade is delicious.

Pasta & Sauce

• 16–20 jumbo pasta shells
• 2 cups marinara sauce (arrabbiata sauce is also lovely!)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for the pasta water

Cheese & spinach Filling

• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped 
• 1 ½ cups ricotta cheese (cottage cheese is an easy substitute)
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (provolone or fontina are fine)
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Seasonings

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Garnish

• Fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• More parmesan!

I highly recommend doubling this recipe and making one pan to freeze! You can adjust the recipe card at the bottom of the post and it will do all the math for you.

Making Stuffed Shells

This is easy! Really. Make someone else do the dishes.

Prep the dish

Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and heat the oven to 375 °F. That thin coat of oil keeps the sauce from scorching at the edges and makes cleanup easier later.

Cook the shells

Bring a generous pot of salted water (about 1 tablespoon salt per 4 quarts) to a rolling boil and cook the jumbo shells just to barely al dente. They’ll finish softening in the oven. Drain, rinse briefly under cool water to halt cooking, and spread the shells on a clean towel so they don’t stick together; slightly firm pasta won’t tear when you stuff it.

Make the filling

In a large bowl combine the chopped spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning, lemon zest, red-pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and the black pepper. Mix until everything looks creamy and the spinach is evenly dispersed.

Give the spinach a quick squeeze in a kitchen towel first if it’s wet.

Fill the shells

Spoon—or pipe with a zip-top bag, about 2 tablespoons of filling into each shell.

Using a level tablespoon as a scoop keeps portions even and speeds things up.

Assemble the pan

Spread the marinara in an even layer over the baking dish, then nestle the stuffed shells, open side up, into the sauce. Packing them snugly helps them stay upright during baking.

if you’re making this ahead, stop here, wrap the dish tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to two months; you can bake straight from frozen later.

Bake

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 25 minutes, letting the trapped steam warm the filling and finish the pasta.

Uncover and bake 10 minutes more, until the sauce is bubbling and the tops start to brown just slightly.

Serve

Let the dish rest five minutes so the cheese settles, then spoon any extra sauce over each serving and shower with more Parmesan and fresh parsley. Leftovers keep well in the fridge for three days or can be packed into individual portions and frozen for quick lunches.

Serving Ideas

This is a classic home recipe that goes well with any bread or salad.

• Sourdough Italian rolls are a chewy roll with lots of sesame seeds. One of my faves.
• A classic Italian house salad with homemade dressing.
• And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a bag of Caesar salad and frozen garlic bread!

Printable Recipe