Description
These Sausage & Artichoke Stuffed Shells are hearty and delicious! They are packed with ingredients like sausage, artichoke hearts, spinach and a spicy arrabbiata sauce. And, bonus, they are dairy-free…but you would never know unless you were told.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- Jumbo Pasta Shells, 25 count
- 1 24 oz jar Rao’s Spicy Arrabbiata Fra Diavolo Sauce (equivalent to 1.5 lb.)
- 1 lb. Canino’s Spicy Italian Sausage or Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage, cooked and drained
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 10 oz bag Fresh Spinach, torn or chopped, cooked and squeezed dry with paper towels
- 1 8 oz container Kite Hill Ricotta Alternative, softened
- 1 12 oz jar Quartered Marinated Artichoke Hearts, drained, patted dry and diced
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 3 tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
- Himalayan Pink Salt, to taste
- Red Pepper Flakes, optional
- Optional: Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
Instructions
- Soften the cheese: Preheat the oven to 350° F. To a large bowl, add the ricotta cheese and set aside to soften.
- Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the shells and cook 2 minutes less than the time according to the package directions.
- Cool the pasta: Drain the shells and then arrange them, in a single layer, on a cookie sheet to cool down.
- Sausage: In a large skillet, cook the sausage until it loses its pink, about 7-9 minutes. Remove, with a slotted spoon, to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set aside.
- Spinach: In the same skillet, add the spinach and garlic, and cook until spinach begins to wilt but is still bright green. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Filling: To the ricotta cheese, add the artichoke hearts, sausage, egg yolk, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Fold in the spinach, basil and thyme.
- Assemble: Spread a layer of the marinara sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish. Scoop about 1 – 1 ½ tablespoons of the ricotta mixture into each cooked shell, and place on top of the sauce.
- Add the sauce: Drizzle with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the tops evenly with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
- Bake: Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Garnish: Add some additional basil or thyme right before serving.
Notes
- Ricotta: Let it come to room temperature before using. This way, the mixture will be much easier to mix, and it will be easier to fill the shells. (If you don’t want to use a dairy free alternative that is fine – use what works best for you. Note: Just be sure to replace it at a 1:1 ratio).
- Spinach: If I have the time, I like to rip off and discard a lot of the long stems and tear the leaves in half as well. Be sure to squeeze the spinach dry a bit with paper towels before adding it into the filling.
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Artichoke, Dairy-Free, Easy Dinner Recipes, Italian, Main Dish, Pasta Recipes, Sausage Recipes, Spinach, Stuffed Shells
