Name: Spinach shells with roasted red pepper sauce
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 20 shells; 4 portions of 5
Ingredients: 20 jumbo pasta shells; 1 tsp olive oil; 5 oz fresh spinach; 16 oz ricotta; 1/4 cup grated vegetarian hard cheese; 2 garlic cloves, grated; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp lemon zest; 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes; 3/4 tsp fine salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 1 1/2 cups marinara; 1/2 cup roasted red pepper puree, made from drained roasted peppers and measured after blending; 2 tbsp chopped parsley; Water as needed for the stated boiling, soaking, steaming or water-bath step; discard unless a reserved amount is specified

Spinach shells with roasted red pepper sauce

Spinach and ricotta fill baked pasta shells over a sauce of marinara and roasted red pepper puree.

Published October 2, 2026 · Updated October 16, 2026

20 shells; 4 portions of 5 · Estimated 1 hour 20 minutes

Spinach shells with roasted red pepper sauce

Ingredients & method

Before you start: Prepare and preheat: 25 minutes · Cook shells and spinach: 15 minutes · Fill: 15 minutes · Bake: 25 minutes

Equipment: Pasta pot; 9-by-13-inch dish; blender

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Method

Heat the oven to 425°F conventional and have a 9-by-13-inch baking dish ready. Prepare the ½ cup roasted red pepper puree from drained roasted peppers, measuring the puree after blending, and set it aside for the sauce.
Steam the fresh spinach over boiling water for about 1–2 minutes, until wilted. Let it cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water thoroughly and chop it finely so the filling will not become watery.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the 20 jumbo shells according to the package until just al dente. Drain carefully, toss with the 1 tsp olive oil and separate the shells so they can cool enough to handle without sticking together.
Mix the chopped spinach with the ricotta, grated vegetarian hard cheese, grated garlic, dried oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, fine salt and black pepper. Stir until the spinach and seasonings are evenly distributed through the ricotta.
Combine the 1½ cups marinara with the ½ cup pepper puree to make 2 cups sauce. Spread the sauce evenly across the bottom of the baking dish.
Divide the ricotta filling evenly among all 20 shells, opening each shell gently and spooning the filling inside. Arrange the filled shells with their openings facing up over the sauce, keeping the filling in the shells.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20–25 minutes. Check that the sauce is bubbling and the center of the filling reaches 165°F; continue baking if the middle is not yet hot enough.
Remove the foil carefully and sprinkle the shells with the chopped parsley. Serve 5 shells per portion, spooning the pepper-and-tomato sauce from the dish over each of the 4 portions.

Remove excess water before filling the shells

Steam the fresh spinach, let it cool enough to handle, then squeeze it thoroughly before chopping. The ricotta filling needs the spinach itself rather than its loose water. Chop it finely enough to distribute through the filling, along with the garlic, zest and measured seasonings.

Drain the roasted peppers before blending and measure the puree afterward. That measured puree joins the marinara to make the stated two cups of sauce. Meanwhile, separate the drained, lightly oiled shells as they cool so you can open them gently for filling.

Share the filling across all twenty shells

Lay out all twenty shells before distributing the filling. Dividing it across the full batch helps avoid overfilling the first few and leaving the last shells sparse. Place them opening-side up over the sauce so the filling stays inside during the covered bake.

Keep the foil on for the baking stage and check the center of the filling against the method's 165°F target; bubbling sauce around the edges is only one part of the check. Finish with parsley after removing the foil carefully. Each of the four portions gets five shells and a share of the pepper-and-tomato sauce.