Friday, February 27, 2009

jumbo stuffed shells

i crafted this recipe after my lasagna ricotta creation, baking jumbo pasta shells stuffed with the mixture. this makes quite a few shells - enough to feed at least 4 or 5, or makes lots of yummy leftovers for those of us not cooking for as many. :)


  • 1 box jumbo pasta shells (12oz.)
  • 3 small can tomato sauce (8oz. ea)
  • 1 small can tomato paste (6oz.)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • several shredded fresh basil leaves
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • heavy dash of black ground pepper
  • 1/2 head of steamed broccoli (approx. 7 oz.)
  • 1 batch vegan ricotta recipe: here
  • vegan mozzarella to your heart's content

start boiling the pasta shells according to the instructions. in a medium saucepan on medium heat, sauté the garlic in the olive oil for a little over a minute. if you are using fresh onion (instead of onion powder), add them into this step. after sautéing, mix in the tomato sauce and paste, along with all spices listed. let simmer on medium-low heat.

chop the steamed broccoli. in blender or food processor, make one batch of the vegan ricotta, adding in the broccoli. in an 8x11 casserole dish, spread 1 or 2 tablespoons of the red sauce to prevent the noodles from sticking. open each shell, and stuff with vegan ricotta allowing enough room to close the shell again. the ricotta measurement is sort of a personal judgment, but i use about one large spoonful.

place shells in dish, facing upwards. pour sauce over all shells, and top with shredded mozzarella if you like. i used tofutti mozzarella slices, torn up and placed on each shell.

bake at 375°f for approximately 35-40 minutes. let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

15 comments:

Amy said...

Mmmmm gooooood!

Anonymous said...

I LOOOOOVE stuffed shells! I haven't made them in ages, though. What's up with that? I need to hop to it!

Meg said...

One of my all time favorites! I definitely need to try the vegan ricotta!

Lauren said...

Looks sooo good!! I love stuffed shells! Mmm!

allularpunk said...

oooooh! i love stuffed shells! i like your addition of some broccoli, too :)

veggievixen said...

vegan ricotta is one my favorite things. i've put it on lasagna, eggplant parm, and tomato tarts. yum!!

Kelly said...

Oh gosh, that looks SO delicious!

jessy said...

these sound amazing and look absolutely deeeelicious, miss v! dan & i have never made stuffed shells. looks like we've been missing out! thanks for the recipe, too! wahooooo!

Virginia said...

i haven't had stuffed shells in...years?! they look yum!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Mmm, delish!!


Glad to see you posting again!! :-)

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Hey Miss V!
I just roasted my zucchini plain—nothing on ‘em. But they were kinda wet and flimsy. So looking back, I bet they would’ve been awesome if I’d breaded them first. But, as I just posted, I really like them raw.

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

yum those look awesome

AnuSriram said...

Yummy recipe! I tried making them with spinach-mozzarella and tomato sauce. You can check my blog for the recipe. They taste wonderful.. Isn't it?

Chris said...

Looks great! Certainly way better than our cafeteria's version of "vegan stuffed shells" which are stuffed with large chunks of leftover tofu. I admire the fact that they're reusing food, but when I tasted it, I immediately thought, "crime to all vegan culinary efforts."

Vegan_Noodle said...

Yummy yummy! Stuffed shells are the best. I love making them for company, they look complicated but are easy to make! Yours look awesome.