When I hear the word “date” I kinda do that head tilt thing like what is that. The hubs and I barely get any actual time together to quality as a date so when the time comes we both try to make it extra special. Valentine’s Day is 3 days away but of course Charles has to work so tonight is our night to spend together.
It’s a new year and (like everyone else) my husband has vowed to lose some weight. He’s doing amazing so far so instead of going out to eat we decided we’d have our Valentine’s dinner date at home so I can make us a healthy meal.
Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella and spinach topped with a turkey meat sauce – oh my. This dish has so much to love that I just knew I had to make it. I cook a lot with tomatoes because with an Italian husband I don’t get away with not using tomatoes much. I recently discovered the Classico canned tomatoes at my local Walmart, so that is the secret ingredient for this healthy dish. They are 100% all natural, packed fresh and contains no preservatives so I knew they’d just enhance the flavors of the spinach, cheeses, and turkey.
Boil water and cook shells according to package directions. You want to make sure they are just at al dente because they will continue to cook a little bit more in the oven.
Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add turkey. Season with salt and better and brown until cooked, breaking it into small pieces. Add Classico Crushed Tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil, then simmer on low, covered, about 10-15 minutes.
While the the meat sauce is going get a large bowl out. Mix together the ricotta, egg, spinach, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
Once your shells have cooked and cooled fill each one with about 2 Tbls of the cheese mixture. Line a baking dish with Reynolds Pan Lining Paper (for easy clean-up) and then spread some of the meat sauce on the bottom of the pan. Add your shells and then top with some more sauce. Cover with Reynolds Aluminum Foil and bake at 350° for about 40 minutes, uncover and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- 27 (9 oz) Barilla Jumbo Shells
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey
- 32 oz Classico Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
- 8 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 egg
- 16 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well
- ¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Boil water and cook shells al dente.
- saute onions and garlic. Add ground turkey and brown. making sure to break into small pieces.
- Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil. Simmer on low, covered, about 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
- Fill each cooked and cool shell with 2 Tbls of cheese mixture.
- Cover bottom of baking pan with some meat sauce.
- Place shells on top of meat sauce and cover them with more meat sauce. Cover pan with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes.
Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Classico #cbias #SocialFabric #CookClassico. All opinions are my very own. Hope you enjoy this yummy and light recipe.
Last Day! 
Yummmy!!!!
I have never made my own stuffed shells before these look delicious.
They look yummy! Reminds me of when I was a kid.
I love stuffed shells.
these look amazing. i will try and make them at home.
I tried your recipe, they came out great!
Awesome!!
These look so good Jennifer. I am going to have to try them myself. Thanks for sharing.
I love spinach so this recipe is a keeper. Stuffed shells I haven’t had in awhile and I didn’t have them like this so it would be a good one to try
I love stuffed shells, they are a new favorite in our house!! These look very good, thanks for sharing!!