Spinach and Artichoke Pasta Shells [V+GF]

About 75 percent of the dishes I have made in the past five days have been total fails.

It’s been that kind of week. I think everything I touch goes up in flames. I can’t get anything right. Thankfully, I’ve been sitting on this recipe for almost a year now but I never had time to photograph it. To get out of my slump, I decided to make it, photograph it, and maybe boost my low self-esteem in the process!

Luckily, this recipe has been tested many times, so it was a breeze to make, and as you can see, I even managed to photograph it. If I can make these Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Shells on my worst of days, I can confidently say anyone can make them!

Not only did making this recipe boost my self-esteem a bit (or at least did not tear it down even more), it’s a total comfort food recipe for me. I adore artichokes. In fact, they are probably my favourite vegetable. Mixed with spinach, tofu ricotta, and cheese, the artichokes are brought to their full potential and shine as the best vegetable ever. It’s kind of like a healthier spinach and artichoke dip stuffed into pasta shells… how can you go wrong?

You can’t. It’s that simple.

A nice thing about this recipe is that it can easily be made ahead of time, and then you just pop it into the oven when you’re ready to eat. Stuffing the shells takes a little bit of time, but otherwise it is a very simple recipe to throw together. This recipe makes a lot, so often when I make it for dinner I’m able to package up a few lunches for myself. This dish keeps fairly well because, from my experience, the pasta shells do not get too mushy.

To me, this dish is the comfort food of pasta dishes. I hope you enjoy!

5 from 1 vote

Print

Spinach and Artichoke Pasta Shells

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 20 mins

 

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

For the shells

• 20 pasta shells, gluten free if required
• 1 recipe of tofu ricotta, recipe below
• 1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1 cup vegan mozzarella
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1/3 cup fresh basil
• 1 jar prepared tomato sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste

Tofu Ricotta

• 1 package of silken extra firm tofu
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degreed Fahrenheit. 

2. Prepare the shells: Cook the pasta shells according to the directions on the package. Make sure you do not overcook them. They'll cook more in the oven.

3. Prepare the tofu ricotta: Crumble the tofu with your hands or a fork and then mix in the remaining ingredients.

4. Prepare the spinach: Take your chopped spinach and wilt it a bit in the microwave, in 20 second intervals. Take a paper towel and remove all the moisture that you can.  

5. Prepare the filling: Combine the tofu ricotta, spinach, artichokes, 2/3 cups of mozzarella (keeping the rest for later), nutritional yeast, onion, and basil until well combined. Taste the filling and add salt and pepper as needed. 

6. Pour 2/3 of the jar of tomato sauce into a 9 x 13 inch pan.

7. Begin stuffing the cooked shells, making sure to stuff the shells as full as you can. Place the stuffed shells into the tomato sauce.

8. When all your shells are stuffed, top them with the remaining tomato sauce and then with the remaining vegan mozzarella.

9. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.