Festive Christmas Stuffed Pasta (Printable View)
Colorful stuffed shells with ricotta, spinach, and cranberries in tomato sauce
# Ingredient List:
→ Pasta & Filling
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→ Sauce
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→ Garnish
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# How to Prepare:
01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F.
02 - Cook the pasta shells in salted boiling water until al dente; drain and set aside on a kitchen towel to cool.
03 - In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until softened. Add passata or marinara sauce, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.
04 - In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, mozzarella, Parmesan, chopped cranberries, egg, nutmeg, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
05 - Spread half the tomato sauce on the bottom of a large ovenproof baking dish.
06 - Fill each pasta shell with the ricotta mixture using a spoon. Arrange the filled shells in the dish.
07 - Pour remaining sauce over the shells and sprinkle extra Parmesan on top.
08 - Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
09 - Remove foil, bake another 10 minutes until golden and bubbling.
10 - Garnish with fresh basil before serving.
# Expert Suggestions:
01 -
- The cranberries create these little bursts of sweet-tart flavor that cut through all that rich cheese in the most surprising way
- It looks impressive on the table but comes together faster than you'd think, leaving you time to actually enjoy your guests
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- Overfilling the shells seems like a good idea until they burst in the oven, so keep the filling generous but contained
- Letting the shells cool on a towel instead of a plate prevents them from getting waterlogged and tearing when you try to stuff them
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- Use a piping bag or zip-top bag with the corner snipped off to fill the shells, it's so much faster and less messy than using spoons
- Let the dish rest for about 10 minutes after baking so the sauce thickens slightly and makes serving so much easier