OH-SO-DELICIOUS VEGAN STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

If you love comfort food, these vegan pasta shells stuffed with veggies and flavoursome marinara sauce is the recipe after your heart. This is a perfect weeknight recipe for the whole family, as well as a weekend dinner party with your friends. A great recipe to prep ahead & store in the freezer too.

I don’t know about you but I’ve definitely been cooking a lot more pasta recently. Comforting, quick, easy and just so good for your soul, don’t you think? And in the times we are currently living, we definitely need more soul food, without a doubt.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

• Giant pasta shells

• Roasted butternut squash. Dice the squash in small cubes, arrange on a baking tray, sprinkle with salt, pepper and a generous drizzle of olive oil. I love adding a sprinkle of sweet smoked paprika to my squash to add another layer of flavour. You can also use steamed butternut squash if you prefer.

•  Onion & garlic

• A tin of chickpeas

• Marinara sauce. You can of course use shop-bought marinara sauce if you’re short of time but I’d strongly recommend making my homemade marinara sauce recipe . It has a lot of hidden veggie goodness and once you’ve made a batch of it, you can use it in so many recipes. It has been my absolute life-saver in the kitchen.

• Spices: smoked paprika, chili flakes & ground coriander

• Fresh herbs: coriander or basil both work well

• Dairy free cheese, just because melted cheese makes every meal much better!

HOW TO MAKE STUFFED PASTA SHELLS  

• Cook pasta shells according to the packet instructions. Make sure you cook it until just al dente, otherwise it’ll be too soft to hold its shape. When cooked, drain the pasta and run under cold water to stop it from cooking further.

• Whilst the pasta is cooking, start on the stuffing for the pasta shells. Heat up the olive oil in a medium size frying pan and fry the onions for a couple of minutes over medium heat, until just translucent. Add crushed garlic and sautee for another minute.

• Add chickpeas, roasted squash, marinara sauce and all the spices into the frying pan and cook for 10-15 minutes to allow the sauce to develop the flavours. The thickness of your marinara sauce is of great importance here. If you’re using my homemade marinara sauce recipe, it’s quick chunky and thick, perfect for stuffing these pasta shells. If you’re using a shop-bought sauce, just make sure it’s not too runny. To make it thicker, you might want to simmer it for longer than 15 minutes to allow the time for the sauce to reduce. Once your stuffing is ready, allow it to cool down slightly to make it easier to stuff the shells.

• Cover the bottom of an oven-proof baking dish with a cup of marinara sauce and spread evenly across the dish. Spoon the stuffing into the pasta shells and arrange them alongside each other in the dish. Once all the shells are in the dish, spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the shells, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in the oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes.

CAN I MAKE STUFFED PASTA SHELLS IN ADVANCE?

You sure can. Make the recipe up until you’re ready to put the stuffed shells into the oven. Just cover the ovenproof dish with cling film or baking foil, pop it into the fridge for up to 24 hours until you’re ready to bake.

CAN I FREEZE THIS PASTA?

Yes, you can! Once you’ve stuffed your pasta shells, transfer them into an airtight container or ziplock bag and pop into the freezer – they’ll keep for up to 3 months. To cook them from frozen, you’ll need to extend the oven time by about 10 minutes to ensure they’re cooked through.

If you need some more pasta inspirations, why not try

• 15-minute green pesto pasta
• Super easy & quick beetroot & rosemary pasta
• Red lentil pasta with aubergine & red pepper sauce
• Healthy vegan lasagna

As always, if you recreate this recipe, I’d be delighted to read your comments and hear your feedback. Be sure to drop a comment here on the blog, tag me in your photos on Instagram @Fit Foodie Nutter, Facebook or Pinterest so I don’t miss them. It gives me so much joy seeing your takes on my recipes!  

Thank you for visiting my blog. I’ll see you next week.

Stay safe and keep well.

Healthfully yours,

Tania x

OH-SO-DELICIOUS VEGAN STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

Tania Pilcher | Fit Foodie Nutter

If you love comfort food, these vegan pasta shells stuffed with veggies and full of flavour marinara sauce is the recipe after your heart. Quick & easy to prepare, this is a perfect weeknight recipe for the whole family, as well as a weekend dinner party with your friends. A great recipe to prep ahead & store in the freezer too.

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Italian, Vegan

Servings 18 shells

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 18 giant pasta shells
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small white onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 cup roasted or boiled/steamed butternut squash, diced in 2cm chunks
• 400 g tinned chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 2 ½ cups chunky marinara sauce
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ¼ tsp chilli flakes
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 3-5 tbsp grated vegan cheese
• A bunch of fresh coriander or basil to serve

Instructions

 

• Cook the pasta shells according to the packet instructions. Make sure to cook until just al dente, otherwise it’ll be too soft to hold its shape. When cooked, drain the pasta and run under cold water to stop it from cooking further.
• Preheat the oven to 180C Fan / 400F.
• Whilst the pasta is cooking, start on the stuffing for the pasta shells. Heat up the olive oil in a medium size frying pan and fry the onion for a couple of minutes over medium heat, until just translucent. Add crushed garlic and sautee for another minute.
• Add chickpeas, roasted squash, marinara sauce and all the spices into the frying pan, season with salt & pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes to allow the sauce to develop the flavours.*
• Cover the bottom of an oven-proof baking dish with 1 cup of marinara sauce and spread evenly across the dish. Spoon the stuffing into the pasta shells and arrange them alongside each other in the dish. Once all the shells are in the dish, spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the shells, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in the oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh coriander or basil just before serving.

Notes

NOTE: The thickness of your marinara sauce is of great importance. If you’re using my homemade marinara sauce recipe, it’s quick chunky and thick, perfect for stuffing these pasta shells. If you’re using a shop-bought sauce, just make sure it’s not too runny. To make it thicker, you might want to simmer it for longer than 15 minutes to allow the time for the sauce to reduce. 

Keyword STUFFED VEGAN PASTA SHELLS, EASY VEGAN RECIPES, EASY WEEKNIGHT DINNER, FREEZER FRIENDLY, ITALIAN INSPIRED, PASTA, VEGAN COMFORT FOOD, VEGAN RECIPES

Making this? I’d love to see!Tag your snaps @Fit.Foodie.Nutter and #fitfoodienutter