Vegetarian stuffed pasta shells

I made vegetarian stuffed pasta shells. I have to admit that I went to a bigger supermarket than the one near my house just to buy these big pasta shells. They’re so beautiful! I wanted to make a vegetarian recipe with these pasta shells and I decided to combine two of my favorite vegetables: spinach and pumpkin. These vegetarian stuffed pasta shells look beautiful and taste great. They’re a wonderful dish to make when you have friends over for dinner, but as they’re also easy to make: why not just have them on a regular weekday with your partner?

Big Pasta Shells

These big pasta shells are officially named ‘conchiglioni’ (‘conchiglie’ in English) but are most often called ‘seashells’ or as I did: big pasta shells. They’re sometimes called conchiglioni rigati, in which rigati refers to the ridges or grooves in the pasta. If you live in the Netherlands like me you can find the big pasta shells from DiMartino at the bigger stores of Albert Heijn. If you can’t find the big pasta shells in your supermarket, you can of course use any other kind of pasta. Want to make it extra healthy? Go for whole wheat pasta!

These vegetarian stuffed pasta shells are made with ricotta, but if you’re vegan you can replace it witch cashew cream or another vegan alternative.

Recipe vegetarian stuffed pasta shells

Ingredients (4 people):

400 grams of Conchiglioni rigati pasta shells

400 grams fresh spinach
400 grams pumpkin, cubed
4 tbs cranberries
400 grams ricotta cheese

Prepare the pasta as stated on the package. Warm olive oil in a skillet and fry the pumpkin cubes for 5 minutes. Gradually add the spinach and warm until wilted. Turn down the fire and stir in the cranberries and the ricotta cheese.
Fill the pasta shells with the pumpkin and spinach mixture.
Optionally you can place the tray in the oven for a few minutes if you think the pasta shells have cooled too much.