• Healthy Stuffed Shells with Ground Turkey and Spinach
  • Healthy Stuffed Shells with Ground Turkey and Spinach

Healthy Stuffed Shells with Ground Turkey and Spinach

Instructions

  • 1. Boil jumbo shells according to package. Drain and set aside covering with a wet paper towel to keep from drying.
  • 2. Brown ground meat in a skillet together over medium heat with diced onion. Cook until no pink meat remains. Drain any excess fat.
  • 3. Thaw spinach in a colander under warm water. Press to remove excess water.
  • 4. In a large bowl, mix together parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, spinach, meat, onions and spices including salt and pepper.
  • 5. Take meat and cheese mixture and gently stuff into shells. Line a large baking pan or two smaller baking pans (freeze one!) with shells.
  • 6. Cover shells with tomato sauce. Top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Bake at 375˚ for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce it bubbling in the center. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
Published on January 30, 2016 | In | By |
9 Comments
    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes
    • Yield
    • 12x9 dish

    • Ingredients

    • 1 (12oz) box jumbo shells
    • 1 lb ground turkey
    • 1 lb ground beef
    • 1/2 onion, diced
    • 1 (10oz) bag frozen spinach
    • 1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese
    • 1 (9oz) container parmesan romano cheese mix
    • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • 2 (24oz) jars of tomato sauce
    • 8oz fresh mozarella
    • fresh parsley for garnish
    • Difficulty Level

These healthy stuffed shells are going to rock your world! They’re stuffed with spinach, a yummy blend of cheeses, then lightened up with ground turkey.

A healthier, freezer-friendly, delicious dinner option.

If you like healthy food but you still like things to taste good… this recipe is for you, baby.

This recipe feeds a large family or a small crowd.

These stuffed shells are pretty easy to prep but do take a little time so I’d recommend making two batches at a time—have one for dinner and either share one dish with a friend or put it in the freezer for an easy heat-and-eat weeknight dinner. These freeze and reheat well using a casserole dish. I use glass Pyrex dishes with lids. You do need to be careful about reheating them in the oven though since glass can shatter if you change its temperature too quickly. So I usually let mind sit out for a little bit then heat it up with the oven rather than putting it in a pre-heated oven. I like the glass because you can easily see what’s inside. Helpful when you’re storing in a packed freezer.

Cast Iron Enamel Casserole Roasting DishWhat kind of baking dish you’ll need:

Now, there are other options if you’re not sure about glass. This cast iron casserole dish for example. It’s going to be heavy but also heavy duty. The color is fun and makes me happy. It’s weird, but I’ve found that cooking with utensils, dishes, etc, that I really love, makes dinner-making a much more enjoyable experience especially after a long day. This red cast iron casserole dish is on my wish list. I love my cast iron dutch oven and so this would be a perfect mate. I really like the look of it but after having several glass and ceramic casserole dishes break, the durability of it is what’s most appealing.

Tips for making stuffed shells:

Let’s get back to stuffing shells. If you’ve never stuffed shells before, don’t worry it’s pretty easy. Here are a few tips:

  1. Don’t overcook your shells. Drain immediately after they’re done cooking. Cook properly, they hold their shape better and are easier to stuff.
  2. After you drain the shells, don’t let them sit too long. They’ll dry up and start to stick together. I cover mine with a wet paper towel if I need more time to mix up the stuffing.
  3. Make sure to stir your jumbo noodles while cooking, otherwise they can stick together and rip when you try to pull them apart.
  4. Use your fingers to stuff the shells with the spinach-cheese-meat mixture if a spoon isn’t working well.

Helpful tools for making these stuffed shells:

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These healthy stuffed shells were featured on South Your Mouth, Menu Plan Monday, and Inspire Me Monday and have been pinned more than 15,000 times with lots of rave reviews! I hope you enjoy them and if so, please let me  a review!

Healthy Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

  • 1 (12oz) box jumbo shells
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 (10oz) bag frozen spinach
  • 1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese
  • 1 (9oz) container parmesan romano cheese mix
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 (24oz) jars of tomato sauce
  • 8oz fresh mozarella
  • fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

  • 1. Boil jumbo shells according to package. Drain and set aside covering with a wet paper towel to keep from drying.
  • 2. Brown ground meat in a skillet together over medium heat with diced onion. Cook until no pink meat remains. Drain any excess fat.
  • 3. Thaw spinach in a colander under warm water. Press to remove excess water.
  • 4. In a large bowl, mix together parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, spinach, meat, onions and spices including salt and pepper.
  • 5. Take meat and cheese mixture and gently stuff into shells. Line a large baking pan or two smaller baking pans (freeze one!) with shells.
  • 6. Cover shells with tomato sauce. Top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Bake at 375˚ for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce it bubbling in the center. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
  • Servings : 6-8
  • Ready in : 50 Minutes
  • Course :
  • Recipe Type : ,

Recipe Rating

  • (5 /5)
  • (9 Rating)

Instructions

  • 1. Boil jumbo shells according to package. Drain and set aside covering with a wet paper towel to keep from drying.
  • 2. Brown ground meat in a skillet together over medium heat with diced onion. Cook until no pink meat remains. Drain any excess fat.
  • 3. Thaw spinach in a colander under warm water. Press to remove excess water.
  • 4. In a large bowl, mix together parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, spinach, meat, onions and spices including salt and pepper.
  • 5. Take meat and cheese mixture and gently stuff into shells. Line a large baking pan or two smaller baking pans (freeze one!) with shells.
  • 6. Cover shells with tomato sauce. Top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Bake at 375˚ for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce it bubbling in the center. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.

Rate this recipe

Healthy Stuffed Shells with Ground Turkey and Spinach

  • 9 People Rated This Recipe

  • Average Rating

    (5 / 5)

Comments

  1. Esmeralda September 18, 2018 at 6:23 pm #

    Hi! Was wondering what is the nutrition facts for this recipe? Calories and stuff like that. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Crista June 28, 2018 at 11:54 pm #

    Super easy to make and love that I can have extra to freeze since I’m making meals to freeze right now while on maternity leave. Never thought I could make stuffed shells until this!

    Reply
  3. Cindy June 8, 2018 at 4:25 pm #

    It doesn’t say in the recipe where the Italian seasoning goes. Does it go in the meat or tomato sauce?

    Reply
    • Angela G. June 8, 2018 at 5:19 pm #

      Hi Cindy, The seasoning goes in when you mix the meat with the cheese in step 4. Thanks for asking! Hope you enjoy. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kylie Rivera January 25, 2017 at 11:02 pm #

    Angela,

    I really would love to try this recipe tonight for dinner! However, I was wondering if you used both ground turkey AND ground beef or is the recipe supposed to have only one or the other? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Angela Gast January 26, 2017 at 2:23 am #

      Hi Kylie,
      I like to use half ground beef and half ground turkey but you can use all beef or all turkey. It’s totally up to you. I like the added flavor that the ground beef brings but not the fat. So that’s why I use half turkey, to reduce the fat, but half beef to kick up the flavor. If you want a more healthy meal, you could go all turkey. Or if you don’t care about fat content as much and are really looking for a richer flavor, you could go all beef. Hope that answers your question. Thanks for asking!

      Reply
      • Kim June 6, 2017 at 12:59 am #

        So is this calling for 2lbs of meat total?

        Thank you!

        Reply
        • Angela G. June 6, 2017 at 2:15 am #

          Yes, 2lbs of meat total. Thanks for asking!

          Reply

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