Chicken & Spinach Stuffed Shells
Cheesy, savory Chicken & Spinach Stuffed Shells from The Cooking Mawma — jumbo pasta shells loaded with seasoned chicken, ricotta, spinach, and mozzarella, baked in a homemade Calabrian chili tomato sauce.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo pasta shells
- 1 lb chicken breast cut into small cubes, seasoned with 1tsp onion powder, 1tsp garlic powder, 1tsp paprika, 1tsp salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil divided
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 white/yellow onion finely chopped
- 1/2 shallot finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 garlic cloves sliced
- 3 cups fresh spinach chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes crushed by hand
- 1 tsp Calabrian chili oil
- 8 basil leaves
For the Filling
- 1 16oz container whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2.5 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 egg
- 6 basil leaves chopped
- 1 tsp salt and pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin to boil a pot of salted pasta water.
- In a large, deep pan, add 2tbsp olive oil and 1tbsp butter and heat on medium-high heat. Add seasoned chicken and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.
- Lower heat to medium. In the same, deep pan chicken was cooked in, add 1tbsp of olive oil, onions, and shallots with a sprinkle of salt and cook until softened for about 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Stir in chopped spinach with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and cook until wilted for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan, and squeeze out any excess juice from spinach.
- In the same pan, add 1tbsp olive oil, 8 basil leaves, sliced garlic and Calabrian chili oil. Let it sizzle for a few minutes together, stirring and being careful to not allow garlic to burn.
- Add can of tomatoes and season with 1tsp salt. Stir and reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, cook pasta shells 2 minutes less than what the package says (this is typically about 8 minutes). Drain and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the shells from cooking. Drizzle a little olive oil to prevent sticking and set aside in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, mix cooked chicken, ricotta cheese, 1.5 cups of mozzarella, 1 cup parmesan cheese, an egg, cooked spinach, basil and salt and pepper.
- Stuff each shell with 2tbsp of chicken/ricotta filling. In a baking dish, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom. Then arrange stuffed shells into the dish.
- Pour remaining tomato sauce directly over the shells, then cover with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and finish under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until golden and bubble. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 850kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 164mg | Sodium: 1992mg | Potassium: 1024mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 5393IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 870mg | Iron: 5mg