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Butternut and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

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Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian
By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2-4
Prep Time: 1.5 Hours (Includes Roasting Butternut time) – Cooking Time: 30 Minutes – Total Time: 2 Hours

A fall take on the usual red sauce stuffed shells, roasted butternut lends its sweet flavor alongside Alfredo sauce, ricotta and fresh herbs.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Mashed Roasted Butternut Squash
  • 1 cup Ricotta Cheese
  • 2 cups grated Low Moisture Mozzarella, divided
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
  • Kosher Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
  • 1 tsp. Finely Chopped Fresh Sage
  • 1 tsp. Finely Chopped Fresh Rosemary
  • 1 12-oz. Package Jumbo Shells
  • 1 15-oz. Jar Alfredo Sauce (like Rao's)

Instructions

Roasted Butternut

1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2

Toss peeled, sliced butternut in olive oil, Kosher salt and black pepper and spread on a sheet tray. Roast for 45 minutes to one hour, until the butternut is tender and begins to brown. Remove from oven, reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Butternut and Ricotta Filling

3

Use a food processor to mash roasted butternut slices, yielding 1 cup of mashed butternut. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

4

Add 1 cup ricotta and mix well with the mashed butternut.

5

Add 1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Add the chopped herbs and mix well to fully combine. Taste for seasoning, add more Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

Stuffed Shells

6

Boil pasta in boiling salted water for 8 minutes. Drain and spread shells on a parchment-lined sheet tray.

7

In a 9x13-inch baking dish, pour enough Alfredo sauce to generously coat the bottom of the dish.

8

Use a spoon to fill each shell with the filling and set the filled shells in the sauce-lined baking dish. Continue to fill shells and place in dish until the dish has 4-5 rows of 4-5 stuffed shells per row.

9

Drizzle a little more sauce down the center of each row of shells and top with more mozzarella.

10

Cover and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake another 10 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and beginning to brown.

Notes

There is enough filling to do about 24 individual shells. My baking dish will only hold 16 shells, so I used a second, 9x9-inch dish for the overflow. If you have to do a second dish of shells, be sure to reserve enough sauce for the second dish (or have a second jar of sauce on hand).