Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef

• servings: 9 servings
• active time: 25 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

27 jumbo pasta shells

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion (chopped)

¾ teaspoon kosher salt (divided)

2 garlic cloves (chopped)

1 pound lean ground beef

28 ounces marinara sauce

1 (15-oz) container part skim ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 (16-oz) package frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed well)

2 cups part skim shredded Italian cheese blend (or shredded mozzarella) (divided)

½ cup parmesan cheese (divided)

Chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook shells in a large pot of salted water for 2-3 minutes shy of package directions (just under al dente). Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then saute the onion along with ¼ teaspoon of salt until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Add the ground beef and ¼ teaspoon salt. Saute until browned and cooked through, breaking into small pieces, about 5-7 minutes. Drain any excess oil, if desired.

Add the marinara sauce, stir to combine, then remove from heat.

In a large bowl mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, 1 cup Italian cheese blend, ¼ cup parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon salt, stirring to combine.

Once the shells are cooked and cooled, fill each shell (about 2 heaping tablespoons) with the ricotta-spinach mixture.

Add half the beef marinara sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish, spreading to cover.

Arrange the shells in the baking dish, then top with remaining beef marinara sauce and remaining 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 3 stuffed shells with be
• Calories: 439 kcal
• Total Fat: 13 g
• Saturated Fat: 5 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
• Trans Fat: 0.2 g
• Cholesterol: 70 mg
• Sodium: 796 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 48 g
• Dietary Fiber: 18 g
• Total Sugars: 8 g
• Protein: 43 g