Kale and Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Butternut Squash Sauce
This is a casserole I can get behind— jumbo shells filled with kale and ricotta cheese, nestled and baked into a rich and flavorful butternut squash sauce.
As much as I love to cook and play around in the kitchen, I actually have a small number of dinner recipes I cycle through, with a few experiments thrown into the mix from time to time. This recipe is one such experiment that went over so well it’s made it into the inner circle and become a regular during this time of year.
I’ve already made it three times this season, which considering it’s only the beginning of October, tells you just how much we love it.
Butternut squash is one of my favorite fall and winter flavors, but oddly enough I’m not a big fan of its texture as it is post-roast. And so I puree it, along with other great things like onions, fresh herbs and cream, and put it on everything or serve it straight from the blender as a simple yet wonderful soup.
This particular recipe was born out of the need to find more uses for my beloved butternut squash sauce, and it’s now perhaps my favorite use for it. We just barely had it last week and I’m already looking forward to when I can make it again!
A few recipe notes
- There are a few steps to this recipe, but it can all be made ahead. I like to prepare everything in the morning and refrigerate it until I’m ready to bake it that evening.
- The butternut squash sauce freezes really well, so if you have leftovers or would like to make it in advance, pour it into a tupperware with a screw top lid and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. It will also last in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- If you’d like, spinach can be used instead of kale.
- Some of the jumbo shells will break during cooking, so I’ve included a few more in the list of ingredients than you’ll actually need.
- The shells will also stick together after they’ve been cooked and drained, so toss them with a tablespoon of olive oil or arrange them on a greased sheet pan (not touching) until you’re ready to assemble.
Kale and Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Butternut Squash Sauce
Ingredients
Butternut Squash Sauce:
- 1 small butternut squash , peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 small onion , chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper , to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary and/or sage
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (475 ml)
- 1 cup milk or cream (237 ml)
Assembly:
- 15 jumbo pasta shells
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups kale , torn into small pieces (1 small bunch)
- 2 cloves of garlic , minced
- 8 ounces whole or skim milk ricotta cheese (226 grams)
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (113 grams)
- 1 large egg
- Salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
To make the sauce:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the cubed butternut squash, chopped onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs. Spread evenly into the sheet pan. Bake until butternut squash is tender, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- In a blender or food processor, combine the roasted butternut squash and onions, chicken/vegetable stock, and milk/cream and blend until smooth. Work in batches if necessary. Set sauce aside or store in the fridge for up to 7 days if making ahead.
To assemble the stuffed shells.
- Boil the jumbo pasta shells in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 10-12 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- While pasta is boiling, work on assembling the filling. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add kale pieces and cook, stirring often, until kale is reduced in size by half. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, salt and pepper, and kale mixture.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or butter.
- Pour the butternut squash sauce into the greased dish. It should be about 1 ½ inches deep. Scoop a spoonful of the kale and ricotta mixture into 12 of the cooked pasta shells. Place the shells into the butternut squash sauce.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
What a beautiful recipe – I would want the whole bowl to myself! We used to take weekend car rides, too. Just head out in any direction and see where it took us.
I prefer healthy food! And I’ll definitely try that kale and ricotta stuffed shells with butternut squash sauce. My husband would love it! Thanks and kudos for this awesome recipe.
This was served at a “Friendsgiving” last night and it was the most delicious thing there! I can’t wait to eat these again and I’m so glad I found your recipe!
Hi, your sharing buttons are gone 🙁 Is it just my browser or comp or did you do that? I want to Pin It <3
Oh no! I need to look into that. In the meantime, feel free to repin my pin of this recipe: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/75787206204672423/
Perhaps I have missed it on this page, but do you have an estimate of how many servings this provides? I’m hoping to use this for a vegetarian friendsgiving.
It serves 4
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I made this tonight and it turned out great! It’s simple but took a little longer than I thought, because I had a huge squash, and I couldn’t peel it well. I ended up freezing about half the squash, yet still made enough to have extra sauce. Plus I had to puree the sauce in three batches. In the past I’ve overcooked the pasta shells, but this time I did them very al dente at 9 minutes, which worked out great. Since I had a 9×13 pan I used all 15 of the shells. I have enough ingredients to make this again, so I will make it this weekend and freeze a bunch. Next time I think I’ll double the recipe on the first go and use two pans. Thank you for this winner of a recipe, I will add it to my collection!
Hi, Annalise! Your experiment recipe is awesome! I will definitely try this kale and ricotta stuffed shells with butternut squash sauce recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Am I being dense or something? Where is the recipe?
Oddly, when I went back up the page after posting the question, I found it.
Looks yummy.
I launched a new website design yesterday and a few recipes went down for a bit. Sorry for the inconvenience!
You said a small butternut squash. The butternut squash I have weighs approx. 3.4 lbs (unpeeled and with seeds still in it). Should I double the recipe for this weight? When you refer to small, approx how much should it weigh? Thank you in advance to your response.
Hi Joanne! So I weighed a few butternut squash and when I use this recipe I’m using one that’s generally between 1.5-2ish lbs. You can double this recipe if you’d like, or you can roast the whole squash, and freeze half of it to use in another recipe later (that’s what I would do!). I hope this helps. 🙂
To be honest, I ended up doubling the recipe and it came out fine. Today, I bought a butternut squash 4.6 lbs and will probably double that as well. The recipe was very easy and came out delicious. My family loved it! I am expecting out of town guests for Thanksgiving and am making the butternut squash sauce and stuffed shells ahead and freezing both separately. They will be arriving on the Wednesday and I thought this would be a wonderful dish to serve that night for dinner, it being the night before Thanksgiving. Again, thank you for your response to my question.
Does this freeze well ?
Yes, I imagine it would!
I made this recipe this past week. It was delicious. Husband loved it!!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for the comment! 🙂
This recipe sound delicious! I can not wait to try it and tell all my friends and family about it!
My oh my!! This is my ideal fall dish I think! I’m making it asap!!
This looks like the ultimate comfort food! I’m loving all things fall these days. Butternut squash and pasta sounds like the perfect meal for a crisp autumn day!