Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta with Ricotta and Sausage
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This stuffed lumaconi pasta with ricotta and sausage is a comfort food classic that will have you doing the happy dance! This recipe combines sweet ricotta cheese with savory, delicious Italian sausage (and we snuck in a little spinach too). This authentic Italian dish is the perfect easy, 1-hour dinner!
Looking for more ways to enjoy ricotta cheese? Make this authentic Italian ricotta pie or this lemon ricotta pasta with asparagus!
Quick Look: Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta with Ricotta & Sausage
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Servings: 6 people
- Dietary Info: can be made Gluten Free
- Method: Stovetop (for prepping filling and pasta) & Oven (for baking the dish)
- Technique: Cook a batch of tomato sauce and some spinach, then brown the onion, sausage, and garlic. Add remaining ingredients, stuff into cooked pasta, and bake.
- Flavor & Texture: This stuffed lumaconi recipe is packed with a flavorful meat and tomato mixture and baked to bubbly golden perfection with cheese on top.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Lumaconi pasta shells are one of my favorite pasta shapes! There is something about these pasta shells that scream comfort food. It is the perfect pasta for stuffing and baking.
My mamma and I decided to pair this with homemade tomato sauce and to stuff the shells with a simple mixture of Italian cheese, sausage, and spinach. The homemade tomato sauce clings to the shells and gets baked with an extra layer of cheese for a baked pasta sensation!
The stuffed lumaconi pasta shells are smaller, so you can put a whole one in your mouth! You get the perfect bite of cheesy sausage goodness with the freshness of the tomato sauce. I know you will love this recipe as much as we do!
This stuffed lumaconi pasta recipe is a great way to vary your weekly pasta meal. Serve it with a goat cheese salad with lemon olive oil dressing and a side of no knead focaccia bread.
Made With Amore,
“What a lovely dish! Pasta al forno is always great, but these little yummy bites are just SO satisfying. For me, the bite-sized pasta and finding the “right” sausage is true the secret to this dish.”
– Hans
Table of Contents
- Quick Look: Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta with Ricotta & Sausage
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Make Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta with Ricotta & Sausage
- Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta FAQs
- Serving Suggestions
- Expert Tips
- More Italian Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
- Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta with Ricotta and Sausage Recipe
Simple Ingredients
Start with good ingredients, and you will surely achieve the tastiest stuffed shell meal!
- Sweet Italian Ground Sausage: I love using sweet Italian sausage, as it brings a lot of flavor without too much heat. Feel free to swap it out with mild or spicy Italian sausage if you prefer.
- Lumaconi Pasta Shells: This is one of my favorite pasta shapes and works beautifully in this recipe! Here’s my favorite lumaconi pasta shells (affiliate) that I recommend using. In addition, giant shells, manicotti, or any other large pasta shape that is adequate for stuffing will work.
- Tomato Sauce: Use one batch of my Italian Tomato Sauce (Sugo al Pomodoro), or grab a jar of your favorite marinara sauce for a quicker preparation.
- Spinach: Start with fresh cooked spinach. Press out all the liquid by putting the cooked spinach in a sieve and pressing it with a spoon (or twisting it in an old towel), then finely chop it.
- Cheese: I love to use a mixture of whole milk ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, and shredded Parmigiano cheese in the filling for lots of flavor and a great texture. (I recommended grating your own cheese! Here’s 5 reasons why you should grate your own cheese.)
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Cheese: You can use pecorino romano cheese instead of Parmigiano to mix it up if you like, or even use a combination of both. (You can also use cottage cheese or cream cheese instead of ricotta cheese. It is not traditionally Italian, but I won’t tell anyone!)
- Greens: Instead of spinach, you can use any hearty greens such as kale, chicory, collard greens, or Swiss chard.
- Different Fillings: Try using the filling in this ricotta and spinach ravioli or the sauce from my stuffed manicotti recipe!
- Different Sauces: Use your favorite sauce to accompany the giant pasta shells; pick one that’s chunky but can sneak its way into the large, snail-like shell. I recommend trying Italian Beef Short Rib Ragu or Broccoli Pasta with Sausage.
How to Make Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta with Ricotta & Sausage
This is one of those easy recipes you will come back to repeatedly!
- In a large skillet, add a bit of oil and cook the onion for about 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add sausage and garlic and cook over medium-high heat until pork is no longer pink; drain any excess liquid. Let cool.
- In a large bowl, combine egg, spinach, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, Parmigiano (Parmesan) cheese, basil, and prepared sausage. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set on a clean tea towel so they do not stick together as you are stuffing them individually.
- Coat the sides and bottom of a 3-quart baking dish with olive oil. Pour half of the prepared tomato sauce into the baking dish. Stuff shells with meat and cheese mixture; arrange in the prepared baking dish.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the shells and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Cover and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
- Enjoy this stuffed lumaconi pasta warm with your favorite sides as a family-favorite cozy dinner!
Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta FAQs
Lumaconi is a large Italian pasta shape that resembles a snail shell, as the name comes from the Italian word lumaca, meaning “snail.” Its oversized, hollow shape is perfect for holding rich sauces or being stuffed with delicious fillings. In this recipe, the bite-sized pasta acts is the perfect vessel for the savory filling, making every bite flavorful and satisfying.
If you don’t have lumaconi pasta shells, you can use any large pasta shells that you can fill. Options include conchiglioni (giant pasta shells) and manicotti.
Simply translated, the Italian word for snail is lumacha (singular). Lumaconi pasta shells refer to the big or large shell of a snail. Lumaconi, or lumache (plural) in Italian, are big ridged pasta shells shaped like snail shells. Typically, they are stuffed with various fillings and baked with a little sauce, remaining a bit dry or covered in a sauce.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious pasta recipe is filling all on its own! All you need is some delicious no knead Italian bread and an orange fennel salad to round out your meal.
If you want to go all out, serve Italian Zucchini Fritters, Crispy Air Fryer Calamari, or King Crab Salad as an appetizer. But don’t forget dessert! Try Italian Apple Cake, Classic Italian Tiramisu, or Authentic Sicilian Cannoli.
My Pro Tips
Expert Tips
- I recommend a good quality ricotta brand that is full fat. If you buy “cheap ricotta” or use part-skim ricotta, it will be more watery and grainy and change the consistency of the ricotta.
- You can buy a bag of lumaconi pasta at most specialty Italian grocery stores or buy it from Amazon. I recommend the HemisFares brand at Kroger stores. Try to purchase bronze cut pasta, as the slightly rough edges ensure a perfect al dente texture and help the sauce cling to it! Here’s why pasta quality matters.
- Don’t overcook the pasta for baked pasta dishes, as they will cook a little more in the sauce in the oven.
- Make ahead up to 3 days in advance. If you need to make it a day before using, refrigerate the assembled pasta shells before baking. Add about 10 minutes to the baking time if baking a refrigerated pan of pasta shells.
Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta with Ricotta and Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian ground sausage
- 1 pound lumaconi pasta shells
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 recipe classic Italian tomato sauce, or your favorite jarred marinara sauce
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup cooked spinach, liquid removed and finely chopped
- 1 pound whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried basil)
Instructions
- Prepare one recipe for sugo al pomodoro (or use your favorite jarred tomato sauce). Cook and prepare spinach and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large skillet, add a bit of oil and cook the onion for about 3 minutes until translucent. Add sausage and garlic and cook over medium-high heat, until pork is no longer pink; drain any excess liquid. Break up the ground sausage into smaller pieces while cooking. I like to cook until crispy edges. Let cool.
- In a large bowl, combine egg, spinach, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, ½ cup Parmigiano or Parmesan cheese, basil, and prepared sausage. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set on a clean tea towel so they do not stick together as you are stuffing them individually.
- Coat the sides and bottom of a 3-quart baking dish with olive oil. Pour half of the prepared tomato sauce into the baking dish.
- Stuff shells with meat and cheese mixture; arrange in the prepared baking dish. Depending on how you arrange the shells you may need to stack them in order to fit them all the baking dish.
- Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the shells. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmigiano cheese.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
Notes
- I recommend a good quality ricotta brand that is full fat. If you buy “cheap ricotta” or use part-skim ricotta, it will be more watery and grainy and change the consistency of the ricotta.
- You can buy a bag of lumaconi pasta at most specialty Italian grocery stores or buy it from Amazon. I recommend the HemisFares brand at Kroger stores. Try to purchase bronze cut pasta, as the slightly rough edges ensure a perfect al dente texture and help the sauce cling to it! Here’s why pasta quality matters.
- Don’t overcook the pasta for baked pasta dishes, as they will cook a little more in the sauce in the oven.
- Make ahead up to 3 days in advance. If you need to make it a day before using, refrigerate the assembled pasta shells before baking. Add about 10 minutes to the baking time if baking a refrigerated pan of pasta shells.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you so much for the recipe! My family loves it, and it was such a fun and easy dinner to make. I love stuffed lumaconi and used to buy frozen ones. But this homemade recipe tastes way better than the frozen one!!!
This makes me so happy to hear 🤍 Stuffed lumaconi are such a fun dinner, and I love that you made them from scratch. Homemade really does make all the difference in flavor and texture. I’m so glad your family loved it, and thank you for taking the time to share. That truly means so much to me 💛
This was absolutely delicious! Followed each step. I love a little extra spice, so once plated I sprinkled some red pepper flakes on mine, but it wad delicious with the sweet sausage. Thank you.
So happy you loved this family favorite!
I made this last night, and it turned out great! Had my window open so my next-door neighbors could smell it cooking. lol They brought over the wine! Will definitely make again. I did follow the directions as writ, using my own tomato sauce.
I love the story that your neighbors came over and you shared a meal! That’s the best kind of meal. There are plenty more to try with the window open while cooking ;).
This recipe is fire! 🔥 Gonna have to put it in the rotation for a while. Easier to make than expected. I chopped fresh spinach and stirred it in with the sausage after browning to let it wilt to save a step. Added an additional 1/2 pound of sausage for more protein. Subbed in mascarpone cheese because that’s what I had on hand. It was delicious. However next time I will probably double the filling because I ended up with extra shells. Super good my family loved, even the littles.
Yay! So glad to hear this was loved by everyone in the family. Many more recipes you will love here. Enjoy this one time and time again.
What a lovely dish! Pasta al forno is always great, but these little yummy bites are just SO satisfying. For me, the bite-sized pasta and finding the “right” sausage is true the secret to this dish.
I love this pasta shape to create the best individual bites. I agree the quality of ingredients really makes the dish that much better!
First let me say that this was delicious, thank you! Second, this recipe takes MUCH longer than 60 minutes to get on the table. Ten minutes to boil a large pot of water plus 18 minutes (package directions) to cook pasta plus 30 minutes to bake leaves only two minutes to stuff shells. You must have a lot of practice! Realistically, this will take almost 90 minutes and I used store bought pasta sauce this time.
I am glad you loved this recipe. I am sorry it took longer than the recipe suggests. Thank you for mentioning that!
I loved the sausage and fresh tomato sauce. The creaminess of the ricotta cheese was perfect. Fun pasta shape to use! Will make again.
It is a meal the entire family will love. Great as leftovers and easy to make ahead of time and cook before serving. Enjoy!