Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta with Ricotta and Sausage
Stuffed lumaconi pasta with ricotta and sausage is a comfort food classic that will have you doing the happy dance! This recipe combines three cheeses with Italian sausage and spinach. This easy, one-hour dinner is an authentic Italian dish that will make everyone run to the table.
Servings: 6 servings
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
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 895kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 1162mg | Potassium: 563mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1296IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 538mg | Iron: 3mg
