This vegetarian pasta bake casserole is loaded with hearty ingredients like fresh kale, baby portobella mushrooms, and ricotta cheese. Yum!
I love stuffed shells. They were one of those recipes that was in frequent rotation in my house growing up and I still enjoy them today.
And on those occasions that I do make stuffed shells, I maximize the veggies and minimize the ricotta. (In fact, my two favorite stuffed shell recipes are these vegan stuffed shells and these butternut squash stuffed shells.)
Not only is this healthier than the version that's loaded with cheese, but it's the only way my husband will eat them. That's right, my husband hates ricotta cheese. How anyone can dislike the creamy goodness of ricotta, I will never understand.
Regardless, this easy vegetarian casserole has earned a place in our weeknight dinner rotation.
Tips for this Mushroom Kale Casserole
This Mushroom and Kale Casserole recipe is adapted from Everyday Food's Chicken and Kale Casserole. The original recipe called for large shells, which was odd to me because they weren't supposed to be stuffed. The first time I made this, I used the large shells and just tossing them in the casserole with the rest of the ingredients didn't work out too well.
So when I tested the recipe again, I opted for the smaller pasta shells - success! The casserole was much easier to serve (and eat) that way. So think of this as deconstructed stuffed shells.
I also downsized the amount of ricotta. And because I'm trying to eat healthier, I substituted fat-free ricotta for part-skim. Unlike with other cheeses, I really don't think you can tell the difference with ricotta, especially in casseroles. You can use whichever you prefer.
Obviously, as vegetarians, the chicken was problematic too, so I used baby portobello mushrooms instead. Finally, I changed the serving size from 8 to 4 to better fit my family. But you can always double the recipe if you're feeding a crowd!
Note that while I love cooking with kale, you can also substitute spinach in this casserole dish for an equally delicious result.
More Tasty Vegetarian Recipes
If you love this mushroom and kale casserole, be sure to check out these other delicious ideas:
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- cooking spray or oil mister
- salt and pepper
- 6 oz small pasta shells
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 small bunch kale, tough stems and ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped
- 15 oz fat-free ricotta cheese
- zest from 1 lemon, finely grated
- 6 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot.
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms; cook until onion and mushrooms are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add kale, cover and cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to pot with pasta.
- Stir in ricotta, lemon zest, and 3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese; season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake until top is golden, about 30 minutes.
Jamie (Thrifty Veggie Mama) says
YUM! I have kale and baby bellas in the fridge right now...
Grumpy Grateful Mom says
This looks divine to me! And a pretty dish!
Tamara says
This looks SO good! Perfect cold weather food!
blueviolet says
It sounds delicious and I'm a huge ricotta fan, so I wouldn't even need downsizing!
The Type A Housewife says
Thank you! I really don't know how my husband could grow up in an Italian household and not like ricotta. So wrong.
Cocktails with Mom says
I've never had Kale before but this looks good.
The Type A Housewife says
Kale is so good! I'm not a fan of spinach, so I really like kale--it doesn't have that slimy texture that cooked spinach gets.
Mary Beth Elderton says
Looks Delicious!
Matt @ FaveDiets says
This may be one of the best looking casseroles I have ever seen!
Melissa says
Looks terrific!!
Kelly says
I need to start trying more veggies! You had bella in your title and I could figure out what it was at first (I'm not a dummy really but not quite a foodie either). I tried kale one time but it didn't turn out very well it was pretty bitter.
The Type A Housewife says
Baby bellas are so good! I was going to use regular button mushrooms, but the baby bellas were on sale for cheaper than the button ones, so I decided to use those instead. I think they're just another name for cremini, but I'm not 100% sure...
Elisa @ What the Vita says
You're right! http://www.thekitchn.com/what-are-cremini-mushrooms-a-f-73949
Trying this recipe now! Just whipped it up n a casserole dish and will cook it tomorrow. Can't wait 🙂 (I used rotini pasta instead of shells because that's what I had on hand)
The Type A Housewife says
That link just blew my mind. Portabella mushrooms are just really old button mushrooms?! They seem so much less special now!
I hope you like the casserole! 🙂
BusyWorkingMama says
Mmmm! I hadn't used kale in stuffed shells before. This looks like a great recipe especially since I never know WHAT to do with kale.
BKWilliams says
This is the best idea for kale I have ever seen. I love all mushrooms and stuffed shells so this is my kind of dish!
The Type A Housewife says
Thank you! Kale is my favorite green and I've found that it works really well substituted for spinach (which I don't really care for).
Kattie @ First Floor Side Door says
Thank you for this recipe! I had to use what was available at the store we shop at just to keep costs down, so we ended up with spinach (which boy, do I prefer raw - it got slimy, fast!) and bow tie pasta. I doubled it and served it for myself, my husband, a friend, and our kids. I loved it and we ended up having enough leftovers for lunch through out the week. Thank you!
Kiersten says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Oddly enough, at the local grocery store here kale is cheaper than spinach. You can fill a big bag with it and it rarely ends up being more than a $1! This works well for me because like you, I'm not a big fan of cooked spinach. 😉
Steph says
I tried this today and was really impressed with the flavors, being that the bulk of this is veggies and skim ricotta! It made 5-6 servings for me and I used whole wheat shells too to up the health factor...thanks for introducing us to this recipe 🙂
Kiersten says
Yay, I'm so glad you liked it--thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Jiwon says
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was GREAT. The only things I did differently were using macaroni instead (shells would have been more fun!) and put in extra garlic. Definitely yielded more than 4 servings for me, which is fine because now I have a yummy meal for lunch this week! Thanks for a wonderful recipe 🙂
Kiersten says
Thanks for the feedback--I'm so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Ilene says
I'm going to try making this however since I'm vegan I'll use tofu in place of the ricotta. I'll let you know how it goes.
Kiersten says
I think that should work. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Tara says
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! This is definitely going to be added as one of my "go to" meals. Thank you so much!
Kiersten says
I'm glad it turned out well for you! I have a lot of pasta bake type dishes on my go-to meal list too. 🙂
Ilene says
I made a vegan version of this yesterday and it came out great. For some reason I can't find the link to the vegan recipe. It had tofu instead of the ricotta. Also, I used nutritional yeast instead of vegan parmesan.
Kiersten says
I'm glad it turned out well! 😀
Caitlin says
I always buy the pre-torn kale from TJ's- would a half-bag be equal to a small bunch or should I throw in the entire thing? (the more kale the better!)
Kiersten says
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I was out of town last week and I haven't had the chance to catch up until now! I think half a bag would be perfect. Really, you don't need to be too precise with a recipe like this. 🙂
Mandy says
I made this for dinner tonight. I used a whole box of whole wheat shells and added more butter to keep it moist. I also added a package of halved cherry tomatoes. It was super super tasty! Especially with the tomatoes. My kids scarfed this and there are plenty of leftovers. Plus it was super easy. I will definitely be making this again.
Kiersten says
Adding tomatoes is a great idea--glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Kim LeMire says
I'm a diebetic so I think I will try with rice Pasta and use baby spinach. what do you think?
Kiersten Frase says
I haven't tested this recipe with spinach, but it should work--I'd just make you drain any liquid from the veggies before adding the pasta since spinach tends to release more water than kale. And the rice pasta shouldn't make a difference at all!
Christine Castaneda says
I am a Kale convert. Been using it in EVERYTHING lately. I think it holds up way better than spinach and it's so good for you too. Saw this recipe and was like "WHOA, I need to make this" so as we speak I am making it. Thank you!!!
Alyson says
I've made this once and I added some slices of veggie sausage. It was so good! I think it would go good with some Gouda on top too. Would this freeze/reheat well? I'd like to make it for my friend when she has her baby.
Kiersten says
I haven't frozen it myself, but I think it would freeze well. Usually when I freeze pasta, I undercook it slightly so it doesn't end up mushy upon reheating.