These vegetarian stuffed shells are filled with creamy ricotta cheese, savory cremini mushrooms, and Swiss chard. Yum!
It's always good to try to improve and be a better person and whatnot, but I think when you reach your 30s, you start to give up on that a little bit and accept that in some areas, you're just always going to fall short.
And that's okay! Sometimes giving up is liberating. Like on a Saturday, when you're like, "I'm not going out today; I'm wearing sweatpants!" Those are the best days, aren't they?
So now, instead of intending to be better about the whole Christmas thing every year and then failing, I'm okay with admitting that I am the worst at prepping for Christmas.
There, I said it! I forget to send holiday cards, I go shopping at the last minute, and I plan my menu like two hours before guests arrive. I do have a pine-scented candle that I like to light, though. It smells like the holidays all up in here!
So I'm going to admit to you now, December is not going to be all holiday recipes all the time on my blog. But this Mushroom and Chard Stuffed Shells recipe is kind of a holiday recipe. My family usually has stuffed shells for Christmas. So there you go!
About these Vegetarian Stuffed Shells
Vegetarian stuffed shells are usually stuffed with either cheese alone or cheese and spinach, but I thought Swiss chard, mushrooms, and ricotta cheese would be a good way to switch things up. And it was!
Adding veggies makes the cheese filling feel a bit less rich and mushrooms make everything delicious. While these make a great vegetarian option for holiday meals, they're still perfect for a weeknight dinner too. And bonus: they freeze well!
And if you're looking for a vegan friendly main dish, don't miss these butternut squash stuffed shells as well. Yummmmy.
More Tasty Recipes
If you love these vegetarian stuffed shells, be sure to check out these other delicious recipes:
- Vegan Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Dairy Free Ricotta
- Three Cheese Stuffed Shells
- Homemade Ravioli with Tofu and Spinach
While you're here don't forget to check out our new Vegan Christmas Cookbook. It's packed with all my favorite tried and true recipes for a plant based holiday feast!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1 bunch Swiss chard about 8 ounces, stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce divided, store bought or homemade
- 16 jumbo pasta shells cooked according to package directions
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for about 4 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Stir in the chard and heat until wilted, 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mushrooms and chard to a large bowl; discard any leftover liquid. Stir in the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Taste the filling and add more salt and pepper if desired, then fold in the egg.
- Spread ¾ cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a medium baking dish that's been sprayed with an oil mister (or cooking spray if you don't have a mister). Fill the pasta shells with the ricotta mixture and place them in the baking dish. Once all the shells are filled, spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the top, then sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes; remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes more, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Let the shells sit for 5 minutes before serving.
steph@stephsbitebybite says
Ha ha!! Kats and Kardashians 🙂 UUmmm, so this recipe is going on my menu list. I need this comfort food in my belly!
Kiersten says
Yay! I hope you like them if you make them!
Syu says
Sounds and looks delicious! But I believe parmesan cheese is made with rennet, and therefore isn't vegetarian. :/
Kiersten says
That isn't true--there are vegetarian Parmesan cheeses available. This is the one that I use: http://www.organicvalley.coop/products/cheese/parmesan/parmesan-shredded-4-oz/
Mallory @ Because I Like Chocolate says
Pinned! These look so good!
Kiersten says
Thanks for the pin!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
i still cant believe its their Christmas card. On a side note, I will always take different variation of stuffed shells 🙂
Kiersten says
Me too--I can never say no to stuffed shells!
Lilli says
So the shells get cooked completely before they are stuffed and baked yeah?
Kiersten says
Yes, they are cooked according to the package instructions. Different brands may have slightly different cooking times.
dishing up the dirt says
I'm horrible at the holidays. Honestly, I hate the pressure of gifts, cards, and all that nonsense. I'd rather cook than go holiday shopping any day. These stuffed shells sound amazing!
Kiersten says
I feel the same way! I would love to just opt out of the whole gift thing altogether--it's so much pressure!
Anna (Hidden Ponies) says
I love the holidays but do all my holiday cooking/baking generally the week before so otherwise it's dinner as usual 🙂 Love these stuffed shells - I have to say, stuffed shells are my absolute favourite vegetarian dinner (followed a close second by spanakopita).
Kiersten says
I always think that I'll make dough in advance and then bake it right before Christmas. But it usually ends up with me, frantically making dough and baking for 15 hours straight the day before Christmas Eve.
Mandy says
It's a stressful time of the year, so I may be losing my mind, but for the past week or so I haven't been able to find the hadny-dandy Pinterest button on or near your recipes.
Is it just me or did it poof for everyone?
Kiersten says
I'm sorry! There's a Pinterest button at the bottom of all of my posts now. The old one that I had stopped working and I'm still trying to find a good substitute. I'm going to be adding the buttons that appear when you mouseover images soon, so hopefully that will make things a little more convenient!
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
I'm a softy when it comes to stuffed shells. If I'm not careful, I could eat the entire pan by myself. I love that you filled these with 'shrooms and chard. Psht, I always have good intentions on supply friends and family with homemade gifts each year, but I always end up failing. I said "no" to myself this year. Love your photoshop skills.
Kiersten says
I do the same thing with the homemade gifts every year. The same thing! I still have all of the supplies for last year's failed gifts sitting in a cabinet somewhere...
Kathryn says
Cats + Kardashians = totally epic.
Kiersten says
I am easily amused.
Nichole | Green Cuisine Queen says
My mouth is watering! I don't like when shells or calzones or any other italian-stuffed dinner is stuffed with only cheese. The mushrooms I'm sure give it more texture and you could even stuff more veggies in there! Yum!
Kiersten says
I feel the same way! Calzones can just be TOO much if they're all cheese, no veggies.
Grace @ Earthy Feast says
Kiersten, you're the coolest! I love your Kardashian Kitty Christmas Card! The stuffed shells look pretty awesome too. 🙂
Kiersten says
I know that by "coolest," you meant "saddest." 😉
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
We always have stuffed shells at Christmas too! These looks all kinds of amazing. I think it's perfectly acceptable to be bad at Christmas when you're an incredible cook. That totally makes up for it!
Kiersten says
That's so funny--I guess they must be a Christmas thing then? 🙂
Joanne says
I am not great at Christmas either, though I find that I'm either really motivated or really not motivated. Currently in the latter category. We always have lasagna on Christmas, which isnt' really a far cry from stuffed shells! Might be worth mixing it up this year.
Kiersten says
Lasagna is definitely a good Christmas dinner! My family is usually all about casseroles, but now that half of my family went vegan in the past year, I have no idea what this Christmas will be like...
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I too enjoy good stuffed shells! The cheesy chard filling looks divine, Kiersten.
Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
That picture is hilarious. Hi-lar-ious! SOOOOO funny! My favorite is the one laying on little Mason. It looks like the cat knocked him over!
I love stuffed shells - but only do the traditional cheese stuffed. Loving the chard and mushrooms addition - I've done spinach and mushrooms in lasagna, why not in shells!?! You're so smart!!!
I apparently have totally given up at 34 years old - there are just some days during the week (and some Saturdays!) that yoga pants are acceptable to me. Even if I have to run errands. I know, I hang my head in shame. But I've admitted it … and that's the first step, right??
Kiersten says
Yeah, I put my cat Frida on top of Khloe there--ha! And spinach is so good in stuffed shells. Definitely throw some greens in your next batch! 😀
PS - Yoga pants are okay because there's always that question in people's minds--"Is she lazy? Or is she going to go workout?" People don't know! It could be either! It's when you start wearing pajama pants all day that you have to worry.
Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes says
Ha! Your cat placement is even more fabulous than I thought! This was literally the last thing I saw before falling asleep; surprised I didn't have cat dreams. This dish looks SO delicious especially the stuffed shells...:) yum!
Kiersten says
I still wish I could have figured out a way to replace the Kardashians with cats! Well, I replaced Khloe at least, so there's that. 🙂
Daniela @ FoodrecipesHQ says
I can't find words to tell you how inspiration your blog is for me! This is a must try recipe, shame on me I haven't cooked shell pasta before!
Kiersten says
Aw, thank you! And you should definitely make stuffed shells--I think my mom made them a few times a month when I was growing up! They're a classic. 😉
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Oh I'm absolutely adding mushrooms the next time I make stuffed shells - brilliant!
Genevieve says
I feel like I'm actually doing pretty good with Christmas stuff this year - I'm making good progress on my shopping and decorated...I do feel behind in coming up with Christmas recipes and baking though! Pasta may seem like an non-traditional Christmas meal at first, but at least the red, white and green colors are festive!
Kiersten says
Yeah, as soon as Christmas is over, it seems like the blog world is all Christmas, all the time! It can make you feel pretty inadequate! 🙂
Grace @ FoodFitnessFreshAir says
I'm totally slacking on Christmas this year. Some (er...all of my) shopping is in store for this weekend. I love the holiday spirit of this time of year, but I haven't even made Christmas cookies yet! Eeeek.
This looks divine. I love anything stuffed with mushrooms and greens!
Kiersten says
I'm still debating about whether I'm going to do the cookie thing this year. On the one hand: COOKIES! On the other hand: it's so much work.
Shaina says
Stuffed shells have long been a favorite of mine, one that I make far too infrequently. I love the cremini mushrooms and chard in this version.
Kiersten says
I think I make them maybe once or twice a year--not nearly enough!
Mushrooms Canada says
I can NOT wait to try this version of one of my all-time favourite dishes!! Crimini mushrooms add such great texture and flavour to a meal. Thanks for sharing!!
-Shannon
Kiersten says
Stuffed shells are one of my favorites too!
Jeanette |Jeanette's Healthy Living says
I have to say I haven't even stepped into a store yet - just been internet shopping, so much faster and easier. Love this vegetarian stuffed shell recipe - Swiss chard is a veggie I get lots of during the summer, but not so much in the winter, although I'm not sure why that is other than the fact that my CSA share stops in October. Wising you a low-key no-fuss Holiday!
Kiersten says
What did we do before internet shopping?! I try to do that as much as possible too. Although sometimes I wait too long and have no choice but braving the stores on Christmas Eve. :/
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective says
kiersten, i could die a happy woman after eating this. so cozy!