Need to impress your friends with a delicious dinner? Look no further than these vegan stuffed shells! Filled with an easy cashew and almond ricotta, fresh kale, basil, this is a flavorful vegan dinner that is incredibly simple to make.
Prepare the ricotta if you haven't already done so. (Takes about 5 minutes)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the shells according to package instructions. You want to "par bake" the shells because they will continue cooking in the oven. This is about 9-10 minutes of cooking depending on the brand, but the box should have an exact time.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the pasta is cooking, de-stem the kale and chop into very fine pieces. You can also use chopped spinach if you prefer.
Chop the basil and fold both the kale and basil into the ricotta and carefully mix until well combined.
To the bottom of a baking dish, add either 1 batch of my pomodoro sauce or 1 full jar of marinara sauce and spread evenly.
Add the ricotta/kale mixture to the shells, using about 1-2 tablespoons to fill them up.
Once the ricotta is gone, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and add to the oven for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, allowing the sauce to get a bit bubbly.
Once done, let cool for a few minutes and then top with more fresh basil and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
1 batch of the ricotta will make enough to fill about 16 jumbo shells. I was able to fit this into a 7x10 baking dish. You can double the ricotta and make more shells with a large pan as needed.Once prepared, this recipe will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days. Reheat in the oven for best results.You can use either fresh or frozen kale for this recipe.