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These Creamy White Wine Mushroom Stuffed Shells are the perfect baked pasta for cozy November and December nights with family and friends. Spinach and ricotta stuffed shells, creamy buttery béchamel sauce, and golden caramelized mushrooms all come together in this vegetable-focused pasta dish. It’s rich, cheesy, full of wonderful flavors, and so delicious! Top the stuffed shells with fresh thyme before serving for an extra pop of color. This is a great make-ahead dish for Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, and all the upcoming holiday dinner parties.
I say this every year, but in terms of the Thanksgiving menu, I think it’s nice to have a vegetarian main course option that’s just as exciting (if not more so) than the turkey. There are so many people who either don’t eat turkey or just don’t love it enough to get super excited about it on Thanksgiving.
For those people out there (and I know there are a lot of them), provide something extra delicious!
For many years I’d do a yummy vegetable-focused lasagna. But this year, I’ve got something new and delicious…stuffed shells!
I based this recipe on my aunt Katie’s white lasagna that I’ve loved since I was a kid. Her béchamel sauce was the secret, she made A LOT of it so the lasagna was never dry.
These shells are basically her lasagna, but in the form of stuffed shells, and with the addition of a bit of wine (which she would love).
The details Рmake the b̩chamel
Start with the mushrooms. Just cook them up in a bit of butter and add lots of thyme. Then pull them out of the skillet and start making my Aunt Katie’s béchamel.
It’s butter, garlic, basil, and oregano mixed together with flour. You’ll then add milk and a good amount of wine. As the sauce thickens the wine will cook out. Stir in the cheese and season up the sauce with salt and pepper.
Assemble
Now that the sauce is made, the rest is easy. Boil-off the shells, then mix the ricotta cheese with thawed spinach.
Grab a baking dish and spoon some of the béchamel into the bottom. Start stuffing the shells with the ricotta, then place them into the dish. Pour over the remaining béchamel, sprinkle on some cheese, and then finish with the mushrooms. Cover and bake until that cheese is bubbling up and golden…
It’s going to smell delish.
Perfect dinner to entertain with over the next couple of months. You can prepare the dish in advance, keep it fully assembled in the fridge, and then bake before serving. Love dishes like this for holiday entertaining…they make life so easy!
Hoping these stuffed shells are the perfect start to your week! My tip? Test out the recipe this week and then perfect to your liking for Thanksgiving!
Looking for other easy holiday dinners?? Here are my favorites:
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash 4 Cheese Pesto Lasagna
Crispy Prosciutto Cheesy White Lasagna
One Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake
Lastly, if you make these Creamy White Wine Mushroom Stuffed Shells, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy White Wine Mushroom Stuffed Shells
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 693 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter
- 3 cups shiitake or cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups dry white wine or chicken broth
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 pound jumbo pasta shells
- 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded provolone
- 2 (10 ounce packages) frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium pot. Add the mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden. Add the thyme, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook 4-5 minutes, until fragrant. Remove the mushrooms from the skillet. 3. To the skillet, add the reaming 6 tablespoons butter, the garlic, basil, oregano, and cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Add the wine, then the milk. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is smooth. Set the cheese sauce aside.4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and boil the pasta until al dente according to package directions.5. In a bowl combine the ricotta, provolone, and spinach. 6. Spread 1/3 of the cheese sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Working with one pasta shell at a time, spoon 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mix into each shell, placing the filled shell into the baking dish as you go. Sprinkle over 1/2 cup mozzarella, pour the remaining cheese sauce over top. Top with a 1/4 cup of parmesan and then the mushrooms. Cover and bake 25 minutes or until the top has bubbled up. Remove the foil and bake another 15-20 minutes. Serve with fresh thyme.
This was gross, too much wine in the sauce
Hi Matt! I’m really sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Is there anything else I can do to help? xT
Turned out great! Everyone loved it
I really liked these! The sauce and mushrooms were awesome. I was going to make them Christmas Eve, then New Year’s Eve, but only got around to it the other night. It was easy enough to put together but took a little bit longer given my experience level. I’ll also cook shells maybe only halfway since a good number fell apart boiling to the packages al dente directions. I’ll be making these again, for a crowd next time.
Thank you sooo much for trying out this recipe! Hope your New Year is off to an awesome start! xT
This was delicious! I am not much of a cook but I received many compliments on this one. Thank you!
Hi there! Thank you soooo much for trying out this recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 xT
We made this recipe a few weeks ago and we were so disappointed. It looked amazing and presented well and we followed the recipe to a T
flavour was bland. needed way more garlic and salt and pepper, basil
We felt there was too much spinach
the provolone cheese was too forward , at least we think it was that cheese.
Some flavour was sticking out that we could not figure out.
Less wine maybe or boiled off longer
We made it for friends for a dinner party and overall , not a hit.
Hi Deb! I’m really sorry that this recipe wasn’t enjoyed! I do appreciate the feedback, thank you for giving the recipe try! xT
This recipe was a little disappointing, but I think some tweaks could make it great! The idea is so good.
I would recommend to 1) simmer the butter with a sprig of thyme and a bay leaf, 2) use 1 cup of wine (max) and 1 cup of broth or stock, 3) boil the sauce for 3 min to cook off the alcohol, 4) use 1/2 the amount of mozzarella called for in the sauce, 5) consider replacing Provolone with Gruyère in the shell filling, 6) mix some Gruyère in with the mozzarella for the cheesy layer.
I also swapped all the dry ingredients for fresh ones (except oregano) which I think worked well. Better Than Bouillon is the best when it comes to stock and truly makes everything better, so I recommend using that as well.
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! I appreciate the feedback! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
Unfortunately, my whole family and I were very disappointed with this meal after I spent a lot of money on the ingredients and prepared it for our Christmas Eve dinner. It looks delicious, but lacked in flavor and richness.
Hi Kate! I am really sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for giving it a try! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
I made this for Christmas Eve and it was a big hit! So delicious! I just made it again and it went quickly
Thank you SO much Jenna! xT
I’ve made this recipe multiple years in a row for Christmas as it’s a fan favorite and is always requested. Would I still cook this recipe the same if I use manicotti instead of shells?
Yep, manicotti should work super well with this! xT
I want to make this for Christmas Day. Can I assemble this before hand and keep it in the refrigerator? If so, for how long?
Hi Kara! Yes, you could definitely make a day or so before serving! xT
Having made hundreds of HBH recipes, and all have been perfect, I was excited to try this, but also saw more varied reviews. So taking in some of the feedback, I did the following:
1) I bought two boxes of shells, but had a ton of excess, so probably could just do w/ 1 12oz box for my 9×13.
2) I doubled the mushrooms, which I would do again.
3) I swapped fontina for 1/2 of the provolone because it was on hand, but it did give it more flavor
4) I’d salt & pepper the ricotta/spinach mixture, as you went, didn’t want to oversalt because of all the cheese, but it did need more salt & pepper IMO after making the recipe as originally intended. Or even salted butter maybe.
5) Doubled garlic, I’d actually triple next time. Overall, would make again w/ same tweaks — have had back to back success w/ butternut squash white lasagna last week too.
Thank you so much for all of this feedback Andrea! I really appreciate it 🙂 xT
I made a test batch the other day as we are planning on this being the vegetarian option to go with a pork roast for Christmas dinner. My family loved it and I have to say, just like lasagna, it is even better the next day. One thing I would note is that the recipe instructs to start the sauce in a medium pot. It later, refers to it as a skillet. I would strongly recommend a large skillet to start rather than a medium pot to give the mushrooms more space and in the reduction of the wine or stock.
Thank you so much Mary! So glad you enjoyed these stuffed shells! xT
I wasn’t very impressed for how good it looks. I don’t think I’ll make it again.
I wanted to love this dish.
Hey Stacey! I am so sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe as much as you hoped to! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
I’m going to make this and freeze it to have on Christmas Eve. Is it ok to freeze and if so should I freeze it cooked or uncooked?
Hi there! I would probably freeze it uncooked! 🙂 xT
This was a huge hit last year as a veg option for Christmas dinner. Making it again this year.
It was ok. The flavors didn’t seem to mesh very well. I think the the recipe could use more work. I was expecting more like the mushroom brie chicken recipe, but it was just “eh”.
Thanks for the feedback Leslie! xT
May I ask what temp to cook at?
Hi Kristina! This dish should be baked at 350 🙂 xT
This looks great! I want make it for Christmas dinner as a vegetarian option. I’d like to use fresh spinach – do you think this would work as well as the froze ? If so, what quantity would you suggest?
Hi Kathleen! Yes, you can use the same quantity as fresh! xT