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Easy One Pot Spinach Broccoli Ricotta Stuffed Shells: Jumbo pasta shells and broccoli are boiled together until perfectly al dente. Then, with milk and a handful of melty cheeses and creamy ricotta, everything comes together into a rich, cheesy filling—no extra steps needed. Fresh basil and a touch of lemon zest add brightness and flavor. It’s simple, satisfying, and sure to become a regular in your weeknight dinner rotation. Totally delicious!
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When I was in New York, I enjoyed one of the yummiest baked pastas. It was a lucious individual serving of baked stuffed shells in the cheesiest mascarpone truffle sauce. If you’re in New York, try the baked shells from Crane Club for sure.
While I was inspired by that wonderful meal, I wanted to create my own variation with lighter, springtime flavors. And as much as I love a hint of truffle, it can be a bit pricey—so I swapped it out for bright lemon zest and fresh broccoli instead! It’s such a delicious combo, and honestly, one you can enjoy any time of year.
What I really loved were the jumbo stuffed shells—and just how much cheesy sauce they were baked in. If there was ever a time to use the word divine, it’s to describe that dish. Delish!
I did my best to recreate it as an easy, one-pot pasta with lots of cheesy sauce and an “unstuffed,” but honestly still stuffed, shell situation. With three cheeses and a few generous handfuls of chopped broccoli, the shells practically stuff themselves. I added a little kick with some chipotle, but cayenne or chili flakes work just as well if that’s more your thing!
We loved this easy, peasy, one pot pasta! It will not let you down!
Let’s get into the details
Here are the ingredients:
- Jumbo pasta shells
- Broccoli
- Whole milk or heavy cream
- Spicy cheddar or white cheddar cheese
- Provolone cheese
- Whole milk ricotta cheese
- Baby spinach
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
- Chipotle chili powder – or use chili flakes for some added spice
- Fresh basil
- Lemon zest
- Black pepper
Here are the steps
Step 1: boil the jumbo shells and broccoli
Use a pot large enough to hold both the jumbo shells and the broccoli. Fill it with about 4 cups of water.
Once the water has come to a boil, add the shells and the broccoli. Boil together until al dente, do not drain the pasta.
The water in the pot will help create the cheese sauce, along with the cheeses and ricotta cheese.
Step 2: stir in all the remaining ingredients
Now add the cream or milk. This will create the cream sauce. Then for the cheeses, I love using a mix. My favorite blend for this pasta is a spicy rattlesnake cheddar cheese, or you can use a sharp white cheddar if you prefer. Then something super melty like provolone, or another option could be Havarti. Just some kind of mix with rich flavors.
The ricotta is the key here. The pasta I enjoyed used mascarpone, which would be a wonderful substitute. You could even use cream cheese! But I always have ricotta in the fridge, so that’s what I used to make this dish. Add the spinach now too.
Step 3: seasonings
To season, I like to use garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and chipotle chili powder. As I mentioned above, you can also use chili flakes or cayenne for some extra heat. The spices give the pasta a nice balance of flavor.
And then lots of fresh basil and lemon zest. The lemon is so yummy with the ricotta cheese.
And once you add the basil and lemon zest – ah, the pasta will immediately smell so good!
Step 4: serve
Serve the unstuffed but stuffed jumbo shells directly out of the pot, then top with fresh basil and lemon,
I added simple roasted chicken to balance the dish. Of course, a big salad is a wonderful option, too! Enjoy!
Looking for other one-pot recipes? Here are my favorites:
French Onion Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
One Skillet White Chicken Chili Bake
Healthier Homemade One Pot Hamburger Helper
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Lastly, if you make this one pot Spinach Broccoli Ricotta 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!
One Pot Spinach Broccoli Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1 pound jumbo pasta shells
- 3 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 cup heavy cream or whole milk
- 2 cups shredded spicy cheddar or white cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone
- 4 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese, (cream cheese or mascarpone)
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon zest
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1. In a large pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, the pasta, and broccoli. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Do not drain the water.2. Stir in the milk. Add the cheeses, spinach, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and chipotle, and stir until melted and creamy. Remove from the heat. Stir in the basil and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. If the sauce feels thick, add ¼ cup of milk to thin.3. Divide the pasta and broccoli between bowls. Top with basil and lemon.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I love a good pasta recipe, and this was next-level good! ❤️
Hi Jana,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a winner! Have the best weekend:)
Came *out. (Autocorrect 🙄)
This came pity beautifully for me. Great recipe! Thanks for a lovely pasta dish. Sharon seems invested in defending people being nasty. Very telling.
Hey Maria,
Happy Friday!! Thank you for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a winner!
This dish was a miss. It was pretty bland overall and the chipotle and lemon seemed out of place. The amount of cream and cheese could have probably been halved and this would have still been plenty rich.
Hi Mona,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Have a nice weekend!
My question/comment just got deleted when the site crashed. Dish was too heavy. Adding broth and extra herbs/lemon to liven it up didn’t help. Very thick and gloppy.
Hi Gwen,
So very sorry to hear this. Thanks for trying this dish and your feedback.
This was really delicious and definitely light and springy! Will certainly make again. Oh, when you have naysayers that pop in daily just to leave 1-star reviews and snarky remarks in hopes of lowering your ratings, you don’t have to publish those. They don’t contribute anything useful.
Hi Stella,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it!
Hey Stella, it’s ok for people to not rate every recipe as 5 stars, especially when it didn’t turn out for them! Hope this helps!!
Hey Sharon, there’s a difference between a recipe “not turning out” and deliberate personal attacks. Hope this helps!
Needed more than 4 cups of water and longer cooking time. My shells were not cooked. I had to keep adding milk which then diluted the cheesy flavor. So this wasn’t a hit for me.
Hi Dana,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you had some issues. My guess is your heat was slightly too high causing the water to cook off faster.
Is this able to be frozen?
Hi Jane,
I would freeze after the recipe has been fully completed. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Is that what you did with all the test pasta you made? Did it turn out ok once thawed?
I did not have to freeze any of the pasta that I made, but if I did, that’s how I would do it:)
This was not “light or springtime” to me simply because it has a bit of lemon. It felt very heavy to me and a bland recipe overall.
Hi Steven,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed!
Made this for dinner tonight…we all loved it! 😋
Hey Lisa,
Awesome! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xx
Could I boil manicotti and broccoli and remove the manicotti from water before making the creamy sauce? And maybe stuff the pasta with a mix of ??? Meat or veggies??
Hi Theresa,
If you want more of a traditional stuffed shells recipe, I would recommend trying one of these:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/pesto-cheese-stuffed-shells/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/creamy-white-wine-mushroom-stuffed-shells/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/tomato-basil-pasta-shells/
I hope this helps! xx
More of a glorified Mac & cheese than unstuffed/stuffed shells. I gave it a try, but the end result was disappointing.
Hi Richard,
Sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed. Was there something specific that went wrong or something that I could help with? Please let me know!
I wanted to trust the recipe but this was really bland, fresh garlic would have maybe helped. The chipotle chili powder with the lemon didn’t work at all. Veggies were all really overcooked by the end. A cup of heavy cream plus 4 cups of cheese was just way too rich. The large shells just made it hard to eat, it wasn’t anything like eating stuffed shells.
Hi Emily,
Thanks for trying this dish and your comment, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed!
How were you able to create and test this in less than a week?
Hi Barbara,
I tested this 4 times over the course of 2 days. Lots of pasta! Haha! Hope that clarifies things for you. Let me know if you have other questions!! And enjoy the pasta!
This recipe sounds interesting, but I am curious how it could be thoroughly tested when you mentioned that you just visited this restaurant for the first time a week ago. Could you please provide some insight? Thank you!!
Hey Scott! Of course! Tested this 4 times over the course of 2 days. Lots of pasta! Haha! Hope that clarifies things for you. Let me know if you have other questions!! And enjoy the pasta!
What were some of the things you changed from trial to trial?
Hey there! I didn’t really have many changes trial to trial! I will say that the spinach was a last minute addition that I think really benefited the recipe! Hope you enjoy the pasta!
Maybe a silly question since I’m not a chef, but if you don’t make any changes when testing a recipe why even bother making it 4 times? And if you didn’t freeze 4 batches of pasta who ate all that? I hate to think all that food got wasted.
Hi Helen,
It depends on the recipe, but this recipe was very consistently turning out well for me and only needed to be tested a few times. My family ate the pasta:)
It’s refreshing to see a recipe inspired by a recent experience you had! It’s a nice change from all the childhood-inspired chicken and rice, tacos, or a dish your brother told you about. I hope you’ll continue creating dishes based on your present-day life.
Thanks so much, Deb! Let me know if you give this dish a try, I hope you love it! xx
When do you add spinach?
Hi Beth,
The spinach is added in step 2. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe!