Welcoming a new baby into the world is an extraordinary and transformative experience for any mother. As the focus naturally shifts towards the little one, it's crucial not to overlook the needs of the new mother herself, especially when it comes to nutrition. Meal prep, often underestimated and undervalued, plays a vital role in ensuring the health and nourishment of the postpartum mom and today we’re talking about and prepping stuffed shells with spinach and ricotta cheese!

I can’t explain why but I love the variety of stuffed shells over lasagna. Maybe it’s because it’s a less obvious choice for meal prep or because I can add more veggies into my family’s meals but either way they are delicious and a relatively quick and easy dish to prep and store for later!

This dish is great because it stores well in the fridge for later in the week or in the freezer. It also uses jar-bought sauce and only a handful of ingredients. If you haven’t been able to tell from previous meal-prep posts, I am a huge believer in measuring with your heart ;) I often use whatever I have on hand in recipes and my husband jokes that I am the queen of the pantry clean out. Stuffed shells is such a versatile recipe and really takes to so many variations of ingredients.

Ricotta & Spinach Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

½ of a 12oz box of jumbo shells- do not be like me and boil the whole box

1 24oz jar of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce

~1 ½ cups (from the large container) or 1 15oz container of whole milk ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

¼ cup fresh parsley or basil

1 10oz package of frozen spinach, thawed

½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

½ cup shredded mozarella

salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

1. If baking now, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Cook the jumbo shells in a large pot of salted and boiling water for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside while you mix the filling.

3. Using your hands, squeeze the thawed spinach out into a large mixing bowl.

4. To the spinach, add the ricotta, egg, garlic powder, oregano, fresh parsley/basil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and pepper and mix well.

5. Using a large spoon, fill the shells with the ricotta/spinach mixture.

6. In a 9x13 pan, pour enough sauce to coat the bottom of the dish.

7. Place the filled shells seam-side up and cover with remaining sauce and shredded mozzarella. PRO TIP: add a tiny bit of the pasta cooking liquid to the jar, close, and shake to get all the sauce off the sides. This liquid can be poured over the prepared dish and acts as a thickener + stretches the sauce a bit.

8. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees.*

   preparation notes

   *if freezing for later, be sure to take the dish out of the freezer the night before or morning that you want to bake it. When I do this, I always put the dish into the oven as it pre-heats so the dish has time to warm up and is less likely to break due to the severe change in temperature.

Andrea Yates at Caring for You Doula is a postpartum doula based in Hoboken, NJ, serving families across northern NJ- Hudson, Essex, Bergen, and Union Counties. She is passionate about nutrition for new moms, the postpartum period, and helping parents navigate this time with confidence and ease. Contact her today to set up a free consultation on how she can help care for you and your family during this amazing time.