These pumpkin ricotta stuffed shells are a savory comfort dish featuring tender shell pasta filled with a creamy, nutmeg-scented pumpkin and baked in a velvety sauce until golden and bubbly.
Pasta is a dinner of choice for the entire family. Easy to make, so many variations and perfect to scale up or down. We love this Instant pot red sauce pasta, creamy pumpkin sauce pasta and all pastas made with pesto sauce.
And while there are so many pasta shapes like penne, ziti and macaroni; I often make manicotti, stuffed shells and lasagna. These baked pasta dinners are so versatile and we can also make it into sides. These have elements that can be prepped ahead of time and make a wholesome meal.
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What are Stuffed Shells
Stuffed shells are a timeless Italian-American comfort meal consisting of jumbo pasta shells, varied fillings and a creamy sauce. A spicy marinara sauce, pesto, red curry or garlic based white sauce makes the dish amazing.
This recipe can be made in so many different ways just by changing the filling or sauce. And with the different variations; the possibilities are endless.
These make cozy dinners and perfect sides. And when you stuff them with squashes like pumpkin, butternut or even spaghetti squash; the recipe is also great for festive dinners.
Why this recipe works
- These pumpkin ricotta stuffed shells make a cozy and comforting Fall dinner.
- The recipe is surprisingly easy to put together.
- There are endless options to customize the recipe.
- The contrast in flavors of the chewy shells, rich filling and smooth sauce makes the best recipe.
- The unique shape of the shell acts as a perfect vessel to hold all the filling well.
- Most of the recipe can be made ahead of time.
- These stuffed shells scale up and down super easily!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Jumbo Shells: The starting point is definitely the jumbo shells. They are available at most grocery stores (though quite a few do not carry them). These shells can be moderately filled or over filled based on how you like the pasta to filling ratio. They have to be cooked before baking and ideally they should be cooked al-dente in salted water. Over cooking them while boiling will lead to a mushy and disintegrated final dish for sure.
- Pumpkin Purée: This is another star of the recipe. Whether you are using canned or fresh purée, make sure you use enough to fill all the shells. I prefer using canned for a faster recipe. Use 100% pure pumpkin and not the pie filling can.
- Ricotta Cheese: The smoothness of ricotta is perfect to complement the pumpkin. However, paneer or a mix of cheeses works. Use grated tofu for a Vegan version.
- Seasonings: A mix of fresh sage, salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg makes the filling super flavorful. Try not to skip the nutmeg for the perfect Fall flavor. Add any other dried herb if you like. Basil, oregano or chili flakes work well.
- Sauce Ingredients: The sauce is primarily a garlic based Alfredo sauce. We use all purpose flour, milk and unsalted butter for the base. Adding garlic, fresh sage, salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg makes the sauce flavorful. Add more herbs, some shredded cheese or even whipping cream makes the sauce even more rich.
See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.
How to make this recipe
1- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a generous amount of salt. Drop the pasta shells.
2- Cook these till al-dente. Try not to mix them too much to avoid breakage. Drain and set aside. Reserve some water to use later in the sauce.
3- In a bowl add pumpkin purée, ricotta cheese, 2-3 torn sage leaves, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ pepper and ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg.
4- Fold the ingredients together till it makes a smooth mixture. Fill the shells with the mixture and set aside.
5- In a pan heat unsalted butter. Add minced garlic and 2-3 sage leaves.
6- Once the garlic is fragrant add the all purpose flour.
7- Cook the flour for 4-5 minutes till the flour turns light yellow. Stir well so the garlic does not burn.
8- Add milk and ¼ cup leftover pasta water mix well. Let the sauce thicken for a few minutes.
9- Next add the remaining nutmeg powder, salt and pepper.
10- Let the sauce bubble for a minute or two. Turn down the flame.
11- In an oven safe pan or tray add ¾ sauce.
12- Arrange the stuffed shells and pour the remaining sauce. Scatter a couple of sage leaves.
13- Bake the stuffed shells for 20-25 minutes till the sauce starts to bubble and the pasta has crisp edges.
14- Remove and serve warm with some toasted bread.
Expert Tips and Notes
- Drain the pumpkin purée: If the pumpkin purée feels too wet, simply drain using a fine mesh strainer or cook it for a few minutes till dry. This extra step helps keeing the filling dry and not soupy.
- Make the filling dry: The number one enemy of baked pasta is moisture. So avoid this at all costs. Drain the ricotta or use some binding agent like bread crumbs if the mix feels too wet. Do not continue till the filling is perfect in texture.
- Use freshly grated nutmeg: Grate a fresh nutmeg into the filling and sauce instead of using the packaged powder. Not only does it add more depth and flavor; it is also less expensive. Nutmeg pods stay well for 3-4 years and can be used for so many dishes.
- Do NOT over bake the shells: Bake the shells till cooked and the sauce bubbly. Over baking will result in a dry dish and the shells tends to get crisp and hard edges too. Also, to reheat the pasta, simply use a low temperature oven or microwave. Over heating will make the dish dry too.
- Swap the sauce: The recipe works really well with a variety of sauces. Swap the garlic sauce with a tomato based sauce for a wholesome version. Moreover, a creamy pesto sauce will work really well too. Or simply use a coconut milk based sauce and bake the shells.
Serving and Storage
Once ready these pumpkin ricotta stuffed shells, it can be served in so many ways. Given how indulgent it is, it works as a great side or main dish. Either way, it is sure to be loved by everyone.
I like to pair this creamy dish with crispy Brussels sprouts, air fried cauliflower or cream cheese wontons. Moreover, this is so good with creamy celery soup, classic bruschetta or spinach artichoke cups.
This recipe is easy to make ahead of time. The sauce can be prepared 2-3 days ahead of time and the filling 1-2 days before. On the day of serving simply boil the shells, assemble the pumpkin ricotta stuffed shells and bake till ready to serve.
Leftovers stay well for 3-4 days. Simply pop into a preheated oven and bake them at 300ºF (150ºC) for 15 to 20 minutes. This will warm the dish sufficiently.
Recipe FAQs
Yes certainly! Roast a fresh pumpkin, puree it smooth and, most importantly, drain it. Fresh pumpkin is much more watery than canned, so let it sit in a fine-mesh strainer for 30 minutes to avoid a soggy filling.
The recipe is perfect for many kinds of pasta shapes. These will be best with the filling and the sauce: Manicotti tubes, Lasagna (just layer the pumpkin mixture with noodles) or Cannelloni (using crepes or pasta sheets).
A Vegan version is easy to make. Simply swap the ricotta with tofu, milk with non-dairy milk and unsalted butter with non-dairy butter or Olive oil. The recipe will turn to an indulgent Vegan one.
Pasta is like a sponge. If you don't use enough sauce, the shells will soak it all up during the bake. Always use about 20% more sauce than you think you need.
More Pumpkin Recipes to try
Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments whilst you are there, thanks!
Pumpkin Ricotta stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 14 jumbo shell pasta
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 1½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoon all purpose flour
- 3-4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 5-6 fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a generous amount of salt. Drop the pasta shells.14 jumbo shell pasta
- Cook these till al-dente. Try not to mix them too much to avoid breakage. Drain and set aside. Reserve some water to use later in the sauce.
- In a bowl add pumpkin purée, ricotta cheese, 2-3 torn sage leaves, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ pepper and ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg.½ cup pumpkin purée , ½ cup ricotta cheese , 5-6 fresh sage, 1 teaspoon salt , 1 teaspoon ground pepper , ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- Fold the ingredients together till it makes a smooth mixture. Fill the shells with the mixture and set aside.
- In a pan heat unsalted butter. Add minced garlic and 2-3 sage leaves.2 tablespoon unsalted butter , 3-4 cloves garlic
- Once the garlic is fragrant add the all purpose flour.2 teaspoon all purpose flour
- Cook the flour for 4-5 minutes till the flour turns light yellow. Stir well so the garlic does not burn.
- Add milk and ¼ cup leftover pasta water mix well. Let the sauce thicken for a few minutes.1½ cup milk
- Next add the remaining nutmeg powder, salt and pepper.
- Let the sauce bubble for a minute or two. Turn down the flame.
- In an oven safe pan or tray add ¾ sauce.
- Arrange the stuffed shells and pour the remaining sauce. Scatter a couple of sage leaves.
- Bake the stuffed shells for 20-25 minutes till the sauce starts to bubble and the pasta has crisp edges.
- Remove and serve warm with some toasted bread.
Notes
- Drain the pumpkin purée: If the pumpkin purée feels too wet, simply drain using a fine mesh strainer or cook it for a few minutes till dry. This extra step helps keeing the filling dry and not soupy.
- Make the filling dry: The number one enemy of baked pasta is moisture. So avoid this at all costs. Drain the ricotta or use some binding agent like bread crumbs if the mix feels too wet. Do not continue till the filling is perfect in texture.
- Use freshly grated nutmeg: Grate a fresh nutmeg into the filling and sauce instead of using the packaged powder. Not only does it add more depth and flavor; it is also less expensive. Nutmeg pods stay well for 3-4 years and can be used for so many dishes.
- Do NOT over bake the shells: Bake the shells till cooked and the sauce bubbly. Over baking will result in a dry dish and the shells tends to get crisp and hard edges too. Also, to reheat the pasta, simply use a low temperature oven or microwave. Over heating will make the dish dry too.
- Swap the sauce: The recipe works really well with a variety of sauces. Swap the garlic sauce with a tomato based sauce for a wholesome version. Moreover, a creamy pesto sauce will work really well too. Or simply use a coconut milk based sauce and bake the shells.
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