Festive Christmas Stuffed Pasta (Printable)

Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, spinach, mozzarella, and cranberries, baked in savory tomato sauce.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta & Filling

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→ Sauce

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→ Garnish

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# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F.
02 - Cook the pasta shells in salted boiling water until al dente; drain and set aside on a kitchen towel to cool.
03 - In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until softened. Add passata or marinara sauce, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.
04 - In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, mozzarella, Parmesan, chopped cranberries, egg, nutmeg, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well until fully incorporated.
05 - Spread half the tomato sauce on the bottom of a large ovenproof baking dish.
06 - Fill each pasta shell with the ricotta mixture using a spoon. Arrange the filled shells in the dish in a single layer.
07 - Pour remaining sauce over the shells and sprinkle extra Parmesan on top.
08 - Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
09 - Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes until golden and bubbling.
10 - Garnish with fresh basil leaves before serving.

# Expert Advice:

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  • The cranberries create these bursts of sweet-tart brightness that cut through all that rich cheese
  • Everything happens in one baking dish, which means less cleanup when you are already exhausted from holiday prep
  • The colors look absolutely stunning on a Christmas table red sauce, green flecks from spinach, those ruby cranberry surprises
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  • Undercook your pasta shells by 2-3 minutes because they will finish cooking in the sauce, and nobody wants mushy stuffed pasta
  • Let the filling sit for 10 minutes before stuffing if the ricotta seems too loose, or the shells will be difficult to fill
  • The sauce should not be too thick or the shells will absorb it all and become dry during baking
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  • Use a piping bag or zip-top bag with the corner snipped off to fill the shells quickly and neatly
  • Position the shells opening-side up in the baking dish so the filling does not spill out during baking

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