These lightened-up baked pasta shells are a family favorite. Stuffed with beef, sun dried tomatoes and spinach for extra flavor and nutrients.
Baked Pasta Shells with Beef, Sundried Tomatoes & Spinach Recipe
I had a bit of an unpleasant surprise last week. Being a food blogger means that I’m constantly thinking about new recipes and typically experiment with a wide variety of seasonal ingredients. As they teach my kids in school, I try to “eat the rainbow”. Eating a wide variety of colors, such as red, orange and green vegetables, helps to insure that you are getting the proper nutrients. This baked pasta recipe, with tomatoes and spinach, definitely covers part of the rainbow. (It is a take on Turkey Cannelloni with Roasted Red Peppers & Spinach.) So why the heck was one of my favorite food apps screaming at me to balance my diet?
Recently, a friend introduced me to the app myfitnesspal, which can be accessed via your computer, phone or iPad (it automatically synchs between these devices, too). Typically, I don’t enjoy tracking everything I eat, but I was curious to see if I was on target for the nutrients I was supposed to be eating. Let me tell you, this app is pretty darn cool (and free!). It houses thousands of different foods and brands, as well as cardio and strength exercises. If the food you are eating has a barcode, simply scan it on your phone and all of the information will be saved in your profile. Is there a recipe you love to make but have no idea about the nutritional content? Just enter the ingredients and myfitnesspal will figure it out for you.
After logging my meals and snacks for about a week, a couple of things happened. First, I became much more aware of the mindless eating I was doing. You know what I’m talking about – standing at the kitchen counter, snacking on cheese and crackers (and more cheese and crackers) or chips or cookies (whatever you vice may be). Before you know it, you’ve eaten a meal’s worth of junk and can’t even remember doing it. Now I’m determined to be much more mindful of what I’m eating and in what proportions. I’m not talking about depriving myself. I’m talking about being smart. Because you know what? It’s really not necessary to eat plough through 10 crackers and as many pieces of cheese in one sitting. Which, of course, I knew before but chose to ignore. Let’s call it denial.
The second thing I discovered was that I am sadly short on iron. According to the nutrients tracker, I am consuming about half the amount of iron that I need. Not good. We don’t eat a lot of red meat, which is known to be a great source of iron. However, you don’t need to turn into a carnivore of caveman proportions to increase your iron intake. After doing a little surfing around the web, I discovered that I can eat more dark leafy greens, dried fruits and lentils to get more iron. Also, eating foods rich in Vitamin C helps the body to absorb iron. That’s what this recipe is all about. Ground beef (I chose a lean version) and spinach are rich in iron, while the tomatoes are a good source of Vitamin C.
On top of using ground beef, I attempted to lower the saturated fat content of this recipe by replacing ricotta cheese with pureed low-fat cottage cheese. The texture is smooth and creamy, the taste is subtle and cottage cheese packs a punch of protein.
Now that I’m on the path to righting my wrongs, am I done with myfitnesspal? Heck no. This app is too much fun. Now I kind of get a kick out of tracking my food and exercise, and seeing my progress. It’s like a video game for a food-obsessed forty-year old woman.
The recipe:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
For the filling, heat olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for additional 30 seconds.
Turn up the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up with wooden spoon, until beef is cooked through. Put a lid on top (slightly askew) and pour any accumulated juice out of the pan.
Transfer ground beef mixture to a large bowl. Stir in spinach and sundried tomatoes until combined.
Place the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
Allow the beef mixture to cool, then stir in cottage cheese, dried chile flakes and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Fill each shell with 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture.
Prepare a 9- by 13-inch baking pan by spreading 1 cup tomato sauce on the bottom. Arrange pasta shells, opening-side up, in the pan. Spread additional 2 cups tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Other baked pasta dishes:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Turkey Cannelloni with Roasted Peppers & Spinach
Baked Bree’s Easy Baked Pasta
My Colombian Recipes’ Baked Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
Baked Shells with Beef, Sundried Tomatoes & Spinach Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces large pasta shells
Filling:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 1/2 cups packed roughly chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes chopped
- 12 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 3/4 cups tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook until just tender.
- For the filling, heat olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for additional 30 seconds.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up with wooden spoon, until beef is cooked through. Put a lid on top (slightly askew) and pour any accumulated juice out of the pan. Transfer ground beef mixture to a large bowl.
- Stir in spinach and sun dried tomatoes until combined.
- Place the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
- Allow the beef mixture to cool, then stir in cottage cheese, dried chile flakes and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fill each shell with 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture.
- Prepare a 9- by 13-inch baking pan by spreading 1 cup tomato sauce on the bottom. Arrange pasta shells, opening-side up, in the pan. Spread additional 2 cups tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
By the way, I wrote about myfitnesspal on my own accord. The geniuses behind this app have no idea that my blog or I even exist.
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Sharon
Hi. I was wondering if you can freeze this? I’m thinking of making this for kids lunch to take to school. Thanx.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Sharon, I have frozen these. Instead of baking, I cover the baking dish very well with plastic wrap and foil, then freeze. I defrost on the counter or in the fridge before baking. I’d imagine that you could also bake when they’re in the frozen state, but you’ll have to add a significant amount of baking time.
Samantha
You are seriously my new favorite site. I love everything you have posted and congrats on your new healthy lifestyle. I am so excited to try some, if not all, of your recipes at some point in my own
kitchen. Everything looks amazing. Thanks for your hard work and dedication.
Kevin (Closet Cooking)
These are some really tasty sounding stuffed pasta shells!
Kelsey @ K&K Test Kitchen
This sounds delicious Dara! I used to love eating stuffed shells as a kid, but for some reason I’ve never made them myself. I will definitely have to try these though.
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc.
I can’t wait to make this. My kids would love it!
Kita
I just made stuffed shells last week – but looking at these I could already go for another batch. There is something so simple, warm and comforting about them. I am not one to talk about nutrition – as I have no idea – but I think healthy and homemade go a looong way.