A comfort-food classic, these stuffed shells are a rich, delicious, and healthy meal that can go head-to-head with non-vegan stuffed shells any day of the week. This recipe can be customized to satisfy your preferences, so feel free to swap out the butternut sqush and spinach for whatever vegetables you enjoy most.
Ingredients: Serves 4 - 6
1 box jumbo pasta shells (12 oz)
32 oz marinara sauce (jars usually come in 16 or 32 oz)
1/2 butternut squash, chopped into small cubes
2 blocks of firm tofu, drained
6 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 + 1/4 garlic powder
1 tsp salt
3 cups frozen spinach
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 415 degrees Fahrenheit
Spread butternut squash cubes on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper to taste, and bake in the oven for 20 30 minutes, flipping halfway through when cooked, remove from oven, set aside, and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Prepare the vegan ricotta by adding tofu, nutritional yeast, dried basil, dried oregano, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp salt to a large bowl
Using your hands, mix the tofu and seasonings together well, until it is a ricotta-like texture, then set aside
In a large pot, boil water and add around 26 of the shells to the water, boiling for 10 12 minutes
While shells are cooking, add the frozen spinach and 1/4 tsp garlic powder to a large saute pan and cook on medium/high heat on the stove, stirring ocassionally, for around 5 minutes, or until spinach is thawed
Add spinach and butternut squash to the large mixing bowl with the vegan ricotta in it and mix everything together well
Drain pasta and begin filling shells with the ricotta/vegetable mixture, filling generously to the brim of each shell
Place shells in a lasagne baking dish you may have to stack some on top of one another
Once all shells are stuffed and placed in the baking dish, pour the marinara sauce on top and spread it evenly over the shells
