Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells
A comforting, bubbling bake to get you through the weekdays. Each pasta shell cradles a creamy mixture of ricotta, sweet butternut squash, and basil which is then coated in marinara, cheese, and baked to golden perfection.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. Olive oil
1 Butternut squash (~2 cups), small, small diced
1, 16 oz. container Ricotta, whole milk
1/4 cup Basil, chopped
1/2 tsp. Red pepper flakes
1 lb. Jumbo pasta shells
2 cups Italian shredded cheese
4 cups Marinara sauce (can use store bought or homemade)
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Method of Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel, deseed, and dice the butternut squash into small cubes.
On a parchment lined baking sheet, toss the butternut squash with the olive oil. Season with Kosher salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season the water with Kosher salt (like the sea). Boil the pasta about 9-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain once cooked.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, baked butternut squash, basil, and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To assemble, spoon a couple spoonfuls of the marinara in the bottom of a medium large baking dish. Spread out the marinara.
Take one of the pasta shells and stuff it with a spoonful of the ricotta mixture (~1 tbsp each). Add it to the baking dish and continue this process until the baking dish has one even layer of the stuffed pasta shells. If you run out of the ricotta mixture, disperse some of the empty pasta shells in the dish.
Cover the pasta shells with another layer of marinara and evenly sprinkle the Italian cheese on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly golden brown on top. Garnish with more fresh basil.
