Herby Tofu ‘Ricotta’ Vegan Stuffed Shells
These Vegan Stuffed Shells are stuffed with a delicious herby tofu ‘ricotta’ mixture and smothered with a creamy roasted garlic and tomato sauce. Easy to make and perfect for entertaining.
One of the first things I learned to make when I became vegan was stuffed shells. It seems like such a random recipe to want to learn, but it was one of the first holiday recipes I saw mentioned in a recipe round up. So I set to work to test some out with tofu and really loved them. And even my roommates raved about them, so they became a regular thing at special events like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Each year I worked on trying to make them even better and now I’m sharing that recipe with you today. We make it just a little fancier by making our own sauce. Totally optional, but in my opinion, worth the effort.
Why You’ll Love These Stuffed Shells
- This homemade recipe uses fresh and simple ingredients to make an indulgent and delicious dish.
- No complicated steps and I even include some simple substitutions to help simplify the process more. And yes, you can make these ahead of time if you wish. These were designed for easy entertaining.
- These shells are vegan and easy to make completely nut-free.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Jumbo Shells: The goal is to cook these just shy of al dente and then use them to hold our vegan ricotta. If you are gluten-free, there are gluten-free jumbo shells that you can use.
- Tofu: Use firm tofu for this dish. It blends well into the other ingredients and best mimics the texture of ricotta. Do not use extra firm or silken tofu for this dish. And no need to press. Just drain it of the liquid in the container before using.
- Miso Paste: Gives our tofu some salty umami flavor.
- Nutritional Yeast: Gives us a nice mild cheesy flavor to help bring life to our ricotta.
- Tomatoes: I love using cherry tomatoes because there is no additional cutting needed here. Just clean and toss them into your baking dish with the garlic.
- Sunflower Seeds: Helps us create our creamy sauce without using any expensive nuts. You can feel free to use soaked cashews if desired.
- Garlic: There is a lot of garlic in this recipe. It provides a great deal of flavor. And since most of it is roasted, it won’t over power your dish.
- Lemon: We need both the juice and zest. It provides a lovely tang and very light balance of freshness to our tofu mixture.
How to Make Vegan Stuffed Shells
Start by roasting your garlic, tomatoes and sage with some olive oil and a pinch of salt. While your tomatoes roast, bring a pot of water to a boil and then set up your tofu ricotta by placing the ingredients in a food processor and pulsing to combine. Add in your fresh herbs and pulse a few more times to mix everything together.
Cook your shells in the boiling water and make sure to under cook them according to the parboil instructions on your box of pasta. Reserve some pasta water before you drain your pasta. Place all the sauce ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth.
Spread some of your sauce on the bottom of a 9 in x 13 in baking pan. Take your shells and individually spoon some of the tofu filling into them, then lay the stuffed shells in the baking dish. Drizzle some of your sauce over top of the shells and then place the baking dish in the oven to bake.
Expert Tips
- Adjust flavors to your taste preference for both the tofu ricotta and sauce. I usually start with these ingredients and add more based on my preference. If I want the flavors to be a little sharper, I will add more acid in the form of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. If I want more freshness, I will blitz up some more fresh herbs to blend into the tofu. You control the flavor in this recipe.
- Don’t over process the tofu. We don’t need it to be super smooth. You want it to still have some texture, so pulsing your ingredients in your food processor is what I recommend.
- Cook your pasta slightly under al dente. Your pasta shells should come with instructions for how to parboil your pasta. Avoid overcooking your shells as they will break apart if you try to stuff them.
- Rinse your pasta with cold water after draining. This will help prevent your shells from sticking together as you wait to stuff them.
- Keep an eye on your shells as they bake. This will prevent your shells from drying out and cracking.
Frequently Asked Questions
While I love this sauce, you can opt for a regular vegan marinara sauce and use it to bake with your shells. It will still taste amazing and save you an extra appliance to clean if you’d rather keep it super simple.
Yes, you can make this dish in advance. Cook your shells and make your filling. Stuff your shells as instructed and place in your baking dish. Cover your shells with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. When ready to cook, just pour a little bit of your sauce overtop and pop in the oven to cook.
Yes. Boil your shells and stuff as instructed and place in a freezer safe baking dish. When ready to bake, remove from the freezer and pour your sauce over top. Then bake for an extra 5-10 minutes.
If making this recipe without a food processor, mash your tofu along with the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, crushed garlic, miso paste, and salt in a bowl with a fork until well combined and mashed. Make sure to mince your herbs and spinach really well before folding them into the ricotta mixture.
If using frozen spinach, thaw out the spinach and squeeze out any excess liquid before adding to the ricotta mix.
Storing and Reheating Your Stuffed Shell
Storing
If making your shells in advance to store in the fridge, they will last for up to 1-2 days. Do not store with sauce to make sure they don’t develop a weird texture. For your cooked stuffed shells, make sure to cool and store in an airtight container. You can keep your cooked shells in the fridge for up to 5 days.
In the Oven
To reheat your shells in the oven, preheat your oven to 350F. Place your shells in a shallow oven safe dish and cover with foil. You can then place the baking dish in the oven to heat through for 10-15 minutes.
In the Microwave
Place your shells in a microwave safe bowl and cover with a lid. Set the dish in the microwave and cook for 50-60 seconds or until warmed through. You may need to increase the cooking time depending on how many shells you are cooking at once.
How to Serve
This dish can be served as a main, as a side at your holiday table or as a fun little appetizer. Totally up to you. If enjoying as a main, these shells pair perfectly with a light salad dressed in a simple vinaigrette or with a cozy soup. Some light serving options you can use to pair with your shells: Panzanella Salad, Marinated Lentil Chickpea Salad, Butternut Squash Soup, or Beet and Pomegranate Salad.
More Comforting Pasta Recipes to Try
- Baked Hummus Pasta
- Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
- Cherry Tomato and Basil Pasta
- Baked Tofu Feta Pasta
- One Skillet Toasted Garlic and Chickpea Orzo
Herby Tofu ‘Ricotta’ Vegan Stuffed Shells
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Vegan Stuffed Shells are stuffed with a delicious herby tofu ‘ricotta’ mixture and smothered with a creamy roasted garlic and tomato sauce. Easy to make and perfect for entertaining.
Ingredients
Roasted Tomato and Garlic Sauce
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 10 leaves of sage, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- 1 cup unsweetened plant based milk (I used soy milk to keep it nut-free)
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
Stuffed Shells
- 26–30 jumbo pasta shells
- 1 block firm tofu, drained
- 1 tsp miso paste
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 clove fresh garlic, crushed
- Juice and zest of 1 small lemon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup parsley, stems removed
- 1/8 cup chives, roughly chopped
- 1 cup spinach, tightly packed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Cut a 1/4 inch off the top of a bulb of garlic to expose the garlic cloves. Add your tomatoes, garlic and sage to a 9 in x 13 in oven safe baking dish and drizzle with oil. Wrap your garlic in some foil and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the tomatoes start to blister. Once cooked, reset the heat for the oven to 350F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Parboil your jumbo shells according to the package instructions. If you need a rough estimate, I cooked mine for 9 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and rinse your pasta under cold water and set to the side.
- Now blend your sauce. Press your garlic out of it’s peel into a blender along with the roasted tomatoes and sage. Add the sunflower seeds, Italian seasoning, balsamic vinegar, salt, pasta water, and plant based milk, then blend on high until nice and smooth.
- To a food processor, add your tofu, miso paste, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, crushed garlic, lemon, and salt and pulse a few times to fully combine. Scrape down the sides as needed. Now add in the herbs and spinach and pulse to chop the greens well into the tofu mixture.
- Pour a few spoons worth of sauce into the bottom of the baking dish you used for roasting your tomatoes. Take a spoonful of your tofu ricotta and stuff each individual shell and place on top of the sauce covered baking dish.
- Once all the shells are stuffed, pour some sauce overtop of the stuffed shells and then place them in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Top with some extra chopped chives for garnish and serve warm.
Notes
Adjust flavors to your taste preference for both the tofu ricotta and sauce. I usually start with these ingredients and add more as I go. If I want the flavors to be a little sharper, I will add more acid in the form of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. If I want more freshness, I will blitz up more fresh herbs to blend into the tofu. You control the flavor in this recipe.
To make prep time faster, you can skip making your own sauce and use a jar of your favorite vegan marinara sauce.
Don’t over process the tofu. We don’t need it to be super smooth. You want it to still have some texture, so pulsing your ingredients in your food processor is what I recommend.
Cook your pasta slightly under al dente. Your pasta shells should come with instructions for how to parboil them. Avoid overcooking your shells as they will break apart if you try to stuff them.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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