I love warm weather and I love summer…..however, when the fall weather hits, I can’t help but be excited for all the fall flavors!!! Pumpkin and butternut squash are by far my favorite fall items to cook with. This recipe is a fall twist on the classic stuffed shells. It uses pumpkin puree, cinnamon and nutmeg, and fresh sage to make this recipe a delicious autumn blend. Italian sausage adds some extra protein in, and this recipe is easily made dairy free by using dairy free ricotta and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Pumpkin & Sausage Stuffed Shells
Course: DinnerDifficulty: Easy6
servings20
minutes40
minutesThese fall flavors come together to make a delicious twist to the classic stuffed shells recipe.
Ingredients
8 oz jumbo pasta shells
15-16 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 T minced sage
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
½ lb ground Italian sausage
4 cups marinara sauce
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- In a medium sized frying pan, cook your ground sausage until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add your pasta shells, and cook according to package but cook them 2 minutes less than the recommended minutes for al dente. Drain.
- While your pasta is cooking, make the pumpkin stuffing. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add pumpkin, ricotta cheese, sage, and spices. Mix well.
- Add the cooked ground sausage to your pumpkin stuffing and mix.
- In a 9×13 baking dish, cover the bottom with 3 cups of the marinara sauce.
- Once pasta is cool enough to hold, stuff each pasta shell with the pumpkin sausage stuffing. Place stuffed shells with the open side up in the baking dish. Once done, pour the other cup of marinara over the shells.
- Cover baking dish with tin foil, and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with parmesan cheese (optional) and enjoy!
Notes
- You can omit the sausage if you want this to be a vegetarian dish!
- To make dairy free, use df ricotta (I love the Kite Hill brand)
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