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Ricotta & Spinach Pasta Bake – all the flavors we love in ricotta stuffed jumbo pasta shells, but so much easier to make in this deconstructed casserole!
When my kids were little I used to make ricotta stuffed shells on repeat. Nobody ever complained; we all love the flavors and I was thrilled to be able to hide copious amounts of spinach in with the cheese. We don’t eat a lot of pasta these days but when we do, I want it to check all the boxes!
Hearty and cheesy with bubbling rich tomato sauce, this is some serious comfort food my friends!
I went on a ricotta kick a few months back making Easy Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake, Light & Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes and this lovely Raspberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake. Ricotta is a wonderful ingredient to use in a wide variety of recipes. When I found an extra container hiding in the back of my refrigerator recently, savory ricotta stuffed shells immediately came to mind.
To simplify the process, I use hearty rigatoni pasta instead of jumbo shells that require stuffing.
This idea turned into a great pasta bake that I’m thrilled to serve company at our monthly family Sunday supper. The recipe makes a filling 8 to 10 servings so if you’re a smaller household, or empty nesters like us, you may want to divide the casserole into two or four smaller dishes. Once assembled, feel free to cover tightly and freeze for later! We adore make-ahead meals. If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, this Ricotta & Spinach Pasta Bake reheats beautifully in the microwave making it great for meal-prep or office lunches.
Get a healthy helping of your daily greens in this cheesy casserole.
Our pasta bake recipe uses a full 6 ounces of fresh spinach leaves, or about 4 cups, packed. Once the pasta is cooked al dente and drained, it’s dumped back into the warm pot and combined with the fresh spinach. The heat from the hot drained pasta wilts the spinach while you prepare the ricotta mixture. No extra pans are needed to sauté the spinach, and no need to squeeze water from the frozen kind either. Easy peasy!
Half of the ricotta, cottage cheese, Mozzarella and Parmesan mixture is folded together with the pasta and spinach, then spread into the casserole dish. Dollops of the remaining ricotta mixture is placed on top then covered with your favorite marinara sauce. Top the casserole with a little more cheese and bake. Done and done!
Can you freeze Ricotta Spinach Pasta Bake?
This casserole freezes beautifully. Divide into individual servings and freeze in airtight containers. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently in the microwave. So good leftover too!
Can this casserole be made ahead?
Assemble this casserole the day you want to serve, cover and refrigerate. About 30 minutes before baking, remove from the refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature. Proceed as directed. Enjoy!
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Ricotta & Spinach Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 lb (16-ounces) Rigatoni or other pasta like Ziti or Penne)
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves about 4 cups packed
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese full fat
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 3 small cloves garlic minced
- dash of nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan
- 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese divided
- 2 ½ to 3 cups marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 13x9-inch baking dish with vegetable cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain the pasta then put it back in the warm pot. Add the spinach leaves to the pasta and gently toss or stir to combine. The leaves should wilt a little once they sit in the hot pasta. Set aside, stirring occasionally while mixing the cheese together.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the ricotta, cottage cheese, beaten egg, garlic, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, parsley, basil, Parmesan cheese and 1 cup of the Mozzarella. Fold together until blended. Add a little more than half the cheese mixture to the pasta and spinach. Mix gently using a rubber spatula or large wooden spoon.
- Pour 1 cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of the prepared pan and spread to cover. Pour the pasta and spinach mixture into the pan and then top with dollops of the remaining ricotta mixture. Spread the remaining marinara over the top. Cover the pan lightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and top with the remaining Mozzarella cheese. Continue baking (uncovered) until the dish is hot and bubbly and the cheese melted and lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes more.
- Serve with additional Parmesan and fresh parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes
- Once assemble this pasta bake can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours, or frozen for up to a month for cooking later. Make sure it is well sealed. Remove from the freezer on the morning you plan to bake, and refrigerate until later. Add 5-10 minutes to the baking time while covered.
Nutrition
Here are a few more of our favorite easy and satisfying pasta dishes you might also like:
Broccoli & Chicken Alfredo Bake ~ tender chunks of chicken are nestled in a bed of penne pasta and crisp broccoli with a creamy lemon Parmesan sauce. Click HERE to get the recipe!
Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe – put your leftover turkey or chicken to work in this creamy, hearty casserole loaded with peas, carrots, Parmesan cheese and plenty of mushrooms. Click HERE to get the recipe!
Basil Pesto Cream with Tortellini is a fantastic meatless dish that can be on the table in under 30 minutes. It’s flavorful and satisfying and so easy! Click HERE to get the recipe.
Here’s a link to my favorite casserole/baking dish of all time. I make everything from brownies to lasagna is this pan and have never been disappointed. Worth every penny! Click on the photo for more information:
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Looking for more great pasta bakes? Check out this Baked Tortellini in Meat Sauce from Sarah at Dinner at the Zoo. I bet nobody leaves the table hungry after eating this lovely dish! Don’t miss this incredible Lasagna Soup from Lori at Recipe Girl. Talk about creative; I love lasagna and bet this is super tasty. And finally, who doesn’t love a simple dish that’s ready and on the table in minutes? This lovely recipe for Simplest Zucchini Parmesan Pasta from Tieghan at Half Baked Harvest is right up my alley, simple and fresh!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Tricia
Zee
Thank you!!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Zee. Glad you enjoyed it.
Callie
Oh my…so good!! I think I said that multiple times while eating dinner as well 😂 It was a hit with the whole family and will DEFINATELY be adding this recipe to my pasta rotation!
Elena
❤
Jennie
Delicious and although a decadent dish….it was not a heavy pasta dish as some I’ve made. I think the addition of cottage cheese lightened the dish. My family thought it tasty enough to add to our rotation of Italian meals ! Loved the addition of spinach and the ease of preparing. Another “hit” for our family from your site….thank you for sharing such appealing recipes time and time again.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Jennie. We also love how easy this is to make and that we can sneak in more vegetables 🙂 Thanks for commenting and for trying the recipe!
Carmen
Thanks for this SO EASY and super delicious dish.
Kids gobbled it up!
Our power went out due to heavy snow after about 20 minutes in a hot oven.
We let it sit for another 10 and it came out absolutely perfect.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Carmen! Oh no about your power going out and on such cold wintery days. I hope you got it fixed quickly or built a good fire. Good luck and thanks for trying this recipe. So glad it baked all the way through in such a short time 🙂
Vanetta
Do you think this would work with homemade ricotta? Should I then omit the cottage cheese? Thanks!
Tricia Buice
Hi Vanetta – I have not tried this recipe with homemade ricotta but I think it would be fine unless it’s really watery. You can omit the cottage cheese if you want and that may help. If you would make lasagna with homemade ricotta, you can make this dish. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for the great question 🙂
Vanetta
Thanks! I have not used homemade ricotta in lasagna before but have some left over from a batch I made the other night and came across your recipe when I was looking for a way to use it. I’ll give it a try this week and let you know how it turns out!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Vanetta – can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you!
Vanetta
I made this last night with my leftover homemade ricotta and it was decadent! We all loved it and I will definitely make it again. I had exactly 15 ounces of ricotta so I did include the 1 cup of cottage cheese that is in the recipe.
Tricia Buice
That’s wonderful Vanetta! So happy it turned out for you and appreciate you taking the time to let us know! Thanks for trying it and please let me know if you ever have any questions.
Susan
What beautiful pasta eye candy 🙂 I love that this can be frozen because I would probably make two small ones for my husband and I and save one for later. Sounds delicious!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Susan!!! I love having something in the freezer when I don’t feel like cooking. Have a great week!
Lori @ RecipeGirl
Complete comfort food- I love it!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Lori – we do too 🙂
Monique
What’s not to love?:)
Tricia Buice
Thanks Monique.
Mimi
Why is baked pasta just so delicious?!! I love this recipe. And so much easier than lasagna.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Mimi! I wish I knew why we love baked pasta so much. Perfect comfort food I think 😉
Karen
Would love to make this today. Perhaps a silly question – what kind of cottage cheese – dry or small curd. Am waiting anxiously for your response. Thank you so much, Karen
Tricia Buice
Hi Karen – We have large and small curd cottage cheese in our area. Either will work find but if I had to choose, I pick large curd which is a bit less saucy. Good luck and hope you enjoy! Sorry to be late in responding – was at the vet all morning with a sick dog 🙁 All’s well with prescription in hand. Take care!
sue | the view from great island
We’re on the same ricotta loving page today Tricia 🙂 I love this easy version of stuffed shells, it’s always been one of my favorite things to eat but I’ve always hated the work involved, this is genius!!
Tricia Buice
Yes we are Sue! We love this dish too – so easy and totally satisfying. Thanks!
Larry
Looks delicious and easy to make. I like the deconstructed casserole type dishes that taste virtually the same – such as stuffed peppers and cabbage rolls
Tricia Buice
Me too Larry – thanks!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
I can never resist pasta bakes! All my favourites in one, easy pan 🙂 Beautiful!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Jennifer
Chris Scheuer
You’re making my mouth water so early in the morning, Tricia – I love how you’ve simplified this classic Italian dinner, yet kept all the deliciousness!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Chris! Bet your hungry herd would love it too 😉
angiesrecipes
Wish I could still eat as much carbs as I wanted to…life it tough without carbs, and you make it even tougher with this glorious pasta bake with ricotta and spinach..sighs..
Tricia Buice
I hear you Angie and agree. Carb-feasts are few and far between around here. This is a delicious recipe though, so perfect for a hungry small crowd 🙂