Wish I had an icing tube for this one!
- Carbohydrate 115.62750176675 g
- Cholesterol 347.453197465997 mg
- Fat 57.7268147541516 g
- Fiber 6.42570403994825 g
- Protein 93.8833024270138 g
- Saturated Fat 33.1630865759754 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (584g)
- Sodium 2097.21180095591 mg
- Sugar 109.201797726801 g
- Trans Fat 3.7805849733324 g
- Calories 1368 calories
Step-by-step
- Mix egg with ricotta. Add in the shredded mozzarella and basil. Cook the shells.
- Grease a large baking pan. Spoon 1/4 of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan. Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and arrange in the pan. I put the cheese in a plastic bag, then snip the corner and shoot the cheese in the shell.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the top. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
Filling tubular pasta shapes efficiently requires bypassing traditional spoons in favor of a pastry bag or a sturdy zip-top bag with the corner snipped off, which forces the dense ricotta mixture into the shells without splitting the fragile pasta walls. Undercook the pasta by two minutes during the initial boil so the shells retain enough structural integrity to hold their shape during the stuffing process and absorb excess moisture from the sauce while baking.
Assembling this dish entirely in advance makes it an ideal candidate for freezing, provided you wrap the unbaked pan tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn before baking it straight from frozen at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 50 minutes. Sauce placement matters because coating the bottom of the baking dish prevents sticking, while pouring the remaining sauce directly over the filled shells ensures the exposed pasta edges soften completely in the oven rather than hardening into leathery corners.
Dairy-free adaptations function reliably by substituting firm tofu blended with nutritional yeast for the ricotta and mozzarella components, though you must drain the tofu thoroughly on paper towels for 20 minutes beforehand to avoid watery results. Parmesan cheese adds a concentrated dose of umami through glutamates released during baking, creating a golden crust on top of the mozzarella layer when exposed to direct heat during the final minutes in the oven.
Portion control is straightforward since each serving typically accommodates three stuffed tubes alongside a half-cup of sauce, delivering balanced ratios of carbohydrate and protein. Leftovers keep safely in the refrigerator for up to three days and reheat evenly in a 325-degree oven until the center registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
