These Low Fat Stuffed Shells are a delicious, healthy and easy weeknight dinner.
Pasta is the ultimate comfort food! And it’s nice to have a lower fat recipe for pasta on hand when you’re still craving pasta while eating light. These low fat stuffed shells are perfectly filling and wonderful. They’re just like traditional stuffed shells but made with some lower fat ingredients.
Ingredients needed:
- jumbo shells
- olive oil
- onion
- frozen spinach
- 1% cottage cheese
- dried bread crumbs
- nutmeg
- fresh Parmesan cheese
- salt/pepper
- egg white
- marinara sauce
How to make Low Fat Stuffed Shells:
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
Cook the pasta shells according to package instructions. Then drain and rinse the shells under cold water. Set them aside.
Prepare the filling. Cook chopped onions in olive oil. Then purée the cottage cheese in a food processor. Stir together the cottage cheese, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, some of the Parmesan cheese, sautéed onions, spinach, salt/pepper and an egg white.
Stuff each shell with 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture. Spread some of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish. Place the stuffed shells on top of the sauce. Spoon the remaining marinara on top and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bake the low fat stuffed shells for 30 minutes, until they are heated through. Tent some foil on top of the pan if they seem to be browning too quickly.
Although the photo above shows three shells, you can actually have four shells per serving! Four shells makes a great dinner. I like to serve them with a side salad and a glass of wine too. Enjoy!
Ingredient notes:
In this recipe, it’s important that the spinach is squeezed dry. The easiest way to do this is to thaw the spinach and then spoon it into a thin dishtowel. Squeeze the spinach firmly through the towel and the liquid will drain out.
If you don’t wish to use cottage cheese in this recipe, it’s okay to use skim ricotta cheese instead.
Here are a few more pasta recipes you might like to try:
- Taco Stuffed Shells
- Three Cheese Stuffed Shells with Creamy White Sauce
- One Pot Spaghetti
- Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells
- Pasta Shells with Feta and Herbs
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.
Low Fat Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (24) jumbo shells
- 1½ teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- Two 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 2 cups 1% cottage cheese
- ⅔ cup dried bread crumbs
- ¼ teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
- ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
- 3 cups marinara sauce, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the shells according to package directions. Drain and rinse the shells under cold water; set aside.
- In large skillet, cook the onions in olive oil until they have softened (3 to 5 minutes). Set aside.
- In a food processor, pureé the cottage cheese until smooth. Scrape the cottage cheese into a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, nutmeg and ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese. Mix thoroughly. Stir in the onions and spinach, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the egg white.
- Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese/spinach mixture.
- Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange the stuffed shells in a single layer on top of the sauce and spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the shells are heated through. If the top is browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
