Unstuffed Shells Soup is a delicious tomato soup recipe with pasta shells and topped with an herbed ricotta cheese mixture.
Unstuffed Shells Soup
Think about how perfect a bowl of pasta is when combined with creamy ricotta cheese! And even better- stuffed shells! This is the soup version. This delicious tomato soup is packed with ground sausage and pasta, and it’s topped with basil ricotta. It’s the perfect bowl of soup for pasta lovers!
Everyday Comfort by Holly Nilsson
This recipe comes from the highly anticipated new cookbook: Everyday Comfort: Family Dinner Recipes from Fresh to Cozy by Holly Nilsson. Holly is the founder of the popular Spend with Pennies website. She’s a good friend of mine, and she is such a fabulous recipe creator! This is a great cookbook to add to your collection for easy dinner ideas.
Here are some recipes in the book that I can’t wait to try!
- Homemade Alfredo Sauce (with variations for making different kinds of meals)
- The Best-Ever Meatloaf
- Sticky Honey-Garlic Drumsticks
- Cowboy Chopped Chicken Salad
- Skillet Chicken and Gravy
- And so many more!
Ingredients Needed:
- ricotta cheese
- dried parsley, dried basil and Italian seasoning
- freshly grated lemon zest
- ground Italian sausage
- yellow onion
- red bell pepper
- garlic
- canned whole tomatoes and canned crushed tomatoes
- reduced-sodium chicken broth
- medium-shell pasta
- fresh spinach
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Unstuffed Shells Soup:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
PREPARE THE HERBED RICOTTA:
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, parsley, basil and lemon zest. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
PREPARE THE SOUP:
- Remove the soup from heat and stir in the spinach. Allow the soup for rest for 3 minutes.
- Heat a large pot (Dutch oven, if you have one) over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, for 5 to 6 minutes until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Stir in the bell pepper and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the whole tomatoes with the juice, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands as you add them. Stir in the broth, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes
- Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the shells al dente according to the package directions, about 7 minutes.
- Remove the soup from heat and stir in the spinach. Allow the soup for rest for 3 minutes.
Recipe Tip
Use fresh basil and parsley instead of dried herbs. Use a tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs instead of dried.
Divide the shells among 6 bowls. Ladle the soup on top of the shells and top each portion with about 2 tablespoons of herbed ricotta cheese.
What to serve with this soup:
Serve bowls of soup topped with fresh Parmesan cheese and an additional sprinkle of fresh herbs. Use a hunk of bread to soak of all of the soup!
What I Love About This Recipe:
- I love pasta, but sometimes it’s too heavy. This soup is perfect!
- The ricotta mixture is really tasty served on top of the soup.
- I love the flavor of this soup!
Here are some more soup recipes you might like to try:
Unstuffed Shells Soup
Ingredients
HERBED RICOTTA:
- 8 ounces ricotta
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
SOUP:
- 12 ounces ground Italian sausage
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- One 14.5-ounce can whole tomatoes with juices
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces medium shell pasta
- 1½ cups chopped fresh spinach
Instructions
PREPARE THE HERBED RICOTTA:
- In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, parsley, basil and lemon zest. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
PREPARE THE SOUP:
- Heat a large pot (Dutch oven, if you have one) over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, for 5 to 6 minutes until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Stir in the bell pepper and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the whole tomatoes with the juice, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands as you add them. Stir in the broth, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes
- Meanshile, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the shells al dente according to the package directions, about 7 minutes.
- Remove the soup from heat and stir in the spinach. Allow the soup for rest for 3 minutes.
- Divide the shells among 6 bowls. Ladle the soup on top of the shells and top each portion with about 2 tablespoons of herbed ricotta cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
