My vegan stuffed shells recipe consists of jumbo pasta shells stuffed with a delicious and addictive vegan walnut ricotta. Vegan stuffed shells will be your new favorite pasta dish!
Not only does it look stunning, it tastes amazing too.
These stuffed shells get a powerful protein punch thanks to the vegan ricotta filling. The base of this filling consists of extra firm tofu and walnuts and the addition of nutritional yeast and lemon juice, helps to replicate the cheesy sharpness that’s reminiscent of ricotta.
You don’t often see walnuts used as a key ingredient in vegan cheese recipes and it’s a shame. Not only do they transform into some very tasty cheese, they’re also full of impressive plant-based nutrients, making them a healthy and important addition to a vegan diet.
Here are just some of the health benefits walnuts have to offer:
- They’re high in minerals, healthy fats, fiber and vitamins – plus they’re also rich in antioxidants as well!
- They’re a great plant source of Omega 3s
- They may help reduce inflammation in your body
- They can also help promote healthy gut flora
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
So, if you’re lucky enough to have a walnut tree in your garden or neighborhood, go and get yourself some of these little beauties. Fall is the season when the ripe walnuts can be found on the ground underneath the trees (that’s unless the squirrels have got there first!)
In this recipe, I’ve shared links for you to make your own tomato sauce and mozzarella spread from scratch. But if you want to save time and you’ve got some healthy brands you like, you can absolutely use store bought varieties in this recipe.
You could also sub the homemade walnut ricotta for the store bought variety but it’s so darn tasty and good for you, you really need to give it a go!
Looking for more vegan pasta recipes? Give these a whirl!
- 20 Delicious Vegan Pasta Recipes
- Red Lentil Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo and Fresh Spinach
- Make your own fresh vegan pasta
- Vegan Lentil Bolognese for Pasta or Polenta
- Lemon Garlic Sauce for Pasta or Vegetables
- Miso Vodka Sauce with Shiitake Bacon for Pasta
- Vegan Red Pepper Cream Sauce and Roasted Cauliflower with Pasta
Remember, if you make this vegan stuffed shells recipe, come back and let me know in the comments section what you thought of it? Did you tweak it in anyway, or follow the recipe to the letter?
You can also tag us @One_Bite_Vegan on Instagram. We love to see what you’ve been cooking up in the kitchen!
Vegan stuffed shells
Ingredients
Vegan ricotta filling
- 2 cups walnuts soaked for 1 hour, then rinsed and drained
- 1 14 ounce packet extra firm tofu
- ½ lemon squeezed for the juice
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt
Pasta and sauce
- 12 oz box jumbo pasta shells
- 1 jar tomato sauce or
- ½ recipe Easy 5 ingredient tomato basil sauce
- ½ recipe Mozzarella Spread
- 1 cup fresh basil chiffonade (thinly sliced)
Instructions
Ricotta filling
- Place all the ingredients for the vegan ricotta in a food processor and process until well
combined but not completely smooth. Set aside.
Pasta and sauce
- Cook the shells according to the package. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Pour some of sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish to just cover the bottom.
- Fill each shell with a heaping tablespoon of the vegan ricotta filling and arrange neatly on
top of the sauce in the casserole dish with the filling side up. - Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the shells. Scatter the basil over the top. Cover
with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. - Remove from the oven and discard the aluminum foil. Pour over the mozzarella spread and put back in the oven uncovered for 3 minutes. Serve immediately.
do I strain the tofu or leave all the water in?????
Strain it, please!
So simple and beautiful! I expect it to be very tasty too. I am always looking for new nutritious and healthy recipes. This pasta looks amazing, be sure to cook it tomorrow for dinner. I am a big fan of pasta, I often cook it with various vegetables, sauces, cheeses and additives. Thank you for sharing such cool recipes, I will come back here more often now, keep it up!
Made this for dinner tonight and 3 out of 4 of us ate seconds! But don’t mind the 4th really, she’s still developing her 6yo palate and isn’t fond of mixing flavour/texture just yet 😉 I added a cashew cheese drizzle, cuz well, we love it… and the result was amazing! Admittedly, I had to get beyond the grey/pink hue of the ‘ricotta’ though. Thanks for this one!