Vegan Butternut Squash Ricotta Stuffed Shells
The Vegan Stuffed Shells with Roasted Butternut Squash Ricotta, sauteed jalapenos, and a spicy spinach sauce are perfect for impressing on a dinner date. Filling, very fancy, and just as delicious as they are surprisingly easy.
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Introduction
Not every dinner has to be fancy - sometimes it’s cereal, potato chips, or a burger. Often, we just don’t have the time, sometimes we don’t have the ingredients. But every once in a while, dinner should be incredible. And the best part is - you don’t need to go out to a restaurant to do so. Kick off your pants, uncork the wine, throw something on the TV, and go to town in the kitchen.
Butternut squash, spinach, and ricotta is a classic stuffed shell recipe. So I flipped it on its head. The spinach makes a sauce, the butternut squash is roasted and blended into the ricotta - and a couple jalapenos are deseeded, sauteed, and stuffed inside the shells.
Impress your partner, impress yourself, and impress your dog (just make sure nobody is looking when you pass them a piece under the table). Put your best effort into every step - take the time to dice the jalapenos evenly, keep working on the sauce and the ricotta stuffing until you’re happy with them, and salt generously (it makes all the difference).
The secret to this recipe is time management. The blender is used for two different things, so as soon as your finished with the first blend, empty out the sauce into a pot, rinse out the blender, and begin on the stuffing. Time your pasta so that it finishes cooking as soon as everything else is ready. If something isn’t done right on time, don’t rush it. Pop the squash back in the oven if it needs more time, and adapt.
Check out the Spruce it Up section for ideas on how to take this recipe to the next level.
Before we Get Started
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 55 Minutes
Yield: 12 Shells
Ingredients
Jumbo Pasta Shells
3 Jalapenos
Spinach Sauce
2 cups Spinach
3-4 leaves of Basil
1/4 bunch of Parsley
1 clove Garlic
1 Jalapeno
Juice of 1/2 a Lime
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Don’t sweat it if you don’t have olive oil, vegetable oil works great, too.
Water
Butternut Squash Ricotta
1 Butternut Squash
1/2 tbsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tbsp. Onion Powder
1 1/2 cups Raw Cashews
1/2 cup Water
1 clove Garlic
1 Lemon
Or, 1.5 tbsp Lemon Juice
Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
While the oven is preheating, peel your butternut squash, and dice into half inch cubes.
Use a spoon to take out the nasty bits and the seeds inside the squash before dicing.
Throw the cubes in a bowl, and add the garlic powder and onion powder, as well as a good drizzle of olive oil and two large pinches of salt. Toss to mix until all the pieces are coated in spice.
Once the oven has come to temperature, place the squash on a baking tray, and toss them in the oven for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes has expired, flip them over, and put them back in for another 20 minutes.
While your squash is roasting, take one of your jalapenos, and roll it around on your cutting board, pressing down firmly to release the seeds inside. Cut it in half, and use a spoon to take the seeds out. Add all of the ingredients for the spinach sauce, including the jalapeno and approx. a third of the seeds, and a good pinch of salt into a blender and blend for about 15 seconds, or until smooth.
Use a spoon to pour the spinach sauce into a pot. Get as much out as out as you can. Give the blender a wash.
Into the clean blender, add your raw cashews, water, garlic clove, the juice of one lemon, and a good pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.
Fill up a pot of water, and bring to a boil (for your pasta).
Have a look at your butternut squash, and remove from the oven when they’re finished.
To test if your butternut squash are cooked, have a bite! If they’re soft, they’re good to go. If not, add them in for another five minutes and test again.
Add small amounts of your butternut squash into the blender with your cashew ricotta, and blend. Continue to add the squash in smalls amounts until you’ve blended about 70% of them. Add more water if needed to even out the consistency. Taste, and add more salt if needed.
Preheat a pan over medium-high heat, with oil. Roll your jalapenos out and deseed just as you did for the spinach sauce. Finely dice into squares, and toss into the pan. Add a pinch of salt.
Don’t add the seeds into the pan as they’ll make the jalapenos very spicy.
Add your pasta into the pot of boiling water. Add some of your spinach sauce to a pot or pan, and heat up.
Have your spinach sauce, butternut squash ricotta, and remaining roasted butternut squash at the ready. Spoon some sauce onto the plates. As soon as your stuffed shells are cooked, drain them, and begin stuffing. Spoon your butternut squash ricotta inside. Add a some of your diced jalapeno, and one or two pieces of roasted (solid) butternut squash pieces.
Plate up, and hit it with a bit more salt and a good amount of black pepper. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes.
Enjoy.
Spruce it Up
Add some thyme or oregano to your butternut squash before tossing them in the oven.
Add some cilantro or mint to your spinach sauce for extra flavour.
If you have vegan Parmesan cheese, sprinkle some over.
Add more or less seeds to the spinach sauce if you prefer it spicier.