Cheesy Chicken Spinach No-Boil Stuffed Shells are loaded with cottage cheese spinach filling, piled high with white meat rotisserie chicken, and smothered in zesty marinara sauce and gooey mozzarella cheese. Super easy pasta bake for busy weeknight dinners.
Try One Pot Creamy Chicken and Pasta or Spaghetti with Alfredo Sauce next.
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You're Going to Love These
- No need to boil the shells! -- or try to wrangle a slippery shell, or worse, a torn shell!
- Chicken and spinach stuffed shells are fast and easy to put together with convenient rotisserie chicken and frozen spinach
- Cozy, cheesy comfort food for hectic weeknights or casual weekend entertaining
- Chicken and spinach no-boil stuffed shells without ricotta are filled with cottage cheese, as a little lighter option
Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Jumbo pasta shells. You don’t need special oven-ready pasta; regular jumbo shells are all you need to make these easy chicken and spinach no-boil stuffed shells.
- Marinara sauce. We like Rao's or Kirkland marinara. Use your favorite homemade or jarred marinara. You can also use a store-bought or homemade spaghetti sauce recipe.
- Cottage cheese. These no-boil stuffed shells are made without ricotta in the filling. Cottage cheese stands in as a lighter option.
- Mozzarella cheese. Use freshly shredded mozzarella if you can, it melts much creamier than pre-bagged cheese.
- Parmesan cheese. For best flavor, avoid Parmesan in the green can and shred your own.
- Frozen spinach. Thaw spinach, wrap it in paper towels and squeeze all the water from it before mixing it into the filling.
- Rotisserie chicken. You can also use freshly poached chicken or any leftover cooked chicken or turkey.
- Pesto. A little pesto is a delicious way to finish the dish. Use jarred pesto or your favorite homemade pesto like this delicious oregano pesto recipe.
- Water. The secret ingredient that turns regular jumbo shells into no-boil pasta.
Variations
- Like it spicy? Use arrabbiata spaghetti sauce or add red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper to the red sauce.
- Make it meatless and skip the chicken!
- Swap out the shredded chicken for browned ground beef or Italian sausage.
How to Make Chicken Spinach No Boil Stuffed Shells
Step 1: In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten egg, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Add the spinach, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and ½ cup of Parmesan cheese.
Step 2: Place 1 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. With a spoon, stuff uncooked shells with spinach cottage cheese mixture and place in the baking dish.
Step 3: Layer the shredded rotisserie chicken over the stuffed lasagna shells.
Step 4: Cover the chicken with the remaining sauce. Pour 1 ½ cups of water into the pan.
Step 5: Cover the marinara sauce with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and ½ cup Parmesan cheese.
Step 6: Cover dish with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 60 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. Top with ribbons of fresh basil and drizzles of pesto. Serve with fresh garlic bread and Spinach and Arugula Caprese Salad.
Expert Tips
- To get the moisture out of the thawed spinach, wrap it in paper towels and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze out all the extra liquid.
- Baking no-boil stuffed shells covered in aluminum foil keeps the moisture in so the shells cook to a perfect al dente
- Adding a swirl of pesto right before you serve your baked pasta adds even more flavor and color
FAQS
Store leftover shells in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheat stuffed shells covered in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165. You can also cover in plastic wrap and reheat in one-minute increments in the microwave. You may need to add some water or more pasta sauce to replace any moisture absorbed by the pasta.
The egg acts like a binder in the spinach cottage cheese filling so it firms up as it bakes — instead of running out of the shells.
This no-boil stuffed shells recipe needs the water to cook the pasta shells. Covering the dish with foil locks in the moisture so the shells can absorb the water and cook to a perfect al dente.
No. Ricotta has a soft, grainy consistency, while cottage cheese has larger curds. Either one works well in lasagna and stuffed shell recipes. Some folks choose cottage cheese because it’s lower in fat and calories than ricotta.
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📖 Recipe
Chicken and Spinach No-Boil Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 12 ounces jumbo shells
- 15 ounces 2% cottage cheese
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken breast
- 32 ounces marinara sauce
- 1 ½ cups water
For serving
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons pesto
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, stir cottage cheese, beaten egg, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Add the spinach, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, and ½ cup of Parmesan cheese.
- Place 1 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of the pan. With a spoon, stuff the shells with the spinach cottage cheese mixture and place them in the pan.
- Layer the shredded rotisserie chicken over the stuffed shells.
- Cover the chicken with the rest of the marinara sauce. Pour 1 ½ cups of water into the pan. Cover the marinara sauce with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and ½ cup Parmesan cheese.
- Cover the pan in foil and bake for 60 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with ribbons of fresh basil and drizzles of pesto.
Video
Notes
- To get the moisture out of the thawed spinach, wrap it in paper towels and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze out all the extra liquid.
- Baking the lasagna stuffed shells covered in aluminum foil keeps the moisture in so the shells cook to a perfect al dente.
Omg, so delicious. It was a success with the kids. Whew! I was afraid the sight of "green stuff" in it would make them not even try it. Got them to try a bite and it was winner winner chicken dinner!
Thanks, Leah, for sharing this! I'm so glad the green stuff didn't scare anyone away :).