These decadent seafood stuffed shells feature a mixture of shrimp, crab, and scallops with a blend of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses, and it's topped off with a rich and creamy bechamel sauce, then baked until golden brown. It's an elegant and delicious dish perfect for a holiday dinner or special occasion meal.
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Why this Recipe Works
Stuffed shells with spinach and ricotta are a classic pasta dish and always a family favorite. This version of stuffed shells with seafood takes that classic dish to the next with an indulgent filling featuring shrimp, scallops, and crab meat combined with the traditional ricotta and spinach filling.
It's topped with a rich and creamy parmesan white sauce that is similar to an alfredo sauce in taste, but uses a roux as a thickener so that it is more stable when baking. To finish it off we add extra mozzarella cheese and bake it until golden brown.
The result is an elevated comfort food dish that is a great option for serving a crowd at Christmas dinner or on special occasions.
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
- Shrimp - I used medium-sized peeled and deveined shrimp to save a little time. But, you can save a little money by doing the work yourself. Avoid pre-cooked shrimp and salad shrimp.
- Scallops - I recommend using dry-packed sea scallops in this dish for the best flavor. These are not treated with chemical preservatives like wet-packed scallops. Frozen will work; just thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
- Crab - Jumbo lump, lump, or special-grade crab will work in this dish. I do not recommend claw meat as the flavor is too strong. Be sure to pick out any shells from the meat before using.
- Cheese - These baked pasta shells are definitely not diet food! I recommend using whole milk ricotta for the best flavor. And I always recommend shredding your own cheese for dishes with melted cheese. For the mozzarella, use a block of low-moisture mozzarella. For the parmesan use a good quality such as Parmigiano Reggiano.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Cook your pasta shells in a large pot of boiling water for around 7-8 minutes, until al dente. Then drain and set aside. They should be slightly undercooked and will finish while baking.
- Heat olive oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season the shrimp and scallops with your seafood seasoning and cook with the shallots for around 4 minutes until just cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
- Add the spinach to the pan with a little more oil if needed and sauté for 1-2 minutes until just wilted, then add to the bowl of cooked seafood. Turn off the heat but do not clean the pan. The juices in the pan will help flavor the sauce later.
- Prepare the filling by adding the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, ½ cup of parmesan cheese, egg, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper to a medium mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Then fold in the crab meat and the cooled seafood and spinach.
- Using the same pan from cooking the shrimp and scallops, set over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes until it just begins to brown. Add the milk, cream, and wine (or chicken stock if preferred) and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, then remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of parmesan cheese.
- Spread around 1 cup of the white sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish. Spoon the filling into the shells and place in the baking dish.
- Pour the sauce over the shells. Top with ½ cup of mozzarella cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes until the sauce is bubbling. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Rinse the scallops in cold water to remove any sand or grit and also check for and remove any of the tough side muscle. Then thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.
- Chop the shrimp and scallops into small pieces before cooking so that they don't overpower the filling. I cut my shrimp into 4-5 small chunks depending on size and similar with the scallops. This will allow you to get a nice blend of seafood in each shell.
- Be careful not to overcook the shrimp and scallops when sautéeing them. They will continue cooking when you bake the pasta so it's okay if they are slightly undercooked.
- As the seafood stuffed shells bake, the white sauce will soak in and coat the noodles, and some will be absorbed by the pasta. It will also thicken a bit more as it cooks. So be generous when topping the shells with sauce in the baking dish.
- I like to nestle the shells in the baking dish tightly, with one end pointing up, and leave the top ends of the pasta exposed when adding the sauce. This allows the tips to brown when baking.
Suggested Pairings
This hearty dish is very filling and doesn't require a lot of side dishes. It is rich in flavor, so I do like to pair it with a side salad with a tangy or citrusy dressing. My apple walnut salad and shaved brussels sprouts salad are great options. And you can't go wrong with a loaf of crusty bread or garlic bread too!
Recipe Variations
The filling for these baked stuffed shells is flexible. You can use other types of seafood such as chopped lobster meat or omit any of the seafood items from the recipe. You can also make these with shredded chicken if you're not a seafood fan. And like classic meatless stuffed shells, they're great filled with just the blended cheeses and spinach too!
Recipe FAQs
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
I do not recommend freezing this dish.
Place leftovers in a baking dish and cover with foil. Reheat in a 325°F for 15 minutes or until warmed through. Smaller portions can be reheated in the microwave.
Traditional stuffed shells with red sauce are a great make ahead dish, but this seafood version doesn't work quite as well because of the cream sauce.
If you do need to make ahead, you can stuff the shells and refrigerate them for up to one day. Then when ready to prepare the dish, take them out of the fridge, make the sauce, and proceed as directed.
More Pasta Recipes
- Lasagna with Homemade Noodles
- Chicken Lasagna with Spinach
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Salmon Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
- Creamy Cajun Pasta with Shrimp
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 24 jumbo pasta shells, plus a few extra in case of breakage
Filling
- 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, then chopped
- 1 6 oz can lump crab meat
- ½ pound scallops, rinsed and dried, then chopped
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seafood seasoning
- 4-5 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
White Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1½ cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup dry white wine, or chicken stock
- 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Cook your pasta shells in a large pot of boiling water for around 7-8 minutes, until al dente. Then drain and set aside. They should be slightly undercooked and will finish while baking.
- Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season the shrimp and scallops with the seafood seasoning and add to the pan with the shallots. Cook for around 4 minutes until just cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
- Add the spinach to the pan with a little more oil if needed and sauté for 1-2 minutes until just wilted, then add to the bowl of cooked seafood. Turn off the heat but do not clean the pan.
- Prepare the filling by adding the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, ½ cup of parmesan cheese, egg, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper to a medium mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Then fold in the crab meat and the cooled seafood and spinach.
- Using the same pan from the seafood, set over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes. Add the milk, cream, and wine and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, then remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of parmesan cheese.
- Add ½ cup of sauce to the bottom of a baking dish. Spoon the filling into the cooked pasta shells and place in the baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells, then top with ½ cup of mozzarella cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbling. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
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