Veggie Stuffed Pasta Shells are flavorful, warm and satisfying. Stuffed with sauce, plant based ‘sausage’ crumbled into small pieces and little florets of broccoli.
Comfort food here we come! Veggie Stuffed Pasta Shells are flavorful, warm, satisfying and delicious. Stuffed with a wonderful tomato sauce, ‘sausage’ crumbled into small pieces and little florets of broccoli.
This recipe is reminiscent of lasagna … but … there are little bits of broccoli and the meat is not hamburger but a wonderful faux sausage with wonderful spicy flavors. Non GMO and delicious!
We eat a lot of pasta in our house and I am always trying to find something different and to show off so I can say – I got skills. This was a hit and I am glad to say Ed is happy and, ahem, very lucky.
Veggie Stuffed Pasta Shells
Veggie Stuffed Pasta Shells are flavorful, warm and satisfying.
Ingredients
- 8 ounce jumbo pasta shells package
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 white onion , chpped
- 24 ounces spaghetti sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 12 ounces Italian Field Roast Sausage pack of 4, not sponsored, I just love this sausage
- 8 ounces mushrooms
- 1 cup broccoli , cut into small florettes
- 8 ounces dairy-free mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- You will need a 8" x 8" or 8" x 10" casserole dish.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions and set aside.
- Put the 'cheese' in a food processor and pulse into smaller pieces (if you have a shredded type). I like to do this do be able to spread the cheese even thinner and get a better melted effect.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon coconut oil in a large skillet.
- Field Roast Sausage is a large sausage like Italian sausage. Put the 'sausages' in the skillet and brown on all sides. Take out of the pan and set aside.
- Heat another Tablespoon oil in the skillet.
- Add the onion and saute until transparent, about 10 minutes.
- Set the cooked onion aside.
- Heat the last Tablespoon of oil in the large skillet.
- Saute the mushrooms until the liquid is released and almost gone. About 15 minutes.
- Cut the sausage into a few large chunks.
- Put in a food processor and pulse until the sausage is processed into very small pieces. It will be delicious in the pasta shells.
- Steam or boil the broccoli for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Put the spaghetti sauce, mushrooms, onions, 'sausage' and broccoli back into the skillet.
- Add the 1/2 cup water and stir.
- Do not add the pasta or cheese.
- Cook at medium heat for 15 minutes.
[img src="http://veganinthefreezer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Veggie-Stuffed-Pasta-Shells-Three.jpg"] - Put 1/4 cup of the skillets sauce in the bottom of the casserole.
- Add about half of the cheese into the sauce and mix well.
- Stuff the shells with the sauce mixture and lay in the prepared casserole There will be about 2 layers. Depending on the size of the casserole.
- Pour the rest of the sauce over all of the shells.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese all over the top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Remove and serve.
Recipe Notes
IF FREEZING:
Freeze before baking only.
Please follow any of the directions defined in my article How to Prepare Food for the Freezer.
TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:
Take out of freezer and put in the refrigerator at least 6 to 8 hours before baking (or the day before). Bake, covered at 350° for 20 minutes and then uncover and bake for 10 minutes.
Ginny McMeans says
Yes, you can saute them in water. It won’t change the taste – just a different process. Thanks so much!
DeAnne Norton says
I’d like to try sautéing the onions, etc in water instead of the oil. Do you think that this will effect the taste any? These sound wonderful!
Ginny McMeans says
That is wonderful Lauren!!! Yes, I think I know what you mean and I will also add this to the recipe above. Thanks for pointing it out to me. You can use more sauce but what I would do and I think I do this often is just add water. I would say as much as 1/2 cup. Then it should be fine. You could also add a 15-1/2 ounce can of diced tomatoes. That would be good too. I know I did not do that in this recipe but I have done it other times. Thanks for letting me know how much your family enjoyed it.
Lauren says
Made these tonight (ok, I made them last night and baked them tonight) and they were absolutely delicious! My kids told me, “This is a make again. Definitely.”
I only had one issue while making them. It comes at this point in the recipe:
“Put the spaghetti sauce, mushrooms, onions, ‘sausage’ and broccoli back into the skillet. …
Cook at medium heat for 15 minutes. …
Put 1/4 cup of the skillets sauce in the bottom of the casserole. …
Pour the rest of the sauce over all of the shells.”
Yeah, I had no extra sauce to put in the bottom of the dish or on top. I had used a 25oz jar of sauce, but it had all cooked down by that time. So the shells were a bit dry, but otherwise delicious. What do you recommend for next time (because, oh yes, there will be a next time)? Put a lid on the cooking filling? Reserve some sauce before adding it to the sausage/broccoli/mushrooms?
Anyway, excellent dinner and I’ve already recommended your site to others. Thank you!
Ginny McMeans says
Thanks so much Paula!!!
Ginny McMeans says
If you would like to try the vegan Italian sausage I have bought it at Whole Foods and Sprouts. I am sure it is at most other natural food grocery stores too. I love Jacksonville!
Lisa says
Where can you find that sausage I live in Jacksonville Florida not known for its large supply vegetarian foods thanks and bye-bye
Paula p says
wowzers! That’s some pretty amazing pasta, Ginny! Pinned!
Ginny McMeans says
Thanks Carolyn!
Ginny McMeans says
Thanks so much! I may just love you!
Carolyn says
That truly looks like perfect comfort food.
inbal says
WOW!
I’m in love… its look tasty and so good 🙂