Terrific Tofu Stuffed Shells

"These are a fantastic substitute for the regular ricotta cheese-filled stuffed shells! My dairy-eating mother said she wouldn't have guessed they were made with tofu if I hadn't told her. I halved this recipe and baked it in an 8x8 square dish and it worked great, although I did have leftover sauce and stuffing mixture. I also omitted the mozzarella soy cheese because I didn't have any on hand, and let me tell you, it isn't really necessary! The original recipe only called for a few spices, but I liberally added more and they gave the tofu mixture a great flavor. Feel free to add more of your own! This is great with a salad and crusty bread. I got the recipe from mleonard on the IBS message boards at www.helpforibs.com, although I tweaked it a little."
 
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Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
12
Yields:
1 9x13 inch pan
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ingredients

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directions

  • Boil the pasta shells according to the directions on the package.
  • When cooked, strain and place in cool water or on wax paper; set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and spoon approximately 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan.
  • Shred soy mozzarella cheese in a bowl (if not already shredded).
  • Add the tofu, soy parmesan, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, parsley, and any additional spices desired.
  • Mix until thoroughly combined (the recipe says a hand mixer works great, but I used my hands).
  • Stuff each shell with approximately 2 Tbsp of the soy mixture (I used a mellon baller to stuff).
  • Place the stuffed shells in the baking pan.
  • Drizzle a little of the spaghetti sauce over each shell.
  • Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Let rest for 5 minutes and serve.
  • Note: This is totally dairy-free if you use vegan soy cheeses; otherwise it contains the milk protein casein.

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Reviews

  1. What a great first experience with tofu for me! This recipe was delicious, and no one in my family had a clue that such a thing as tofu was in it! I made with "regular" mozzarella & parmesan cheeses, used only basil (no oregano), added a good amount of garlic powder and used inexpensive canned Hunt's Traditional spaghetti sauce, and it couldn't have been more perfect. Also made a pan of meat sauce on the side as my DH requires meat with his meals (we're from Texas!) This one's a keeper!
     
  2. Hey Kree, thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I haven't had stuffed shells since having to go dairy free around 1998 due to food sensitivities, and I really missed food like this. These were really, really awesome and really easy. I used 2 t. oregano and 1 t. basil for flavor. I also skipped the parmesan cheese (I haven't found a good sub for this yet....) and the parsley. And, I put the tofu under a plate with weights (the jars of spaghetti sauce) to pull out more moisture and drain it before mixing the filling. I made the filling early in the morning on Christmas Eve and let the flavors mix for about 5-6 hours while we ran errands. Came home, made the shells, and stuffed them. It was really easy and fast. I use Tinkyada gluten-free pasta shells for the 1st time which said to decrease the (boiling) cooking time by 2 minutes if they were going to be used in baking. Next time, I would not do that because they were still not cooked after 30 minutes. I ended up having to add an extra 1/2 cup water to the pan and baking for another 15-20 minutes just to make them al dente. I am new to this, so I learned from the experience. Next time I will boil the pasta shells at least to al dente. My DH loved the shells, too, which is great because this is a very easy way to add tofu to our diet and not even notice it. It could also be fun to experiment with the filling. Maybe try subbing 1 extra firm silken tofu (Mori Nu lite) for the firm version. And, I wonder...adding roasted eggplant or broccoli might be really yummy, too.
     
  3. This was excellent! My husband suggested stuffed shells. I didn't have any ricotta, but I did have a couple of boxes of silken tofu. I halved the recipe and got about 14 shells, stuffed generously. I added frozen chopped spinach, about 1/4 cup of diced onion, and some red pepper flakes. I also used regular cheeses. I am anxious to see how this freezes, as it would be a great item to have on hand. :)
     
  4. I was having trouble finding a tofu recipe that we liked, until I found this one. Simple and tasty. I used the spaghetti sauce from recipe 294580, Mama Maroni's Meatballs and Sauce with this (1/2 recipe), and it was great. Used regular mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
     
  5. Yummy yummy. This was really good. I've been trying new vegetarian recipes lately, so this was something I really wanted to make. I used 2% milk mozzerella and fresh grated parm because the family is not vegan at all. We love our cheese. I split the recipe in half and added a box of frozen spinach. I stuffed about 16 shells with the amount I had which was perfect for three people and leftovers. I will totally be making this again.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I'm a real estate agent in the lovely city of Rochester, New York. That's not what I expected to do with my life. I got my bachelor's in psychology, my masters in literacy education, and I taught high school special education for two years. Then I discovered that helping people find the homes of their dreams was my real passion. I've been doing it for over two years now and still absolutely love my career. Other than that, I have a very spoiled Border Collie mix named Bear that I adopted from a local shelter in spring '08. He's gorgeous and fun and brings me great joy. Now if only I could find a man like that... LOL!
 
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