Quick and Cheesy Lemon Bacon Stuffed Shells
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 6 oz jumbo pasta shells about half of a 12 oz box + a little bit extra in case some break
- 3 strips bacon
- 3 c spinach chopped
- 1 shallot small, finely chopped
- 1 c mascarpone cheese
- 5 tbsp parmesan cheese divided
- ½ lemon zest only
- salt to taste
- ¼ c spaghetti sauce
Optional Toppings
- crushed red pepper flakes
- chopped parsley
Instructions
Make the Pasta
- Boil water and cook pasta shells according to package instructions.
- While water boils & pasta cooks, begin working on your filling.
Make the Filling
- Cook bacon strips in a skillet over medium heat until crispy - 5 to 8 minutes. While bacon cooks, finely chop shallot and spinach.
- Remove bacon from the pan and set on a paper towel lined plate to remove excess grease. Carefully remove all but about a tsp of bacon grease from your pan (do not dump it down your sink!). Once cooled, chop bacon into small bits and set aside.
- Add shallot and spinach to pan, and cook until shallots are translucent, and spinach is just wilted, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- In a small mixing bowl, add mascarpone, 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, lemon zest, spinach and shallot, and bacon bits. Stir to combine.
Stuff the Shells
- Drain the cooked shells and set aside to cool - just enough to handle.
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Prep a casserole dish by covering the bottom with pasta sauce. My casserole dish is 9 ½" x 7" for reference, but a larger dish would work as well!
- Carefully open a shell and fill with ~1 tbsp of filling (just enough to fill the shell and allow it to close slightly). Arrange shells in your prepared dish. Repeat until there is no more filling. **Sometimes I run out of space in my pan, so I go back through and add some filling to my shells.
- Top with remaining parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until browning on top and warmed through.
- Top with freshly chopped parsley and enjoy!