Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 5

Ingredients:

  • 20 jumbo pasta shells
  • 4 oz. fresh baby spinach, 2 packed cups chopped
  • 16 oz. 2% cottage cheese
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 Tb. pesto
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ tsp. Kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water
  • 2 ¼ cups marinara sauce, plus more for serving
  • 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • Chopped fresh basil or parsley, for serving

Directions:

  • 1

    Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the spinach in a large pot with 3 tablespoons of water, cover and let the spinach steam for 1 minute, stirring until the spinach is wilted. Transfer to a strainer, squeeze out the excess water and chop the spinach.

  • 2

    In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta shells according to package directions, 9 to 10 minutes. Drain and keep them separate to prevent them from sticking together.

  • 3

    While the noodles cook, combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan, pesto, egg and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the spinach and mix well.

  • 4

    Ladle about 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the filling and place in the dish, cut side up. Ladle the remaining sauce over the shells and top each one with 1 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil without touching the cheese and bake for 40 minutes.