Add to: Recipe Box | Grocery List | Meal PlannerRecipe submitted by Theresa
Tsafko@aol.comVegan Stuffed ShellsIngredients (use vegan versions): 1 container extra-firm tofu
5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
dash of nutmeg
vidalia onion (or other sweet onion), chopped
2 boxes of frozen spinach, or the fresh equivalent
3 cloves garlic, 4 if you like garlic
at least 5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large jar spaghetti sauce or fresh made
1 box pasta jumbo shells
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
Directions:Place 3/4 of the Tofu in a Food Processor or Blender and add 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil, a pinch of Nutmeg, nutritional yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Blend until smooth. Mash the remaining Tofu into the Blended mixture that resembles Ricotta cheese or cottage cheese. Set aside.
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
Sauté the onion in a little Olive Oil till it becomes translucent, but not browned then add the garlic and sauté for just a minute more. If using frozen spinach just defrost the spinach do not cook. If using fresh spinach steam until the spinach is wilted about 2 minutes in boiling water. Make sure in both instances to squeeze out all of the excess liquid. Add the spinach, onion and seasonings to the Ricotta mixture and set aside. Can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 24 hours.
In a large pot boil the Shells as directed on the package. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool off enough to handle them. Place enough spaghetti sauce on the bottom of an 8 X 12 baking dish just to cover. Stuff the shells with the Ricotta mixture. When you are done stuffing the shells place the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the shells. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Serves: 4 to 5
Preparation time: 60 minutes
This recipe is really good...thanks! I used firm tofu and a little less olive oil than suggested. Also, though I *love* spinach, this recipe would still turn out fine using just 1 lb. of frozen spinach. Another note about the spinach in this recipe: I think my kids would prefer if the spinach was added to the food processor along with the ricotta mixture--for a smoother (more kid-friendly, at least in my house) texture.
Archived comment by: zucchiniSister
I was dumbfounded at how amazing this recipe turned out. It has the perfect texture and taste. Its definitely going to become a staple for me. Thanks so much.
Archived comment by: abinka
This is an excellent recipe. I make it all the time. I prefer less spinach, so use just one box. Thanks!
Archived comment by: neme
Yummy! This is an awesome recipe! I don't know if my box of shells was bigger than the average box of shells or if I just stuffed my shells too much. . .anyways, I only used about half of the shells! So I'm making some more filling tonight to stuff in the rest of the shells and I'm going to freeze it for later.
Archived comment by: lavenderskies
I think I will make these soon and do what Zucchini Sister did-put the spinach in the food processor too...hello green filling! How could resist?
Archived comment by: cheerjess
Seriously delicious. I had to use jumbo manicottis, because I couldnt find the jumbo shells. I didn't use any oil; instead I sauteed the onions & garlic in a little bit of water. Following another reviewers advice, I made double the filling, but I ended up with twice as much as I needed. :-) So I guess it depends on how stuffed you want your shells/manicotti to be. The sauce I used is a homemade version made of crushed tomatoes, good red wine, onions and garlic. Yummmmmmy.
Archived comment by: speltrong
This sounds delicious and I plan on making it next weekend for friends. One question, though, could I omit the yeast? Is it for flavor or just to add nutrition? Thanks for the recipe.
Archived comment by: inanna
Inanna, the nutritional yeast is for flavor and nutrition. Primarily, though, nutritional yeast is used to lend sort of a cheesy flavor to vegan foods. Nutritional yeast can usually be found in the bulk section of health food stores, Wholefoods, etc. Nutritional yeast looks nothing like bread yeast--instead, it resembles tan/yellow instant mashed potato flakes.
Archived comment by: willwolf
Thank you for the information, Willwolf. I appreciate your response.
Archived comment by: inanna
These were sooo delicious! My boyfriend, the vegetarian, did not miss the cheese at all, even my meat eating friend thought it was real ricotta! I did howe'ver take the advice about less spinach and am glad I did, I think it might have been a bit too much with 2 packages. I'm going to try adding some sautéed mushrooms to the mix mmmmmm, this is definitely a staple in my kitchen now!
Archived comment by: tofuttiCutie123
Ok, so I know I already commented on this, but I have to reiterate how good it is. We made it again tonight with a few more modifications: My hubby accidentally got silken firm tofu instead of the regular kind, so instead of putting it in the food processor we just threw it in a bowl and mashed it up. It worked perfectly AND we didn't have to get our food processor dirty. Then, since the silken tofu comes in smaller sizes than the regular, we used just one package of spinach, still no oil, and 3 tbsp of nutritional yeast... and of course our yummy homemade red sauce with mushrooms in it. The filling ended up being just enough to stuff 11 manicotti shells which was perfect for our needs. Thank you Theresa for posting this recipe!
Archived comment by: speltrong
