Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

big pasta shells filled with mozzarella cheese and spinach laying on red marinara sauce

If you like pasta and one-pot meals, this Instant Pot stuffed shell is the dish for you!

A great option for meatless Monday or anytime you'd like a vegetarian dinner.

You can make it in your Instant Pot or any other pressure cooker in just 30 minutes (total).

big pasta shells filled with mozzarella cheese and spinach laying on red marinara sauce

Do I need to precook the shells?

No. This is a one-pot meal so you can use the shells directly from the package.

Recipe Video  

How about the marinara sauce?

For the marinara sauce, you can make it yourself using this Instant Pot Marinara sauce recipe or just use store-bought.

Can I Use a Different Sauce?

Yes! Feel free to replace the marinara sauce with pesto, bolognese, spaghetti sauce, meat sauce, or any other sauce you like.

I’m always doing that when I want to diversify without getting bored of this Instant Pot stuffed shells recipe.

How to serve?

You can have it as is, with fresh salad or steamed vegetables.

For more quick and easy ideas for side dishes, check What To Serve With Stuffed Shells.

Can I Use Frozen Spinach?

I highly recommend using fresh baby spinach for this recipe.

Frozen spinach contains a lot of water, so it may result in the shells becoming too watery.

If you do use frozen spinach, make sure to fully defrost and drain it first, squeezing out as much excess liquid as possible with your hands.

If using fresh spinach, you should briefly boil the spinach, then drain and squeeze out excess water before adding to the cheese mixture.

The spinach can be minced after cooking and draining.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

How many shells do I need?

Since we are placing the shells in a single layer, the amount change based on your Instant Pot size.

If you have a 6-quart Instant Pot - use 16 stuffed shells.

If you have an 8-quart Instant Pot - use 20 stuffed shells.

More Helpful Tips

It may seem strange to add water to the marinara sauce, but it’s necessary for this recipe.

If you don’t add sufficient water, the marinara may start to burn and you’ll get a burning message on your Instant Pot.

So, make sure to add the full 1 and ½ cups of water.

After you add the water, use a wooden spoon or flexible rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and corners of the pot.

Sometimes there will be bits of stuck-on onion or marinara sauce that could also cause a burning message, so make sure to scrape them off before pressure cooking to prevent this.

How to make

Gather all the ingredients first, trust me it lessens the hassle.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Take the Spinach and chop it.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Now take an onion and chop it, chop the garlic as well.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Take the Parsseman Cheese and shred it.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Take a bowl, and add Ricotta Cheese.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Add the chopped Spinach, and shredded Mozzarella into the bowl.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Now add previously shredded Parssamen Cheese and an egg as well.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Now take your Instant pot to add olive oil.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Add previously minced garlic.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Now add chopped onions and set the pot to Saute for 5 minutes.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Add Marinara Sauce after Sauteeing and stir well.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Add ½ cup of water so our mixture doesn't burn and stir well.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Now comes the fun part!

Take Pasta shells and fill them with the stuffing we prepared earlier.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Fill the Pasta shells and keep putting them into the sauce in Instant Pot.

Set the Instant pot to High Pressure for 8 minutes.

Do a quick release.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Add Mozzarella onto the freshly cooked shells and set the instant pot to High pressure AGAIN for 4 minutes.

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Do a quick release and Voila! your Instant Pot Stuffed Shells are ready to be served 🙂

One-Pot Pasta Recipes

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli

Instant Pot Feta Pasta

Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo

Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Instant Pot Taco Pasta

big pasta shells filled with mozzarella cheese and spinach laying on red marinara sauce

Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

You must try this Instant Pot Stuffed Shells! It's a wonderful one-pot meal that is filling and full with taste! You can use marinara or any sauce you like!
4.64 from 159 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, pasta, ricotta cheese, Stuffed Shells
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Corrie

Ingredients

  • 16-20 pasta shells uncooked
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 10 ounces spinach boiled or defrosted, minced
  • 2 tablespoon fresh basil minced
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • 1.5 cups water
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a bowl mix spinach, ricotta, mozzarella (1 cup), parmesan cheese, whisked egg, salt, pepper and minced basil.
  • Stuff the pasta shells with the filling.
  • Press "Saute" and add olive oil to the Instant Pot.
  • Add onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes until golden.
  • Add marinara sauce, stir and saute for 1 more minute.
  • Add water and stir well.
  • Place the stuffed shells in the sauce in one layer.
  • Close the lid and cook at high pressure for 8 minutes.
  • When cooking time is complete, do a quick pressure release.
  • Open the lid and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese (1 cup).
  • Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
  • When cooking time is complete, do a quick pressure release and open the lid.
  • Carefully remove shells with a slotted spoon to serve. Spoon extra sauce on top and garnish with additional parmesan cheese and fresh basil 🙂

Nutrition

Calories: 388kcal Carbohydrates: 14g Protein: 24g Fat: 27g Saturated Fat: 14g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 10g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 104mg Sodium: 916mg Potassium: 705mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 5g Vitamin A: 5542IU Vitamin C: 21mg Calcium: 528mg Iron: 3mg

Video

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Instant Pot Heavenly Stuffed Shells

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

37 thoughts on “Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

  1. Tried this tonight and got the dreaded burn notice. I took them out, put them in a casserole dish, poured the sauce from the instant pot over all and covered with cheese. Placed some foil sprayed with pam over it to cover and baked at 350 for 30 minutes, uncovered another 10 and they were delicious.

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