Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells with Smoky Marinara

Smoky Marinara: I used 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes instead of 1 fire roasted and 1 regular. Added a leftover chopped shallot to the garlic sauté as well and some crushed red chili flakes after the tomatoes were thrown in. Also made sure to cook it down a bit to concentrate flavor and make sure it wasn't too "watery" as some reviewers before me have said. 

Filling: I added a couple of garlic gloves to the food processor since we love garlic in our house. 

It turned out really well, and the smoky/spicy marinara went really well with the creamy filling. It will definitely yield 40 shells so cut in half if you don't want to freeze, I am already looking forward to the night when I don't have to cook and I can just pop these in the oven straight from the freezer. 

Paired with a simple green salad and had a lovely meal.

My grocery store did not have shells, so i decided to go with whole wheat lasagna (Hodgkin's Mill) in lieu of the shells. It was SOOOO much easier to do, and it made more individual pieces than the shells (48 total if you use half a sheet of lasagna per shell). I rolled each piece and otherwise followed directions- turned out awesome! 9 WW points plus, if you're counting, but that is for 4 shells, and 3 is probably enough if you have a big salad! 

Very light and flavorful! In spite of all the cheese, these are not heavy shells.

I made as stated but found the sauce to be way too watery, the frozen spinach was not good and didn't like the creamy texture of the cheese.

Delicious! This sauce is my new favorite Marinara! I will be using it on everything.

I enjoyed the meal - the flavors were spot on in my opinion. However, I give the recipe a 3 stars because I found it far too watery for my tastes. I think next time I will use either a jarred sauce or drain the canned tomatoes prior to making the recipes sauce.

This is a great freezer recipe- this is one I use all the time to take to friends who have been ill or have just had a baby. Keeps very well and always gets great reviews.

This recipe was really good, but not outstanding. I added a little garlic powder and Italian seasoning to the cheese mix and used mostly jarred sauce. I also used dried parsley instead of fresh. Finally, I used manicotti pasta instead of shells. Overall my husband and I enjoyed the fresh pan of pasta, but haven't tried the frozen pan yet. I might try this one again with the smoky marinara sauce!

Very good. Loved that it made two 9 by 13 pans and went from freezer to oven great. Good flavor, men had seconds!

Pretty good recipe. I used my homemade spaghetti sauce and added some chicken Italian sausage bits. I had quite a few shells left over as there wasn't enough filling for the entire 12 oz box so I would adjust that next time. I also added Eggbeaters (1/4 cup) to the filling.

What a great way to sneak in all of your greens...smother them in cheese! This recipe was great, despite the fact that I was lazy and used pasta sauce from the jar. I would highly recommend adding a little goat cheese and maybe a little less ricotta. Goat cheese gives it a pow! Also, adding garlic always helps too.

I've been making this recipe since I found it 7 years ago. I've used frozen spinach and fresh. I love that it freezes very well and tastes exquisite even after leaving it for a day or two. wonderful for entertaining because you can make it ahead and serve it up with a salad and fresh bread. A staple in my recipe file.

Love, Love, Love this recipe. I have made it many times. I've found though that I need to make a little more of the filling than stated because I end up with leftover shells. The Fire-roasted sauce is a must. It has such great flavor. Everyone who's had this has raved about it and asked me to make again. Excellent dish and worth the extra time to make it...plus, you get an extra meal out of it! :)

This really turned out well and wasn't as time consuming as I expected. I made several modifications. I doubled the spinach and halved the cheese, added 1/2 cup chopped olives and 1 can of drained, chopped artichoke hearts. I added oregano and basil. I bought the marinara sauce, instead of making it. I only got one 9x13 pan, though after looking at the photo it might be that I over-stuffed the shells. Will definitely make again.

I did not make the sauce but the rest was great. The filing had good flavor with all cheeses melding well together. I am not a fan of cottage cheese but it worked. I did add a little extra mozzarella to the top. I will definitely make again. It is a little time consuming but not when you consider how many meals you get from this.

Just wow. This was awesome. Outstanding flavor, loved both the sauce and the filling. Worthy of any occasion, will make again SOON!

I have made this for company twice to rave reviews. I think it is a little time consuming, but well worth it, Looking forward to the leftovers! Will make again for sure.

Loved it so much. Loved that I could make it for two occassions. Made it just as the recipe.

This is one of our favorite go-to recipes now. We love garlic, so we add a few cloves (minced) to the filling. We have recommended it to several friends already!

I followed the recipe exactly, but wasn't that impressed. Thought the sauce was a little watery and the flavor just tasted a little off to me. I used Muir Glen's fire-roasted crushed tomatoes. I thought the cheese/herb mixture was great, but there was too much spinach in it for my taste. I'll try this again, but I'm going to use a different sauce, less spinach, and a little parmesan with the mozzarella on top.

Very good. We used Newman's Own Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce, which worked well.