Butternut squash stuffed shells are the ultimate fall comfort food! Filled with creamy spinach "ricotta," this recipe is an all-time fan favorite.
Creamy, tangy, and with a caramelized sweetness from roasted butternut squash, this stuffed shells recipe is one you’re sure to love. In lieu of any ricotta, Parmesan, or mozzarella cheese, I stuff them with a light, dairy-free “ricotta.” Made from cashew cream, crumbled tofu, herbs, and lemon zest, it’s rich and flavorful. If your family is squeamish about tofu, just don’t tell them. They’ll never suspect it here.
My Favorite Stuffed Shells Recipe
While I often use a marinara sauce with my stuffed shells, in the spirit of fall, I opted for a luscious, creamy cashew sauce. I also stuffed my shells with roasted butternut squash. This recipe has a few steps, but the creamy, cozy pasta & squash are totally worth the effort. Here’s how you make them:
- Roast the squash. Make sure to cut it into little cubes that will fit neatly inside the shells!
- Make the cashew cream. Blend together the cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Make the “ricotta.” Saute the spinach, squeeze out any excess water, and mix it with crumbled tofu, oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, and 1 cup cashew cream.
- Cook the pasta. Don’t forget to salt the water!
- Stuff the shells. Fill them with generous scoops of the ricotta and a few cubes of squash.
- Bake the stuffed shells! Pop them in the oven for 15 minutes, and you’re ready to eat.
We really love this recipe. I hope you do too!
Stuffed Shells Serving Suggestions
I like to serve my stuffed shells with dollops of extra cashew cream to really take them over the top. While this recipe is delicious on any night, it’d be especially good as a vegetarian main course at Thanksgiving or a holiday dinner. If you’re looking for something to pair it with, try any of these simple vegetable side dishes:
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Simple Lemon Green Beans
- Roasted Beet Salad
- Simple Roasted Beets with Citrus
- Shredded Brussels Sprout Salad
- Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Zest
- any of these salads
And don’t forget the apple crumble for dessert!
If you love this stuffed shells recipe…
Try these cozy casserole-type recipes next:
Or try one of these favorite squash recipes:
For more vegan recipes, check out this post with 85 Best Vegan Recipes.
Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1½ cups cubed butternut squash
- extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 16 jumbo shells
cashew cream
- 1½ cups raw cashews*, see note
- 1 cup fresh water
- 1 garlic clove
- 3½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
filling
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup crumbled firm tofu
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 cup cashew cream, from the recipe above
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the butternut squash with a drizzle of olive oil and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Roast until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Make the cashew cream: Blend together the drained raw cashews, fresh water, garlic, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.
- Make the filling: In a medium skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the spinach in increments, along with a pinch of salt, and sauté until all the spinach is incorporated and wilted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Squeeze out any excess liquid and chop. In a medium bowl, combine the the spinach with the crumbled tofu, oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, at least 1/4 teaspoon salt, freshly ground black pepper and 1 cup of cashew cream. Season to taste, adding more salt and pepper as desired.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the shells and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain.
- Assemble the shells. Spread ¼ cup of the reserved cashew cream on the bottom of an 11x7-inch baking dish. Fill each cooked shell with some of the filling and a few cubes of butternut squash, and place into the baking dish. Drizzle a little olive oil over the shells, cover with foil, and bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Remove from the oven and serve with the remaining cashew cream.
Notes
This recipe looks amazing, but I’m allergic to Cashews. Do you recommend another sauce to place on top?
Thank you!!
Hi Lauren, you could use raw sunflower seeds instead (although the sauce won’t be quite as creamy), or you could do marinara instead of the white sauce, take a look at this recipe: https://www.loveandlemons.com/vegan-stuffed-shells/
Hope that helps!
Hi Jeanine,
Oh it does!! Thank you so much, enjoy your Sunday! ☺️
There are so many things I love about this recipe. All my favorite ingredients, pasta, butternut squash and cashews! I always try to eat lots of cashews for extra magnesium which stops me getting leg cramps. This is so delicious. I can see why it was a year favorite!
New to vegan cooking. Am concerned these shells would be very dry on the outside after baking without any sauce……..I guess my question is, are they ? if so what would be the solution? Thank you. Your cookbook and website are both besutiful!
Hi Sheila – they do get a little crisp on the outside. I personally don’t mind it but if you want to avoid it you can bake the dish covered with foil. Also note that the cook time here is only 15 minutes – since there’s not cheese to melt on top, you just want to cook until everything is warmed through. I serve these with the remaining sauce on top after they bake, but you could slather it on before baking if you like. (It just doesn’t bake like normal cream). Hope that helps!
Absolutely delicious ! This recipe will be added to my rotation so yummy and filling.
So glad you loved this one!
These were great! The store was out of butternut squash so I subbed in acorn squash and it was still delicious 🙂 YAY vegan thanksgiving!!
Made it for the first time tonight. So easy and yet soooooo delicious!
Do you think this can be made ahead/night before and then baked in the oven ?
Hi Nicole, I haven’t tried so I can’t say for sure, but I think it would be fine. At the very least, the components could all be made in advance and assembled just before baking. Let me know if you give it a try!
Super easy and delicious! Healthy and looks very appetizing! Can’t wait to try all of them! Cheers!!
Aside from the Squash, would you say the filling of cashews and herbs could be made ahead of time?
Hi Amy – yep, you can make the cashew filling ahead of time!
I made it for dinner yesterday and replaced cashew cream with feta cheese – amazing!
Really good! The cashew cream on the bottom of the pan got a little dry as did the shells. I think maybe next time I will cover it and maybe add more cream to the bottom of a smaller pan? My daughter said “No cheese!” skeptically as I was making it, but I got an “Interesting…” when she was eating it. In teenage speak this means “Good!”
Hi RJ – I’m glad you and your daughter enjoyed these – yes, I think covering might help, and maybe a drizzle of olive oil on the bottom in addition to the cashew cream. Thank you for your feedback, it’s so helpful!
Could you use frozen butternut squash that is defrosted? Thanks !
Is this recipe freezable? ? Thanks!
Can’t wait to try this, I am gluten and dairy sensitive, I am always looking for a substitute for ricotta cheese, what can I use instead of the Tofu and I am soy sensitive too!
Chickpea tofu! I just discovered it! It’s like making polenta.
https://www.deliciouseveryday.com/burmese-chickpea-tofu-recipe/
Excellent recipe! I made this for my lunches this week with a side of asparagus. Super easy and delicious!
This recipe looks delicious! The cashew cream looks great. Can’t wait to try this out!
This recipe looks so delicious, but my sister is allergic to all nuts (except coconut) and has a peanut allergy as well. Any suggestions for a cashew cream substitution?
Hi DD, try replacing the cashews with raw sunflower seeds (or you could use regular ricotta cheese if you’re not vegan).
I accidentally bought roasted unsalted cashews. Could I use those? Or I randomly do have raw sunflower seeds. Should I use those instead?
Hi Alisa, it’s really really best with raw cashews. They’re necessary for the cashew cream to taste creamy but not overwhelmingly cashew-ey. Sunflower seeds could work – but the texture is more gritty and I haven’t tested the ratios specifically with this recipe. They often require more liquid to blend than cashews.
I made this today but substituted the cashew cream for some Vegan cream cheese I bought from Trader Joe’s and it turned out great! Plus it makes that step a little quicker. Overall, delicious! 🙂
Made these last week. My husband and I went completely vegan a few weeks ago and I have to tell you, this is absolutely DELICIOUS. My husband’s normal response to a dish, unless it’s one of his (old) favorites like tacos, pizza, etc. is “it’s ok”. This? “This is really good!!”. Couldn’t agree more – and I used the leftover cashew cream sauce on pizza the next night and OMG soo good! Thank you for making this transition so easy!
Hi Mary! I love hearing that – thanks for sharing!! Always great to win over the husbands with delicious vegan food.
Can we use salted cashews rather than raw for this recipe??
Thank you!
Hi Sharon, no, it’s really important to use raw cashews because they have a neutral flavor in the sauce. Otherwise, your cream sauce will end up tasting very much like cashews.
I’m so glad! I have to ask – where did you find gluten free jumbo shells? Thanks for the note about the salt and pepper – it’s so hard because everyone has a different taste for salty foods but I’ll try harder to measure it 🙂
I would also love to know where to get gluten free shells!! I was just thinking about what i could use instead but would love actual shells!!
This sounds so amazing! Love dairy-free recipes that still look just as delicious! Yum!