A few months ago, Jenna posted this recipe for dairy-free stuffed shells. It was one of those that sounded intriguing but I filed it away in the back of my mind and didn’t really think I’d be making it any time soon. During our veggie month challenge, I thought of it again…but again, it fell to the bottom of the mental pile…until this week!
After we came back from Miami, the fridge was looking pretty empty…but we did have a block of tofu that we picked up when it was on sale. We also had 1/2 a jar of leftover spaghetti sauce…seemed like as good a time as any to whip up some stuffed shells.
As usual, I felt the need to put my own spin on it.
Here’s the recipe:
Tofu & Lentil Stuffed Shells
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Keywords: bake food processor entree healthy vegetarian lentils tofu pasta Italian
Ingredients (Serves 2-3)
- 1/2 block extra firm tofu
- 1/2 c frozen spinach, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 c onion, chopped
- 1/2 c red pepper, diced
- 1 Tbsp pesto
- 1/2 c lentils, cooked
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- black pepper to taste
- 10 shell noodles
- 2 c marinara sauce
- 1/2 c low-fat mozzarella cheese
Instructions
1. Press the tofu for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the shells according to package directions.
2. Crumble the tofu into a food processor and process until it looks like ricotta cheese, about 30 seconds.
3. Put the spinach in a small bowl with 1 Tbsp water. Microwave for 2 minutes, then drain and squeeze the excess water out of it.
4. Put the spinach and tofu in a bowl and stir to combine.
5. Saute the garlic, onion, lentils, red peppers and pesto over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the onions are soft.
6. Add the lentil mixture to the tofu and spinach and stir until combined.
7. In a small baking dish, pour a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of the pan. Spoon the mixture evenly into 10 shells and place them in the pan. Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
8. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Here’s the good news: They were delicious! The cayenne pepper added just a little bit of spice and the lentils added some texture.
Here’s the great news: After the hubby cleaned his plate, I said: “Isn’t it cool that the tofu looks just like ricotta?” To which he replied, “What tofu?” WIN!
This recipe is super flavorful thanks to the sauce, the cayenne pepper and the pesto….and it’s healthy too! It makes just enough for two people, but could definitely be doubled or even tripled to feed more. If you don’t like lentils, you could substitute canellini beans.
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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girl I need to stop reading your posts while I’m eating breakfast! Your recipes make me hungry all over again!
This might be another way to trick Sean into eating tofu 🙂
Ok, I tried to mix tofu into a mousse once and it did not go well. Your shells look so good though! Now I’m thinking I may try tofu again…
I love this recipe. Perhaps what I need to “stuff” for my bucket list is a pasta shell?
Oh wow, this looks so tasty… and healthy! Lentils are seriously one of my favorite items to cook with, thank you for sharing!
Awesome! Definitely going to omit the mozz and add this to my “to-make” pile!
I have some tofu in the fridge and I have always wanted to see if it could compete with cheese in a recipe. With your approval, I’m good to go! 🙂
These look great!
Tofu is no sub for cheese for me though 😉
When I started reading this, I thought “ew, gross” (sorry, but tofu and lentils don’t normally appeal to me haha!). But they look awesome!!! Great job!
i’m glad to hear this was a success! i had the same reaction as kristen above but now i wanna try it 🙂
I don’t make much with tofu…which makes me love the fact that your husband totally expected this to be ricotta. I seriously need to branch out 🙂
yeah! give it a try!
I have been loving the tofu-as-substitute for ricotta lately! I did Jenna’s stuffed shells, and then this week did a veggie lasagna with it. I am thinking of some tweaks to turn it into a hot dip w/ tortilla chips, too.
oooh a dip would be fantastic!
These look amazing!! I have some tofu and marinara at the house and this may be on the menu later in the week! Awesome!