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Instant Pot created Stuffed Pasta Shells with spinach, cheese and Italian Seasoning. Pefect weeknight comforting dinner served on black plate with cheese sprinkled on top.
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4.42 from 82 votes

Easy Instant Pot Stuffed Shells

Instant Pot Stuffed Shell are ultimate comfort Italian dinner recipe. Spinach and Cheese stuffed shells made in pressure cooker with robust Marinara Sauce.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 10
Calories: 310kcal
Author: Prajakta Sukhatme

Ingredients

  • 8 oz box jumbo pasta shells uncooked
  • 24 oz jar marinara sauce
  • 16 oz frozen spinach thawed and squeezed until dry
  • 8 oz pack sliced mushrooms rinse clean and drain
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 16 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive oil

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, mix together spinach, ricotta and mozzarella, garlic, Italian seasoning and salt & pepper.
  • Spoon the spinach-cheese mixture into each pasta shell. Alternatively, line a large tall glass bowl with zip lock bag. Gently pour the spinach/cheese mixture into the bowl lined with plastic zippered bag, zip close, and cut the tip off of one corner for easy squeezing into the shells. Squeeze the mixture into each shell.
  • Press the SAUTE button on your Instant Pot and add oil. Wait few seconds then add sliced mushrooms and stir for few minutes till mushrooms start to brown and release water. Cancel SAUTE.
  •  Add water to the pot. Make sure to deglaze the bottom of pot by scrapping the base with wooden spatula to ensure nothing is stuck at the bottom.
  • Layer the stuffed shells by keeping them upright. If you have more than one layer, arrange on top of each other . Ensure that they stay upright. Do NOT put more than 2 layers at once.
  • Pour the jar of marinara sauce over the stuffed shells. Do NOT Stir. 
  • Lock the lid on the Instant Pot.
  • Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 6 minutes and close the steam valve.
  • Once IP is done cooking, wait for 5 minutes . Then release the steam valve to venting to release the steam and pressure. Open the lid carefully.
  • Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and place the lid back on for 1-2 minutes or until cheese melts.
  • Scoop out shell with sautéed mushrooms in a dinner plate. Serve warm with optional ground black pepper, chili flakes and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Enjoy!

Notes

  1. If you want to make Gluten free Stuffed Pasta : Please use Gluten free Jumbo Pasta Shells instead of regular shells. Adjust cooking time according to package directions.
  2. To Make Vegan Stuffed Pasta Shells : Use vegan and diary free cheese instead of regular cheese. Vegan cheese does not melt so texture will be different.
  3. How to choose cooking time in Instant pot Pasta Cooking ? Read the cooking time listed on the package. Choose half that time . SO if the package suggests 12 minutes choose 6 minute pressure cooking.
  4. This recipe makes 8-10 generous servings. Depending on the size of the Instant pot, you may want to make the recipe in half. Also for proper cooking, do not layer more than 2 levels of the shells at once. You can freeze stuffed uncooked shells and cook in batches if needed.
  5. We have tested this recipe several times without getting burnt signals on our Instant Pot. Newer models are sensitive to burn messages. Usually there is piece of food is stuck at the bottom . So please make sure to deglaze the pot thoroughly to avoid burn messages

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 749mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g