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These Creamy White Wine Mushroom Stuffed Shells are the perfect baked pasta for cozy November and December nights with family and friends. Spinach and ricotta stuffed shells, creamy buttery béchamel sauce, and golden caramelized mushrooms all come together in this vegetable-focused pasta dish. It’s rich, cheesy, full of wonderful flavors, and so delicious! Top the stuffed shells with fresh thyme before serving for an extra pop of color. This is a great make-ahead dish for Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, and all the upcoming holiday dinner parties.
Ingredients
- Salted butter
- olive oil
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Dried thyme
- Garlic cloves
- Dried basil
- Dried oregano
- fresh basil, oregano or parsley for garnish
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Dry white wine or chicken broth
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Jumbo pasta shells
- Whole milk ricotta cheese
- Shredded provolone
- Frozen spinach, thawed and drained
What to have in the kitchen for this recipe
- 9×13 inch pan
- Medium pot and large pot
- Skillet
- Baking dish
I say this every year, but in terms of the Thanksgiving menu, I think it’s nice to have a vegetarian main course option that’s just as exciting (if not more so) than the turkey. There are so many people who either don’t eat turkey or just don’t love it enough to get super excited about it on Thanksgiving.
For those people out there (and I know there are a lot of them), provide something extra delicious!
For many years I’d do a yummy vegetable-focused lasagna. But this year, I’ve got something new and delicious…stuffed shells!
I based this recipe on my aunt Katie’s white lasagna that I’ve loved since I was a kid. Her béchamel sauce was the secret, she made A LOT of it so the lasagna was never dry.
These shells are basically her lasagna, but in the form of stuffed shells, and with the addition of a bit of wine (which she would love).
The details – make the béchamel
Start with the mushrooms. Just cook them up in a bit of butter and add lots of thyme. Then pull them out of the skillet and start making my Aunt Katie’s béchamel.
It’s butter, garlic, basil, and oregano mixed together with flour. You’ll then add milk and a good amount of wine. As the sauce thickens the wine will cook out. Stir in the cheese and season up the sauce with salt and pepper.
Assemble
Now that the sauce is made, the rest is easy. Boil-off the shells, then mix the ricotta cheese with thawed spinach.
Grab a baking dish and spoon some of the béchamel into the bottom. Start stuffing the shells with the ricotta, then place them into the dish. Pour over the remaining béchamel, sprinkle on some cheese, and then finish with the mushrooms. Cover and bake until that cheese is bubbling up and golden…
It’s going to smell delish.
Perfect dinner to entertain with over the next couple of months. You can prepare the dish in advance, keep it fully assembled in the fridge, and then bake before serving. Love dishes like this for holiday entertaining…they make life so easy!
Hoping these stuffed shells are the perfect start to your week! My tip? Test out the recipe this week and then perfect to your liking for Thanksgiving!
Looking for other easy holiday dinners?? Here are my favorites:
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash 4 Cheese Pesto Lasagna
Crispy Prosciutto Cheesy White Lasagna
One Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake
Lastly, if you make these Creamy White Wine Mushroom Stuffed Shells, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy White Wine Mushroom Stuffed Shells
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 693 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter
- 3 cups shiitake or cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups dry white wine or chicken broth
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 pound jumbo pasta shells
- 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded provolone
- 2 (10 ounce packages) frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium pot. Add the mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden. Add the thyme, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook 4-5 minutes, until fragrant. Remove the mushrooms from the skillet. 3. To the skillet, add the reaming 6 tablespoons butter, the garlic, basil, oregano, and cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Add the wine, then the milk. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is smooth. Set the cheese sauce aside.4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and boil the pasta until al dente according to package directions.5. In a bowl combine the ricotta, provolone, and spinach. 6. Spread 1/3 of the cheese sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Working with one pasta shell at a time, spoon 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mix into each shell, placing the filled shell into the baking dish as you go. Sprinkle over 1/2 cup mozzarella, pour the remaining cheese sauce over top. Top with a 1/4 cup of parmesan and then the mushrooms. Cover and bake 25 minutes or until the top has bubbled up. Remove the foil and bake another 15-20 minutes. Serve with fresh thyme.
This post was originally published on November 8, 2021
If I wanted to make this dairy free what should I substitute the provolone and ricotta with?
Thanks!
Hey there,
I would try using dairy free cheese substitutes, I have not tested this so I am unsure of what the results would be. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I made this for guests last night. Everyone loved it! I used homemade chicken stock rather than wine. I cut back a bit on the dried basil and oregano. I’m happy there is just a bit leftover so I can enjoy it again today.
Congratulations on your new book, Tiegan! Love your recipes. I tell everyone about your blog and website. Happy Holidays…take time to enjoy.
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try Deborah, I’m so happy to hear it was enjoyed! And Happy Holidays to you too! 🙂 xTieghan
I don’t know what I did wrong! The sauce did not come together, I followed the instructions exactly and used good ingredients and the sauce ended up being stringy chunks of mozz in watery liquid. It smells good but the sauce did NOT come together. Any suggestions?
Hey Hannah,
So sorry to hear this. Were your dairy ingredients at room temp? This usually helps them to best combine rather than clump together. Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
This was delicious. However, I would half the amount of spinach and double the amount of sauce. Mine didn’t turn out neap as saucy but we will be making it agin!!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so happy to hear it was enjoyed! 🙂 xTieghan
Shouldn’t the pasta shells be at least partially cooked before you stuff them??
They are cooked in Step 4 (see above) before they are stuffed. 🙂
Hey Nancy! Yes, the shells are boiled in step 4 before they are stuffed 🙂 xTieghan
I’m making this tomorrow for my family! Can’t wait! I’ve never made stuffed shells before! Any recommendations for a side or some great homemade bread to go with it?
We are obsessed with the dinner rolls Smitten Kitchen posted recently. I added minced garlic.
Hi there! Hope you love this recipe! Some yummy brussel sprouts or the beer bread recipe would be delicious with this 🙂 xTieghan
Hi I would love to try this recipe,what can i substitute the wine for?
Thank you
Hey Tasneem,
You can use broth in place of the wine. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Loved the sauce and mushrooms. I would definitely remake and put on plain pasta. Plenty of flavor! Stuffed shells are just an additional step that I rarely have the patience for but I had to make these.
Hey! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Monday ? xTieghan
Taste was too harsh
Thanks for letting me know! xTieghan
My husband was very happy with the dish, he said it smelled delicious while cooking. Next time I will cut the seasoning in half and maybe do half wine and half chick broth, the flavors were too strong for me. Will definitely share with friends. Thank you!!
Hey! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I really appreciate it! Happy Monday ? xTieghan
This looks delicious!! My husband isn’t the biggest fan of mushrooms (very sad), could ground Italian sausage be a good substitute for them if I wanted to make it more hearty?
Hi Nicole! Yes, that would be just fine! 🙂 xTieghan
Great recipe and great instructions . Good meal for prepping ahead of guests. Thank you . X
Hey Katrina! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Monday ? xTieghan
Would I be able to put this together the night before Thanksgiving and then bake it the next day?
Hey Trish! Yes, that should be just fine! I would just hold off on putting the sauce with it until you bake to avoid soggy shells! xTieghan
Next time I will cut the wine in half, possibly none at all and go with broth. I cooked it plenty long then put it back on but couldn’t cut the alcohol taste. Maybe it was my wine? I used Chardonnay…??♀️
Hey Nikki! Oh I’m so sorry about that! Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it! xTieghan
For making ahead of time (day before) does fully assembled mean with the sauce and mushrooms and just bake when ready or keep shells, sauce and mushrooms separate?
Hi there! I would keep everything separate until baking to avoid soggy shells! Hope this helps! xTieghan
Good but a little tedious (in my opinion). I also would like a little more flavor, maybe add additional herbs or more salt & pepper. Red pepper flakes would be wonderful too. Makes a LOT of food, great meal for guests but didn’t “wow” me like many of HBH recipes do!
*Also, I can’t find shredded provolone in any grocery store in TX… I used the Pizza cheese blend that included provolone.
Agree! There was not much flavor. Not my favorite recipe and probably will not make again. I’ve loved ever other HBH recipe I’ve made, though!
Hey Jamie, thanks so much for trying out this recipe! I really appreciate the feedback as well, it’s always really helpful! Have a great day 🙂 xxTieghan
In step 6 it says to sprinkle mozzarella over the dish, but in step 3 you have to add all the mozzarella to the bechamel. Is there an additional mozzarella ingredient, or just add less cheese to step 3 and sprinkle the rest in step 6?
I noticed the same thing when I made it last night. I just added an additional ~1/4 cup of mozzarella on top for step 6 and it was fine!
Wondering about this as well.
I had the same confusion about the mozzarella. That’s the reason I read the comments.
I also agree that the wine taste is too strong.
Hey Dave! It is 1/2 cup for each! recipe is fixed! Happy thanksgiving!