Vegan Pumpkin and Sausage Stuffed Shells
These Vegan Pumpkin and Sausage Stuffed Shells are filled with tofu ricotta and topped with fried sage. A simple and delicious vegan dinner!
Fall is here and more importantly October is here! And you know what that means…ALL of the pumpkin recipes and ALL of the pasta recipes. Yep, we are kicking off the season with everything good.
Now I am not going to lie…this is one of my FAVORITE recipes I have EVER posted on TSV. It is so savory, so comforting and so freaking delicious.
The sauce for this recipe is made up of vegan sausage, onion, garlic, pumpkin puree, tomato paste, vegan chicken broth and a little bit of non-dairy milk. This combo makes for one of the best sauces you have ever had – trust me.
You can literally use this sauce on all kinds of things. Serve it up over pasta, dip some garlic bread in it or even use it as a base for a pizza (I did that last one the other night, and it was sooooo tasty).
But for today’s recipe we are taking pasta one step further and we are stuffing shells with a tofu ricotta mixture and baking it up until the whole thing is a bubbly, cheezy, saucy masterpiece.
If you have never tried my Tofu Ricotta recipe, this is the perfect recipe to try it out. It is so quick and tasty. And to up the flavor, we are adding sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and basil to it. This combo is super yummy and the perfect compliment to our pumpkin sauce.
How to assemble your Vegan Pumpkin and Sausage Stuffed Shells
Assembling these shells is really easy. Spread some sauce on the bottom of a baking dish (I opted for a cast iron skillet), take a cooked, cooled jumbo shell and add some ricotta to the center. Place your filled shells in the baking dish and repeat until you’re out of filling.
Top it all off with rest of the sauce and put it in the oven until warm and bubbly.
While the pasta is baking, fry some fresh sage leaves (optional) in a little bit of vegan butter and wait for it all to come together.
Serve your shells with a big green salad – and try not to eat the whole pan.
P.S. These make the best leftovers! Just store in a glass container in the fridge and reheat when you’re ready to eat again.
More of a visual person? Check out this step by step video on how to make these Vegan Pumpkin and Sausage Stuffed Shells:
Vegan Pumpkin and Sausage Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo shells I used about 20 shells
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz vegan sausage
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- salt & pepper to taste
- red pepper flakes to taste, optional
- 4 oz pumpkin puree
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 1 cup vegan chicken broth*
- 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk**
- Tofu Ricotta***
- 8 oz frozen spinach thawed and drained
- 2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes diced
- 2 tbsp fresh basil
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- fresh sage leaves
- fresh thyme
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add shells to the pot and cook according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add sausage and crumble with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking until browned (approx. 5 minutes).
- Add onion, garlic, oregano, dried basil a pinch of salt, pepper & red pepper flakes to the pan. Sauté until onions are cooked through (approx. 5-7 minutes).
- Add the pumpkin puree, tomato paste and broth to the pan and stir to combine. Add the non-dairy milk and give it one last mix. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside until ready to use.
- Prepare the vegan ricotta according to the instructions. Add the ricotta, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir until combined.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish (I used a 10" cast iron skillet). Fill each shell with about 1 tbsp of the ricotta mixture and place in the baking dish. Repeat until all of your filling is used.
- Spread the remaining sauce across the top of the shells. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until warm and bubbly.
- While the shells are cooking, prepare the fried sage. Heat vegan butter in a small sauce pan. Add fresh sage leaves to the pan and cook until crispy. Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to absorb leftover butter.
- Once the shells are done baking, top them with the fried sage and fresh thyme. Serve while hot and store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Video
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If you make any of these recipes be sure to snap a photo + post it + and tag #thissavoryvegan and @thissavoryvegan!
