It is the first day of Fall and time for all the pumpkin goodness! This delicious pumpkin stuffed shell recipe will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu, especially for all your guests who love pasta dishes. Don’t forget to save the recipe. I guarantee that there won’t be any leftovers.
Since it’s pumpkin season, I will also mention that there are so many varieties of pumpkins around this time of year. It’s fun trying the different ones. If you haven’t tried the Jamaica version as yet, you should really be adventurous and do so.
It’s delicious in soups and stews and it tends to be firmer and sweeter. I used it to make this delicious version of Jamaican Pumpkin Soup that is a guaranteed to tantalize the pickiest taste buds. Also, try my Mediterranean Pumpkin Pizza for the children and Pumpkin Cheesecake.
How To Make Pumpkin Stuffed Shells
Daevyd loves pasta in all forms so he asked me to make him stuffed shells. He also wanted to help me prepare them so I allowed him to help me with filling.
I added some pumpkin puree to the filling knowing that Daevyd wouldn’t mind me doing so because the color reminds him of cashew cheese which he loves. I also figured that this was such a great way to add Vitamin A plus several other beneficial nutrients to his diet.
I wanted to actually bake the stuffed shells it in a pumpkin flavored cashew sauce but Daevyd requested pasta sauce instead. Well, I gave in since he agreed to the pumpkin puree being added to the filling, plus he helped me to prepare it. We were both happy!
For gluten-free jumbo pasta shells, this company is the answer or you can purchase Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta Grand Shell 8 oz online.
Nutrition
- Energy:
- 310 kcal / 1296 kJ
- Fat:
- 9 g
- Protein:
- 9 g
- Carbs:
- 50 g
Cooking Time
- Preparation:
- 15 min
- Cooking:
- 30 min
- Ready in:
- 45 min
Ingredients
- 8-ounces jumbo pasta shells
Cashew Sauce
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked with water for at least an hour
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes, (optional)
- 1 tablespoon onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Pumpkin Tofu Ricotta Filling
- 1 block tofu, extra-firm
- 1 batch cashew sauce, recipe above
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 teaspoon basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley, (extra for garnishing)
- 1 jar pasta sauce, flavor of choice
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil on medium-high heat. Add the shells and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain and toss with olive oil.
To Make Cashew Sauce
- To prepare cashew sauce. Place cashews, water, yeast flakes, onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt in a high speed blender.
- Process until smooth and creamy,You may need to add extra water.
To Make Pumpkin Tofu Ricotta Filling
- Drain and rinse tofu and place into a large bowl, mash with a fork, potato masher or hands.
- Stir in cashew cream, pumpkin puree, basil and parsley.
- Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
- To assembly shells, spread pasta sauce on the bottom of baking dish, about 1 cup.
- Fill each shell with pumpkin ricotta and line baking dish.
- Garnish with extra pasta sauce and parsley.
- Cover dish with foil and bake for 25- 30 minutes.
- Enjoy with a salad!
Notes
Couldn’t find the GF shells in the store – so we used bowtie pasta because this recipe sounded amazing – we were NOT disappointed! This was delicious – we may try ordering those GF shells you recommend from online next time – but the bowties worked well, too! This is a keeper!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, gluten-free stuffed shells are hard to find locally, so your best bet is online
Looks amazing! About how many stuffed shells are in a serving?
Thank you Kate, about 7 stuffed shells per serving.
Is this golden free pasta shells… can’t find it here
They are Philly, they are the Tinkyada brand and you can find them online.
I love this recipe so flavorful!
Thank you Carmen, so happy you love it.
Hi Michelle,
Is there something that you can substitute for the cashew sauce that will go just as well with this dish? My nephew has a major nut allergy and I would like to avoid anything nut-based for the Thanksgiving holidays. Thanks in advance.
Melissa, I have got great results using sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
Can I make a double batch of the cashew sauce and freeze half?
Sounds like a great idea Beth!
I’m quite adventurous enough to try this one. This looks delicious at any day or season!
Thank you Karla, you won’t be disappointed!
Love this recipe, what a fantastic combination of ingredients and flavours. Pasta shells are just so versatile!
this is nice! my family loves pumpkin! would be a nice new recipe to try this week
What a great pumpkin recipe to try! Delicious!
Those look so good and I’m sure the kids will love them as well. We’re huge pasta lovers at home and this is definitely worth a try!
Wow, my son will love this! He likes eating pasta, one of his comfort foods.
Oh, this looks lovely and yummy. I want to cook this, I am surprised with the ingredients.
My son is a pasta lover, I am sure that he will like this. I love the fact that there is pumpkin there.
Wow, I want to cook this for my children. They love pasta, my grandson too!
Oh my goodness, these are the most delicious looking pumpkin stuffed shells I have seen so far this year. Thanks for the recipe
This looks so tasty, I’m adding this to my list
These do look good. And now I”m off to look up cashew cheese because I never heard of it until you referenced it here. Yum!
It looks so good? That’s pumpkin in there? It looks like eggs. It looks amazing!
This sounds like a great recipe for pumpkin and great that the kids can help. Thanks for sharing.
Wow this sounds amazing. Times like this I wish I was a better cook but I will find someone interested in trying these with me! Pumpkin and cheese… can’t get any better
This sounds so good. I love the cashews and tofu in it.
One thing I love about fall is PUMPKIN EVERYWHWERE!! Thank you for this recipe, I will try it for sure.