Stuffed shells not only look very pretty, they are filling, easy to make and definitely a crowd pleaser. Now stuffed shells don’t have to always have cheese. Make this vegan version with tofu, it’s lighter and healthier. Even an ardent tofu hater will devour these shells. It takes about 20 minutes to make the filling and pasta and 30 minutes to bake. You can make these ahead and freeze. Just pop them into the oven  when ready to eat. The original recipe is from here and I added fresh basil leaves for some extra flavor. I made these for a few friends couple of weeks ago and they absolutely loved it. If you have  friends or family who wince at the mention of vegan food, do me a favor and try this on them. You will see them go for seconds and shush… don’t tell them our little secret!!

Ingredients

1 box jumbo shells

1 jar  marinara sauce

10 oz frozen spinach, defrosted

Handful of fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oregano

16 oz extra firm tofu

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Method

1. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions.

2. Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towels.

3. Crumble tofu into the bowl of food processor or blender along with olive oil, salt, oregano, basil leaves, garlic and nutritional yeast. Process till you get a smooth mixture.

4. Add defrosted spinach to the above and mix well.

5. Preheat oven to 350F.

6. Pour 1/2 cup of marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan.

7. Stuff cooked shells with 2 teaspoons of tofu/spinach filling and place in pan, seam side down. Repeat until all shells have been stuffed.

8. Pour remaining pasta sauce over shells, cover with foil and bake for 30minutes.