These Pumpkin and Sausage Stuffed Shells are full of savory fall flavors and make for a super satisfying comfort food meal. “Tis the season for pumpkin recipes, and though I love it in sweet desserts and breakfasts, I adore it in savory dishes like this one. The natural sweetness of the pumpkin pairs beautifully with spicy homemade turkey sausage and nutty, sharp Parmesan cheese. Did you notice I said homemade turkey sausage? Don’t worry, I promise that part is easy and only takes a couple minutes. You can transform lean ground turkey breast into a super flavorful sausage just by mixing in a few dried seasonings! I love doing this because you get the full flavor of sausage for far less calories or WW Freestyle Smartpoints than using traditional sausage. I find these Pumpkin and Sausage Stuffed Shells to be super filling, and who doesn’t love a hearty, satisfying pasta dish for fall? Better yet, a (3 stuffed shells) serving is just 275 calories or 5 WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
I’ll be upfront with you, this is not a quick, 30-minute weeknight meal. You have to cook the pasta, the meat, and the sauce separately, and while you can do a lot of that simultaneously and none of the steps are difficult, it does take a bit of time. Stuffing the shells also takes some time, and then the whole dish bakes together for 30 minutes. I would suggest leaving yourself around an hour of prep time before putting these in the oven. You may not need quite that long, or you may need a bit more (everyone works at their own pace), but either way, I just want to give you a head’s up since many of my recipes prep much more quickly. I think the finished product is worth it though!
These Pumpkin and Sausage Stuffed Shells are full of savory fall flavors for a satisfying comfort food meal.
Yield: 6(3 stuffed shells each) servings
Ingredients
18jumbo pasta shells
1lbuncooked 99% lean ground turkey
1teaspoonminced garlic
1teaspoondried parsley
1teaspoonItalian seasoning
1teaspoonssalt, divided
½teaspoonblack pepper, divided
½teaspoondried minced onions, some spice brands call them chopped onions
¼teaspoonfennel seed
¼teaspoonpaprika
¼teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes
2cupsfresh spinach leaves
1cupfat free ricotta cheese
¾cupreduced sodium fat free chicken broth
1/2cupskim milk
1 ½cupcanned pumpkin puree
¼teaspoondried marjoram
¼teaspoondried rubbed sage
2ozParmesan cheese, finely shredded, divided
Instructions
Cook the pasta shells according to package instructions*. Drain and rinse shells and allow them to cool before handling.
*While the water is boiling for the pasta, combine the ground turkey, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, ¾ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper, the minced onions, fennel seed, paprika, and crushed red pepper flakes in a mixing bowl. Mush together with a fork or your hands until thoroughly combined. While the pasta is cooking, mist a large skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium heat. Add the seasoned ground turkey to the heated pan and cook, breaking up the meat into bite-sized pieces and stirring occasionally until the meat is cooked. Add the spinach to the pan and stir. Cook for another 2 minutes or so until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the ricotta cheese until well combined.
Pour the broth and milk into a small saucepan and bring over medium heat. Cook until you start to see the first signs of bubbling and then add the pumpkin and reduce the heat to low. Whisk the pumpkin into the liquid until it absorbs and the sauce becomes creamy. Add the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, marjoram, sage, and 1 ounce of the shredded parmesan. Stir together until the parmesan is melted into the sauce.
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Spread about ½ cup of the pumpkin sauce across the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish (such as a 7x11) and set aside. Make sure the pasta shells are cool enough to handle, then use a spoon to stuff them full of the turkey/ricotta filling. Lay the stuffed shells in a single layer in the prepared casserole dish, open side facing up. Pour the remainder of the pumpkin sauce over the top of the stuffed shells to coat evenly. Sprinkle the remaining ounce of shredded Parmesan over the top. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Notes
To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!WW Points per (3 shells) serving: 5 (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Nutrition Information per (3 shells) serving: 275 calories, 32 g carbs, 6 g sugars, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 30 g protein, 4 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)MyWW SmartPoints per (3 shells) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) Green: 6 SmartPoints/ Blue: 5 SmartPoints/ Purple: 5 SmartPointsWeight Watchers Points Plus: 7 per (3 shells) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition information below)Created with inspiration from Rachel Schultz