Looking for a lighter, summer take on stuffed shells? This summer dish consists of creamy ricotta, a little burrata, pecorino, with a hint of garlic and lemon zest and then fresh summer corn and zucchini sautéed and tossed into the mix.
It has a light tomato cream sauce that goes really well with all the fresh flavors.
Serve this as a side or as a main course with a tossed salad. It was the first time I ever made these, as I always make stuffed shells the traditional way.
I fed them to a few family members to see what they thought and they all loved them, me included, so I decided it was worthy to share the recipe here in a blog post.
A light easy meal you can make mid week!
You’ll want to garnish the top with more of the sautéed zucchini and corn, topped off with fresh basil from the garden.
- 1 -12 oz. box of jumbo shells
- 2 cups whole milk ricotta, drained well
- 4 oz. hand shredded burrata
- ¾ cup of grated pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 medium zucchini, diced
- 1- ½ cups of fresh corn kernels or frozen thawed
- 2 small garlic cloves grated or 1 large
- 1 egg
- the zest of one lemon
- 4 oz. of shredded mozzarella
- basil
- olive oil
- 1 28 oz can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, or homemade marinara or a high quality store bought marinara
- heavy cream
- Make a quick marinara by coating a heavy sauce pan with olive oil, warm up a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, add the canned tomatoes squishing them til smooth but with some chunks.
- Add a teaspoon of salt and fresh basil simmer for 20 minutes or so. When finished pour in some heavy cream, start with ¼ cup and see if that's good for you, if not, add a little more.
- Quick saute the chopped zucchini and corn together for a few minutes in a little olive oil, set aside.
- Boil shells according to directions on the box, the lesser time for further baking, then drain and cool down with cool water.
- Mix up the filling in a bowl with the ricotta, burrata, the egg, grated cheese, garlic, lemon zest, chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste, but not the shredded mozzarella.
- Fold in the cooled down sauteed zucchini and corn, reserve some to sprinkle on top.
- Grease the bottom of a casserole dish with olive oil, then spread a layer of the tomato cream sauce on the bottom.
- Stuff your shells and place them single layer on top of sauce.
- Spoon more sauce on each shell but don't drown them with sauce.
- Sprinkle the grated mozzarella cheese all around, along with more pecorino or Parmigiano and the reserved sauteed corn and zucchini.
- Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake uncovered in a 350 oven for 25 minutes, garnish with fresh basil.
- To serve spread some sauce on the bottom of the dinner plate, add the shells and topped them off with more warmed sauce.
- Enjoy!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
Hello Marie!
Thank you so much! I love this recipe, I have made it multiple time this summer. Sometimes I have skipped the corn but either way I love it! My family loves it. I have frozen some and given it to my daughter. It is so delicious, the lemon gives it that bright flavor, I just love it!
Oh so happy you liked it Marge!
Forget the lemon. It ruined the qhole dish.
Sorry it didn’t work out for you Deborah
Hello Marie,
I wanted to tell you that I made this recipe tonight and it is out of this world! My husband said that he felt like he was at a fine Italian restaurant. I am not surprised though. Everything I have made from your site has been delicious. Thank you for sharing your expertise. I can’t wait to make this again!
Thanks again,
Denise Robles
Oh thank you Denise, that makes me so happy!
Hi Marie! Do you have any suggestions for a tomato free sauce to use in this recipe? I have multiple food allergies but tomato is the hardest for me.
Thanks,
Cindy Padgett
Gee, maybe a cashew cream sauce, pesto, red bell pepper sauce? These are a few that come to mind.