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These vegan stuffed shells are the perfect comfort food to help you transition into Fall weather.
Benefits of Green Split Peas
This pesto is made with fiber-rich green split peas, which are ultra-filling, but won’t leave you feeling like you need to take a nap shortly after eating.
Like most pulses, including beans, lentils, and chickpeas, green split peas pack a hefty serving of protein in each serving. (16 grams per cooked cup!) They also contain a trace mineral called molybdenum, which is thought to help detoxify the body from sulfites– a common preservative.
They are the perfect addition to this lighter Italian dish, which also happens to be free of added oil and sugar.
What I love about making pesto is that it’s easy to adjust as you go. I’m obsessed with garlic, and could probably overdo it for some of my dinner guests, but if it’s not your thing, you can simply use less or omit it all together.
I’d say one of the biggest life-lessons I can pass on, at least when it comes to cooking, is to taste your food as you prepare it, so it always turns out perfectly for YOUR taste buds. Every recipe is adaptable!
Gluten-Free Pasta Shell Options
Stuffing this hearty pesto into jumbo pasta shells makes for a very impressive-looking presentation for dinner guests, and you can easily keep this dish gluten-free by using a brown rice pasta shell.
However, if you’d prefer to skip the pasta all together, try stuffing this pesto in endive leaves, spooning it into zucchini halves that have had the seeds scooped out, or rolling it up in a thinly sliced vegetable, such as eggplant.
The options are endless, and all would make a delicious baked option. I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
Split Pea Pesto:
- 1 cup dry green split peas
- 2 1/4 cups water , divided
- 1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic , minced (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
12 ounces jumbo pasta shells
Marinara sauce, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the split peas and 2 cups of the water in a small saucepan over high heat, and bring them to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and cover to let the peas simmer until tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Drain and rinse the cooked peas and transfer them to the bowl of a large food processor.
- Use the same pot to cook your jumbo shells according to the directions on the package. (I like to do this while making the pesto, so that everything is ready at about the same time.) Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spread a bit of the marinara sauce at the bottom of a 9"x 13" glass baking dish. Set it aside.
- To prepare the pesto, add the remaining 1/4 cup of water, fresh basil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 clove of garlic, and the salt to the food processor, and process it together with the cooked split peas. Taste the mixture and add more lemon juice or garlic if desired.
- Once the shells are tender, drain them and fill each shell with a large spoonful of the pesto. Arrange the stuffed shells into a single layer in the prepared baking dish and spoon additional marinara sauce over the top of each shell. Bake until everything is heated through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm, garnished with fresh basil.
Nutrition
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it! And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite comforting dish as we transition into Fall weather?
Disclosure: This post was originally sponsored by USA Pulses and Pulse Canada in 2016, but has since been updated.
Could you swap out the pesto for the vegan arugula pesto?
Wow, this is such a delicious dish. And it reheats really well. I make it for dinner and take it to work for lunch the following day. I love that it provides protein and it is very filling. I usually eat about 3 jumbo shells for each meal. It’s delicious, filling, and healthy. And as I said it reheats wells too.
So good! I always have leftover shells afterwards so maybe increasing the recipe to 1.5x the amount will be better. This last time I made it I only had 1/4 cup of peas left so I used red and brown lentils for the remainder and it worked out just fine.
I added a little more garlic, black garlic, onion powder, umami seasoning, and black pepper. We loved them!
Pesto stuffed shells vegan style is incredibly tasty. Probably would work well with manicotti shells too.
Only as far as the pesto & had to comment. So fresh, flavorful and yum!
I made this last night and it was very tasty and delicious!! Thank you for sharing this his recipe