There’s so much to love about our delicious Stuffed Shells recipe with both cheesy ricotta and a meat sauce filling. Everyone devours it, and I love that it’s friendly, too.
Want more pasta recipes? Try Instant Pot Pasta and Meatballs, Homemade Lasagna, Manicotti, or Pastalaya!
The best way to make Stuffed Shells is with both cheese and meat.
The best way to make Stuffed Shells is with both cheese and meat.Take my advice and go ahead and make 2 batches of Stuffed Shells; as long as you’re putting the effort in, you might as well get a second freezer meal out of it! They’re the perfect comfort food for this time of year and I love how I can prep the whole dish in advance, so it’s ready to pop in the oven. ALL of my kids request seconds for this one.
How to make Stuffed Shells:
Make Sauce: Brown beef and sausage. I also like to pulse the meat in a food processor a few times to get it finely ground. Then add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer.
Combine Fill cooked pasta shells according to package instructions then drain and lay out on a large baking sheet so they can cool and not stick together. In a bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1 cup mozzarella, and ⅓ cup parmesan cheese. Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13″baking dish. Carefully stuff each cooked shell with a small amount of ricotta mixture and a spoonful of meat mixture then place face up in the baking dish.
Bake: Sprinkle the easy stuffed shells with the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: This entire stuffed shells recipe can be prepped and assembled up to a day ahead of time, stored in the fridge.
To Freeze: This is one of my favorite freezer meals! Assemble in a freezer safe or disposable aluminum pan. Cover with a double layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Bake covered, for 45 minutes, then uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Serve With:
- Easy Homemade Breadsticks
- Wedge Salad
- Apple Pecan Salad
- Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Pomegranate and Pear Salad
- French Green Beans
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Recipe
Stuffed Shells
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz Jumbo pasta shells (about 24 shells)
Red sauce:
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground sausage , jimmy deans
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3-4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 onion , chopped
- 16 oz tomato sauce
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes , undrained
- 1/2 cup water
- 2-3 teaspoons Italian seasonings , to taste
Cheese Filling:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese , divided
- 2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese , divided
Instructions
- Cook pasta shells according to package instructions, until al-dente. Drain from water and lay out on a large baking sheet to cool, so that they don't stick together.
- Brown meat: In a large skillet over medium high heat brown the beef and sausage. Remove grease. Optional: Add meat to a food processor and pulse 2-3 times until the meat is crumbled really small. Return to pan. Season with salt and pepper.
- Finish red sauce: Add garlic and onions to the pan with the meat and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, water and Italian seasoning. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Taste sauce and more salt and pepper, Italian seasoning or garlic powder, if needed.
- Cheese filling: Add ricotta cheese, egg, 1 cup mozzarella, and ⅓ cup parmesan cheese to a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
- Assemble: Spread 1 cup meat sauce into the bottom of a 9×13'' pan. Stuff each cooked shell with a small spoonful of ricotta mixture, then a spoonful of meat mixture and set them face up in a large baking dish. Spoon the remaining red sauce over the top of all of the stuffed shells. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe December 2015. Updated December 2020 and November 2024.
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So easy and delicious! My family loved this dish.
Really, really good. There are a few tweaks I will make in the future, but a very nice, fairly quick, recipe. Not pasta-heavy, which was delightful, and the fact that there was actually enough cheese filling was a pleasant surprise (I’m a WI girl, what can I say). Thank you!
I made this dish for a pot luck dinner. It was completely gone in minutes. Many friends wanted the recipe. It is time consuming but easy.
This is an amazing recipe, but I save it for special occasions because it takes a long time to make and uses a ton of pots, pans, and cooking utensils. Everyone absolutely raves about it, and I make it exactly as it is written. Turns out perfect every time. Just made a double recipe for a coworker who has a newborn and my family and served it with baguette bread, a bag of Caesar salad, and brownies. Excellent!
This is a good idea. Looks great too. I think you should amend your recipe. prep time is more like 35-45 min…impossible to prep for oven in 15mins…also cost for 24 shells prepared is more like $15…not $6…$1.50/shells, $4.00/meat, 4.00/ tomaoes, onion, seasoning, $6.50/cheese
My pkg of shells had a lasagne recipe, but theirs said boil shells for only 3min then let cool and stuff, and cover tightly with foil before cooking. Different temp and less time to cook. Anyway I tried it that way the 2nd time because when I cooked the shells until al dente, they were way too flimsy and difficult to fill. Just a suggestion if anyone has that same issue. Love this recipe, but I’ve realized there simply is no shortcut to make lasagne…this is just about the same amount of work. I do like the pasta to sauce ratio of the shells a lot more than the traditional 3 layers of noodles (not enough pasta IMO).
Another excellent, easy to make meal. This was my fourth and each one as good as the next.
Thank you for these meal plans.
Absolutely LOVE every recipe I’ve made from TBFS!
Through this site, I’ve learned how much better food is when made from scratch…. Thank you for helping to launch my love of cooking & baking! 😘
Hubby loathes both ricotta & cottage cheese, so your Traditional lasagne with bechemel white sauce is now his favorite!
Question: Can I incorporate that bechamel white sauce into this recipe too? If so, would I mix with an egg & still layer the shell in the same order & spoon the “white” creamy (no ricotta) layer first? This idea may be way outside of the 9 dots, but thought I’d ask 🤷♀️ Thank you again!
Thanks so much for kind comment; i’m thrilled to have been a small part of your cooking journey.
You could definitely do that. As you know, that recipe makes a lot of bechemel sauce. i would half it and substitute cup for cup with the ricotta. You don’t need the egg.
Entire family loved it, including picky kids.
You are my first go-to recipe person! Everything I’ve made of yours has been great! Tonight my husband said that this dish was better than anything you can get at an Italian restaurant! I would have to agree. It’s incredible! It is a bit of work to get it all assembled, but easy. Next time I make this I will do a double batch and make one for the freezer or for a friend.