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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For some reason I ended up with extra cheese mixture. Maybe I didn’t put enough in the shells, or maybe I didn’t cook enough shells? Either way, any ideas for what to use the extra cheese mixture for? I have about 1 cup left.
You could make more shells! 🙂 Or it might be yummy in place of the cottage cheese layer in this spaghetti pie recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/spaghetti-pie/.
Was yummy, I may tone down the sauce when making again because I found it a little too acidic for my preference. Everyone else loved it. I doubled it to make a second casserole.
Just yum. That is all.
These were wonderful..the meat sauce was a great change to other stuffed shell recipes!