This stuffed shells recipe is loaded with tender pasta, creamy ricotta spinach filling and a rich hearty pasta meat sauce. A hearty and delicious dinner idea that everyone will love!
If you love pasta, you need to give my classic Chicken Alfredo Pasta recipe a try!
STUFFED SHELLS RECIPE
Nothing beats cheesy stuffed shells with meat sauce! Tender pasta shells stuffed with a spinach ricotta cheese mixture, smothered in a rich, hearty meat sauce and topped with cheese and baked until bubbly and cheesy. This hearty stuffed shells dish makes for a great weeknight dinner or perfect for hosting!
WHAT YOU NEED-
- Pasta Shells– Be sure to use the jumbo pasta shells!
- Cheese– You want to top the stuffed shells with shredded cheese for a cheesy dish! Use shredded mozzarella cheese or Colby jack cheese.
MEAT SAUCE
- Meat– This recipe calls for ground beef, but you can swap for ground pork, turkey or chicken! If you want to leave the meat out of this dish, you can just use marinara sauce.
- Onion– Adding chopped onions to the meat sauce adds so much added flavors. Either red onion, yellow onions or cooking onions will work.
- Garlic– You can’t forget the freshly minced garlic cloves! You can also use jarred minced garlic.
- Flavor– To season the meat sauce, this recipes for salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and paprika! You can season the sauce with any other of your favorite seasonings.
- Marinara– Use your favorite brand of marinara, pasta sauce!
- Herbs– For added flavors, add freshly chopped cilantro or parsley to the meat
RICOTTA STUFFING
- Ricotta Cheese– The main ingredient for your shell stuffing is ricotta cheese! Be sure to use fresh ricotta.
- Cheese– Both shredded mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese goes into the ricotta filling!
- Spinach– You can use either fresh or frozen spinach for the ricotta cheese filling!
- Egg– Adding the egg to the spinach ricotta cheese filling acts as a binder and brings extra flavor!
- Flavor– To season the stuffed, just season with salt and pepper.
HOW TO MAKE STUFFED SHELLS
Have this delicious and hearty ricotta and spinach stuffed shells recipe ready in no time!
- Cook Pasta– Cook the jumbo pasta shells according to package instructions, al dente. Strain to remove the water and layout to cool. (If you want to avoid them from sticking together, lay the shells out on a plate while they cool.)
- Meat Sauce– Sauté the ground beef and onions until browned, breaking apart as it cooks.
- Season the meat as it cooks. Once browned, add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add the marinara sauce and chopped cilantro to the meat and bring it to a simmer. Remove from heat.
- Assemble Pasta Shells– Preheat the oven.
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the ricotta cheese mixture.
- Transfer the creamy filling into a piping bag. (You can also just use a spoon to stuff the shell, but to make it cleaner and faster use a piping bag.)
- Spread half of the meat sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Stuff the shells with the ricotta filling by piping about 2-3 Tbsp in each shell. Divide the ricotta filling evenly among all the shells.
- Add the stuffed shells to the dish, over the meat sauce, arranging flatly.
- Spread the rest of the pasta sauce over the stuffed shells. Top with shredded cheese and cover with foil.
- Bake until bubbly, uncover and bake until cheese is melted and edges are slightly crispy and golden.
- Remove from oven and garnish with additional chopped greens and serve immediately.
SERVE WITH–
Pair these cheesy pasta shells with the perfect sides for the perfect dinner!
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
Yes, you want to be sure that you cook the pasta al dente before stuffing the shells!
For the best results you want to use ricotta cheese, but cottage cheese can totally be used! Either chunky cottage cheese or blended cottage cheese can be used.
No! You can swap for ground pork, chicken or turkey. You can also skip the meat and just use plain marinara sauce.
If you prefer white sauce, you can totally swap the red meat sauce for Alfredo sauce. Skip the meat and onions and just use either canned Alfredo sauce or homemade Alfredo sauce from my pasta recipe.
Yes, this dish is great to make ahead of time! You can fully assemble this dish 1-2 days ahead of time, just store it in the fridge until ready to bake. You will need to add more to the bake time, since the dish will be cold.
Yes! You can totally prep this ahead of time and freeze for later! Once you assemble this dish, cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake!
Once the dish is cooled, store it in the fridge covered or in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
OTHER DINNER IDEAS-
Try some of these other delicious pasta dinner ideas!
Stuffed Shells Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz jumbo pasta shells about 20 shells
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Meat Sauce-
- 1/3 cup red or yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp paprika
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- 2 Tbsp cilantro or parsley finely chopped
Pasta Stuffing-
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen spinach finely chopped
- 1 egg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
Cook Pasta Shells-
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the jumbo pasta shells and cook until al dente, or according to package instructions.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water and rinse it in cold water. (If you want to avoid them from sticking together, lay the shells out on a plate while they cool.)
Prepare Meat Sauce-
- Meanwhile, add ground beef and diced onions to a large skillet and cook on medium high heat for about 4-5 minutes, or until beef is browned.
- Break apart the ground beef as it cooks and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and paprika.
- Once the meat is browned, add the minced garlic and sauté for about a minute, until fragrant.
- Add the marinara sauce and chopped cilantro to the meat and bring it to a simmer. Remove from heat. Set aside.
Assemble Pasta Shells-
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a bowl, add ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, parmesan cheese, chopped spinach, egg, salt and pepper. Mix until fully combined.
- Transfer the creamy filling into a piping bag. (You can also just use a spoon to stuff the shell, but to make it cleaner and faster use a piping bag.)
- In a 7.5×6 casserole dish, add half of the marinara sauce to the bottom of the dish, spreading evenly.
- Stuff the shells with the ricotta filling by piping (or spooning) about 2-3 Tbsp of the mixture.
- Add the stuffed shells to the dish, over the meat sauce, arranging flatly.
- Once all the shells are stuffed and added to the dish, spread the remaining pasta meat sauce over the stuffed shells. Top with shredded cheese and cover the dish with foil.
- Bake at 350°F covered in foil for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until bubbly and crispy along the edges.
- Remove from oven and garnish with additional chopped greens and serve immediately.
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