Stuffed Shells are the ultimate creamy, cheesy baked pasta dish. Made with a creamy ricotta filling, and smothered in tomato sauce and cheese, Baked Shells is the perfect recipe to make when you are craving an Italian comfort food!
I suggest serving these Baked Shells with Homemade Garlic Toast and a Greek Salad for one delicious meal!
Baked Stuffed Shells
My comfort food of all time is cheesy pasta. And this recipe for Stuffed Shells is the epitome of cheesy pasta. It is one of those recipes that makes my soul--and of course my stomach--very happy!
Tender jumbo pasta shells are stuffed with a creamy, cheesy ricotta filling and then smothered in marinara sauce and more cheese and baked to perfection.
There are not many people who can resist this classic recipe!
How To Make Stuffed Shells
Baked shells are really not hard to prepare, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner. But given how much everyone loves this recipe, I would certainly not limit to just the weeknights. This recipe is company worthy!
Step One: Prepare Shells
- Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil.
- Season heavily with salt--this is your only opportunity to season your pasta!
- Boil jumbo shells for 9 minutes. This will let the shells be just tender enough to stuff, without being so soft that they fall apart.
- Drain--remember to NOT rinse your pasta. That will wash away flavor!
- Let the shells cool in the strainer until just cool enough to be handled. I typically whip up the filling while I wait for the shells to coo.
Step Two: Prepare Filling
- In a large mix bowl, mix together ricotta with egg, Parmesan, parsley, and seasonings.
Step Three: Stuff Shells
- Spread out ½ cup tomato sauce on bottom of casserole dish.
- Stuff each shell with the ricotta mixture, about ¼ cup filling per shell. I find using a spoon works perfectly to get the filling into the shell. Remember to not over stuff the shells, so that the shells can somewhat close around the ricotta filling. This will keep the filling from drying out when baked.
- Place the stuffed shells in the baking pan, nestling them close together.
- Cover with additional sauce and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Step Four: Bake Stuffed Shells
- Bake until filling is baked through and cheese is melted and browned.
How to Freeze Stuffed Shells
When you have the time and the ingredients on hand, I strongly suggest preparing double batch of Stuffed Shells and freeze one batch for a busy day.
To freeze stuffed shells, use a freezer safe casserole pan or disposable tin pan. Prepare shells up to baking as recipe states. Cover with aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat frozen stuffed shells, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove shells from freezer and bake, covered for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the shells are warmed through.
Tips and Modifications for Stuffed Shells
- Stuffed Shells with Spinach: Chopped spinach makes a great addition to the ricotta filling. To add spinach, simply defrost ½ to ⅔ cup of frozen chopped spinach. Wring out all excess moisture from spinach using a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth--very important or your filling with be watery! Mix the spinach into the ricotta filling and stuff the shells as recipe directs.
- Stuffed Shells with Meat: You can choose to make this recipe a bit more hearty with the addition of ground beef or ground sausage. Simply brown ½ pound ground beef or sausage until cooked through in a skillet over medium high heat. Drain off excess grease and crumble up meat into bite size pieces. You can add your meat to the ricotta mixture for a meaty filling or the tomato sauce for a meat sauce.
- No Fresh Parsley? Feel free to use 1 teaspoon dried parsley in place of the fresh parsley in the ricotta filling.
- Can't handle heat? If you do not like spice, omit the red pepper flakes.
- I love to use my homemade tomato sauce for this recipe, but any good quality marinara or spaghetti sauce work.
More Cheesy Pasta Recipes
- Instant Pot Creamy Italian Pasta
- Homemade Lasagna
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Slow Cooker Baked Ziti
- Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan
Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 6 ounces jumbo pasta shells half a standard box
- 1 egg
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 3 cups marinara
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Once the water comes to a boil, heavily salt the water and add in the shells. Cook for 9 minutes and then drain.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, Parmesan, garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- In a 2-quart baking dish, spread ½ cup marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan.
- Spoon the ricotta mixture into the cooked shells and place into prepared baking dish.
- Top with the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the Mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned.
Rose Minasian
Hi. Can you make this a day ahead of time? I hope so! I put it together and plan to bake tomorrow. Any recommendations for me?
Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Rose! Yes, you can stuff these shells as directed and cover them with foil and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. When ready to bake, remove the shells from the refrigerator to take the chill off as the oven comes to temp. Bake as directed, knowing you may need an additional close minutes
Caroline Valentic
Amazing flavors
Kelli
I made this tonight and it came out great!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Kelli! Thanks for sharing.
Margaret
Couldn't find jumbo shells to save my life, so I used lasagna noodles, cut in half and rolled. Worked out great!
Kristen Chidsey
I love how you improvised Margaret!
Tara
Doubled the recipe for a family of 5 picky people - thinking there might be leftovers for tomorrow...nope! All gone! Great recipe and easy, too! Thank you!!
Kristen Chidsey
HAHA!!! I love and hate when that happens! I am so glad your family enjoyed.
Beth
Have made this twice and believe this is the best and love the versatility ( spinach or meat or just cheese). Thank you for posting this recipe! 😃
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoy so much Beth! Thanks for leaving a review.
Nellie Tracy
Such a great recipe! Stuffed shells are a family favorite for sure!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY!! Love that you family enjoyed.
Sonny
Hello! My dish is currently in the oven and the cheese on top is getting soggy instead of melting in top. Can you think of anything I am doing wrong? I used 2 eggs so I’m wondering if that was the problem. Or I put too much sauce? I’m so bummed!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Sonny. Well, it could be several reasons. It may have been that you overstuffed your shells and the filling was leaking out into the filling, it may have been the type of cheese you used on your shells, or that you did put in too much sauce. However, I would place under the broiler and broil until melted. My hunch is the type of cheese of that you put the cheese on and then added more sauce possibly? Let me know and I can help further help trouble shoot.
Camilla
Absolutely fantastic! Stuffed the shells with ground beef, which I prepared by sautéing some yellow onions and garlic before adding in the beef — simply amazing. Thank you for sharing! This is my new go to dinner when I’m looking for comfort food.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad this hit the spot Camilla!
Samantha
I doubled the recipe and made one for my family and one for friends who just welcomed a new little one. These stuffed shells were a hit all around!
Kristen Chidsey
I love hearing that!! So glad you all enjoyed!