Stuffed Shells

4.9 from 19 votes

Made with a cheesy ricotta filling, smothered in spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese, and then baked until gooey and browned, these Italian Stuffed Shells are the ultimate creamy, cheesy baked pasta dish.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 275kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

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 spaghetti sauce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F 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, or 2 minutes less than the package directions state. Drain the pasta and allow it to cool slightly.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the filling by mixing together the ricotta egg, parmesan, garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt, and pepper in a medium mixing bowl.
Spread a 2-quart baking dish with ½ cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Once the shells are cool enough to handle, stuff each shell with the ricotta mixture, about ¼ cup filling per shell. Remember to not overstuff the shells, so that the shells can somewhat close around the ricotta filling.
Top the shells with the remaining spaghetti sauce and then cover with the mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned.

Video

Notes

Adding Spinach: Defrost ½ to ⅔ cup of frozen chopped spinach. Wring out all excess moisture from spinach using a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth, mix the spinach into the ricotta filling, and stuff the shells as the recipe directs.

Adding Meat: Brown ½ pound of ground beef or Italian 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, both are delicious.

No Fresh Parsley? Feel free to use 1 teaspoon dried parsley in place of the fresh parsley in the ricotta filling.

Can't handle the heat? If you do not like spice, omit the red pepper flakes.

Leftovers: Allow the baked shells to cool slightly, and then cover the casserole dish tightly with plastic wrap or foil or place the leftovers into an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

To freeze stuffed shells, use a freezer-safe casserole pan or disposable tin pan. Prepare the recipe up to baking. Cover the dish tightly with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. To cook the frozen stuffed shells, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dish from the freezer and remove ONE layer of foil, leaving the dish covered with a single layer of foil. Bake for 1 hour and then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the shells are warmed through.

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