Stuffed Shells….Mmmm

I was so happy tonight eating these stuffed shells for dinner. This makes a great Sunday dinner or any day of the week if you are ambitious. This looks like alot of work, but it’s not that bad. Totally worth it. My recipe calls for a homemade sauce, but you can always use a store bought pasta sauce to speed this dish up. I just happened to have time today. The kids love this all cut up in a bowl. So yummy. Enjoy!

 

 

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ Cup finely chopped white onion

1 lb lean ground beef
Pinch salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, finely chopped
½ Cup finely chopped bell pepper of choice (red, green or orange)
4 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
Small can tomato sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
¼ teaspoon dry oregano
Pinch of granulated sugar
8 large fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced (or you can chop it)

1 Box large pasta shells

15 oz container of Ricotta Cheese
½ Cup grated parmesan cheese
1 ½ Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Cup reserved cooked ground beef
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten

¼ Cup parmesan cheese
1 ½ Cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Place olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add ground beef, salt and pepper. Cook until browned. Reserve 1 Cup beef for cheese filling. Set aside.

2. Place olive oil in another large skillet or pot over medium heat. Saute onion, bell peppers, and garlic for 3-5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, oregano, sugar and basil leaves. Reduce heat to low and add beef. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.

3. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain. I like to lay out a large piece of foil on my counter top, sprayed with cooking spray and lay each shell on the foil. Lightly spray the shells with cooking spray.

4. Place ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, beef, salt, pepper and egg in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.

5. Place a few spoonfuls of meat sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Spread to coat bottom. Fill each shell with about 2-3 Tablespoons of filling and line in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with parmesan then mozzarella Cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce bubbly.

6-8 servings

Stuffed Shells

This Stuffed Shells recipe is comfort food at its absolute best! Cheesy pasta shells are stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, juicy ground beef, and more!
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 784kcal
Print

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup white onion finely chopped
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small white onion finely chopped
  • ½ cup bell pepper of choice, finely chopped (red, green, or orange)
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • small can tomato sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon dry oregano
  • pinch of granulated sugar
  • 8 large fresh basil leaves stacked, rolled and thinly sliced (or you chop them)

For the Pasta:

  • 1 box large pasta shells
  • 15 ounce container ricotta cheese
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup reserved cooked ground beef
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 egg beaten
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese
  • 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  • Place olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add ground beef, salt and pepper. Cook until browned. Reserve 1 Cup beef for cheese filling. Set aside.
  • Place olive oil in another large skillet or pot over medium heat. Saute onion, bell peppers, and garlic for 3-5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, oregano, sugar and basil leaves. Reduce heat to low and add beef. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.
  • Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain. I like to lay out a large piece of foil on my counter top, sprayed with cooking spray and lay each shell on the foil. Lightly spray the shells with cooking spray.
  • Place ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, beef, salt, pepper and egg in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.
  • Place a few spoonfuls of meat sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread to coat bottom. Fill each shell with about 2-3 Tablespoons of filling and line in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with parmesan then mozzarella Cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce bubbly.

Notes

Makes 6-8 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 784kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 157mg | Sodium: 1056mg | Potassium: 1002mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1436IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 793mg | Iron: 5mg
Keywords: ricotta stuffed shells, stuffed pasta shells, stuffed shells with meat

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10 Responses
  1. Joshua Nelson

    Hi mate, I have just read this post and there’s a lot of great information which is great, but I’ve gotta let you know your site was way down in the rankings on Google. I’ve been using this plugin for WordPress which has really helped me drive more traffic to my own blog – WP Authority Links Plugin which you can get at http://bit.ly/1zu5uRT

  2. Anonymous

    I made this last week with a side of corn. The stuffed shells are so yummy!!!! My six-year old had 3 helpings! I found your site by accident through a rubber stamping blog and I am so glad that I did! I have passed along this blog to a bunch of people as well!
    Pam, St. Louis, MO

  3. Jenny

    Hi Natalie,
    Glad to have you. I thought I added your cute blog to my list, and realized I hadn’t yet. I just added it. Will be looking forward to trying your recipes!

    Yah, I just splurged on my first good camera. It is fun, but I still have so much to figure out about it.

  4. Our Cute Family

    Jenny, These look delicious! I am going to try them for sure! Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog quite a few weeks ago. You were so nice to leave a comment, and I love how you have a list of other cooking blogs. You are great. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner; I was not able to blog for a few weeks, but am back up and running again. I am going to add you to my list of other cooking blogs, too. Your recipes all look wonderful and I LOVE your photography skills! I want a new camera sooo bad so that I can take as good of pics. See ya!

  5. Jenny

    Kimberly,
    I promise I will make them again soon for you and Aaron. Sorry for the miscommunication that night. One on the house coming up!

  6. Jenny

    Hi Emilie,
    I believe I know what judge you were talking about. It would be Daisy Martinez. She was a bit harsh with everyone I thought. It was still a great cook-off though!

    Thanks for stopping in my blog. I just pulled yours up and yummm. I am so excited to read more of your recipes. I just added you to my list. All of your “sweets” look divine!

  7. Emilie

    Ahhh! I recognize you! I saw you on the Build a Better Burger show, on Food Network, maybe a couple of months ago.
    I thought your burger looked delicious with the Proscuitto. I didn’t care for one of the judges. I can’t remember her name. I didn’t even know who she was.

    These shells look really good. I love pasta, lasagna, manicotti, etc.

  8. Jenny

    Lisa,
    You are so good about your substitutions!

    I think the leftovers of this are almost better than right out of the oven. Love it!

  9. The Harris Family Daily Chat

    This is one of my favorite things to make. I the only think I do different is replace the ricotta cheese with fat free cottage. When I was pregnant with Avery I would wake up in the the middle of the night and eat all the leftovers while watching trash TV. Yum!

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