Classic Stuffed Shells
While stuffed shells aren’t the most beautiful of dinners, they make up for their rustic appearance with their incredibly comforting and satisfying flavor. This classic recipe is a staple in our household once the weather gets cooler and we crave hearty, filling dishes (like my pot roast!). Today we’re pairing jumbo, perfectly cooked shells with a velvety, cheesy filling and flavorful tomato sauce. Bake the whole thing into bubbly perfection, and oh boy, you’re in for a treat! The whole family loves this recipe, and as a bonus, it’s a vegetarian dinner option–great for meatless Monday!
Why You’ll Love My Recipe
Can be made in advance or even frozen. Ideal for meal-prepping! Flexible. This recipe works with store-bought sauce or homemade sauce. If you’re in a pinch and need a quick dinner, stick with store-bought, otherwise I really recommend you use my homemade marinara sauce. Includes a secret ingredient in the filling! This lends a smooth, velvety creaminess and a subtle depth of flavor. I swear by it! Ready to eat in less than an hour. This is minimal effort, maximum reward kind of comfort food!
Ingredients
My recipe uses just a few basic ingredients plus one sneaky secret addition.
Jumbo shells. Make sure you boil a few more than you need, just in case you have a some that tear or stick to the bottom of the pan. Any extras you don’t use make a nice little snack while you wait for your dinner to finish baking 😉 Marinara sauce. You will need three cups of sauce. You can always get creative and use something other than marinara like arrabiata sauce (for spice lovers!) or vodka sauce. Ricotta cheese. Ricotta is a classic ingredient for shells and lasagna! I prefer whole milk ricotta here for best results. Cream cheese. My secret ingredient! Adding cream cheese to the filling makes for a luxurious texture and depth of flavor. It’s not overpowering though! If you’re a cream cheese hater, I want to let you know that I have two siblings who hate cream cheese, but love this recipe and can not detect so much as a whiff of cream cheese flavor. I’ve tried this recipe with and without the cream cheese, and it just tastes so much better with it. I also use it when making manicotti. Egg. The egg helps to serve as a binder for the filling. If you can’t or don’t do eggs, you can leave it out, just note the filling will be looser after baking. Fresh parsley. This adds some color and fresh flavor to our filling (which is much needed with all that cheese!). If you don’t have fresh parsley, you can substitute two teaspoons of dried parsley instead.
SAM’S TIP: To prevent overcooking, cook your shells until they are al dente and rinse with cold water after boiling. The shells will continue cooking in the oven and will be perfect when they’re done! Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Stuffed Shells
Boil the shells
To make them easy to manage (and less prone to tearing or falling apart), boil them one minute shy of package instructions. Then, drain, rinse with cold water (this stops the cooking process and cools them down so they can be handled right away) and arrange on a baking sheet so they don’t stick together.
Prepare the filling
Stir together the cheeses, egg, garlic, parsley, spices, and salt. The cream cheese should be slightly softened to make it easy to stir (you can also just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to help move things along!).
Stuff the shells
Lightly grease a casserole dish (I use butter, but a bit of olive oil would work, too) and add a layer of sauce. Stuff filling into each shell and arrange in rows in your prepared pan.
Layer it up
Add the final layer of marinara sauce overtop and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
Bake, then serve
Bake covered at first, then uncovered for the last 10 minutes (this will help turn the cheese slightly brown and bubbly). I recommend serving with a side salad and some garlic knots or crusty artisan bread or sourdough bread. SAM’S TIP: If you want to prep your shells in advance, I recommend doing so before baking. I provide instructions for this below. If you’re looking for a side, I recommend whipping up a batch of my garlic knots. Yum. Enjoy! Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜 Recipe originally published Feb 27, 2019. The recipe itself is unchanged, but I’ve updated the post to include more tips and helpful information, and new photos!
Related Recipes
