The Best Ground Beef Stuffed Pasta Shells Recipe

What you will love about this recipe

• Pasta dishes are a crowd pleaser. 
• It is an easy recipe because we use jar sauce, plus you don’t need a long list of ingredients.
• There are three types of cheese in this dish! 
• It heats up well in the microwave. 

Ingredients

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Ingredient Notes

Ground Beef – I use 93/7 ground beef, if using fattier ground beef the excess grease will need to be drained off. Ground chicken, ground turkey or Italian sausage can be used for all or a portion of the beef. You would just brown it the same way you do the ground beef. 

Spaghetti Sauce – we like inexpensive marinara sauce for this recipe. You can use homemade or your favorite brand and variety. 

Jumbo Shells – we use a much shorter cooking time than the package directions so they are very al dente. This makes them easier to fill and more importantly, they don’t get mushy. They will cook the rest of the way in the oven. 

Ricotta Cheese – either full fat or skim milk ricotta will work just great. I have not tried this specific recipe with cottage cheese, it will probably work but would be watery. 

Mozzarella Cheese – full fat or skim milk cheese will work here too. You can use an Italian cheese blend if you prefer. 

Parmesan Cheese – I buy the block and shred it myself, pre-shredded will work good too. You could also top the whole dish with the grated parmesan cheese that comes in the can for added cheesy goodness. 

Italian Seasoning – this usually has oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram.

Garlic – fresh garlic or the kind in the jar (that’s what I use almost all the time). 

How to make this easy stuffed shells recipe

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of water for 10 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water. 
2. While the pasta cooks brown the beef over medium heat in a skillet, about 7-10 minutes. When the meat is almost finished add the garlic and cook a minute or two.  
3. Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9″ X 13″ casserole dish with cooking spray and put enough pasta sauce in the bottom of the baking dish so that it covers the surface.
4. Combine the meat, egg, ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. 
5. Fill shells with cheese mixture and place them into the prepared baking dish in a single layer, spoon remaining sauce over shells.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, uncover and add remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese; cook until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving. 

Tips

• Spread cooked shell pasta out on a rimmed baking sheet so the shells don’t stick together. 
• I use a table spoon to stuff the shells with the ricotta filling, not a measuring spoon, just a regular spoon. You can fill a piping bag and pipe it in if you have one. 
• Serve with a side salad and garlic bread for a complete meal. 

Storage & Reheating

We store our leftovers in the same casserole dish that we bake it in. The one you see in the pictures in this post doesn’t have a lid so I cover it with plastic wrap and it is airtight. You can transfer your leftovers to a different airtight container or portion them out into individual servings. 

I like to heat the leftovers up in the microwave. 

There is a great article over at Southern Living that tells you how to freeze, defrost, and reheat a casserole, so check that out if you want to make this dish as part of your meal prep.  

More pasta recipes you will love

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Mixed Up Lasagna

Spinach Manicotti

Skinny Baked Chicken Spaghetti