Baked Italian Stuffed Shells are the ultimate comfort food. Giant pasta shells, with a meat & cheese stuffing, smothered in tomato sauce and baked to perfection in a casserole dish. A real crowd pleaser!
Just like these spinach lasagna roll ups, or this baked pasta dish, this Italian stuffed pasta recipe is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters.
Today, we are stuffing these giant shells, known as Conchiglie in Italian, with a mixture of meat and cheese.
Any lean ground meat can be used in this recipe-beef, veal, chicken, turkey or even sausage.
The cheese mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, and Romano ensures a creamy texture when combined with the meat.
You won’t believe how easy they are to make.
Mise en place
Mise en placeDoing a little bit of prep work facilitates the assembling of these Italian shells.
Let’s begin!
The Tomato Sauce: For this recipe, you need a tomato or Marinara Sauce. You will need approximately 3-3½ cups. I used half of the amount of my Quick Tomato Sauce recipe. If it is more convenient for you, use your favorite commercial brand.
Cook the Pasta: Bring a very large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt. Add about 24 -26 shells, a few at a time to prevent them from sticking together.
Cook according to the package instructions minus a few minutes since it continues to bake in the oven.
Prepare a clean tea towel on the countertop.
When ready, remove the giant shells from the pot of boiling water.
Drain and place upside down on a clean tea towel to remove the excess water. Set aside.
The Meat Mixture: While waiting for the pasta to cook, sauté the chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until beginning to soften (3-4 minutes).
Add 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic, a few pinches of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste, and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes stirring frequently.
Add the lean minced meat. Saute and break up the meat with a wooden spoon. Cook until cooked through about 5-7 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Turn the heat to medium-high. De-glaze pan with 2 tablespoons of white wine.
Drain the fat and set aside the meat to cool down.
The Cheese Mixture: In a large bowl combine 2 cups fresh ricotta, 2 eggs, ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese or Pecorino Romano Cheese, 1½ cups freshly grated mozzarella and 2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley.
The cheese filling is done.
It’s now time to combine all the ingredients together.
How to assemble
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the oven grate in the center.
Combine the room temperature meat mixture with the cheeses to make the filling.
Using two spoons or a pastry bag with the bottom cut off, fill each of the 24-26 cavities with about 2-3 tablespoons of the meat and cheese filling. As you can see, they are completely filled up.
Place about a ½-1 cup of tomato sauce at the base of a 13 x 9″ baking dish. Tilt the dish so that the sauce coats the bottom evenly.
Place them in the prepared dish facing up.
Top with the remaining tomato sauce, reserving at least 1 cup.
Place a piece of parchment paper over the top. Then cover tightly with a piece of aluminum foil.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until cooked through and bubbling.
Uncover both the aluminum wrap and the parchment paper and bake for another 3-5 minutes.
Remove the baked dish from the oven.
Garnish with reserved tomato sauce (heated), chopped fresh parsley and extra grated cheese.
Serve immediately.
Tips
- Under-cook the pasta when boiling it as it continues to bake in the oven.
- Make sure the meat is no longer hot when combining it with the cheese mixture.
How to stuff
Using two spoons or a pastry bag with the bottom cut off, fill each cavity with about 2-3 tablespoons of the meat and cheese filling.
Can they be frozen?
Yes. Place them individually on a cookie sheet that fits your freezer. Freeze for a couple of hours. Then, remove and place them in a freezable container. When ready to bake, simply place them in a casserole with the tomato sauce and bake covered for 50-60 minutes.
Italian dinner recipes we love
- Baked Cod Fish
- Italian Sausage, Potatoes, Peppers and Onions
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta
- Pasta and Lentils
- Homemade Calzones
- Penne all’Arrabbiata
- Pan-Seared Rack of Lamb
- Tuna Pasta Recipe
Recipe origins
You probably wouldn’t be surprised if I told you that “growing up Italian” meant we had pasta dishes three times a week.
Baked pasta dishes were a family favorite.
Baked spaghetti, lasagna, cannelloni, baked ziti, manicotti and of course these large pasta shells stuffed with different combinations of meat, cheese, and sausage. Always topped with homemade tomato sauce.
If you would like to see how to make these stuffed shells with meat, head on over to YouTube. Just click on the following link and be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel as my friend Carlo and I plan to share more wonderful recipes with all of you!
THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.
Ciao for now,
Maria
★★★★★ If you have made this recipe, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!
Italian Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce:
- ½ Tomato Sauce recipe 3-3½ cups
Large Pasta Shells:
- 24 large pasta shells
- 2 tablespoons salt
Meat Mixture:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic fresh, chopped
- pinch red pepper flakes optional
- 1 pound ground meat 454 grams, chicken, veal or beef
- 2 tablespoons white wine to deglaze pan
Cheese Filling:
- 2 cups ricotta about 15 ounces or 450 grams
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese or Pecorino Romano Cheese grated, plus more to garnish
- 1½ cups mozzarella cheese freshly grated
- 2 tablespoons Italian flat-leaf parsley fresh, chopped
Topping:
- reserved tomato sauce heated
- Italian flat-leaf parsley to garnish, fresh, chopped
- Pecorino Romano cheese to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Tomato Sauce. If more convenient can use a commercial product.
Boil the Large Pasta Shells:
- Bring a very large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt. Add the pasta shells.Cook according to the package instructions minus a few minutes since the pasta continues to bake in the oven.Place a clean kitchen towel on the countertop. When ready, drain the shells and place upside down on a clean tea towel to remove excess water and to cool down.
Make the Meat Mixture:
- While waiting for the pasta, sauté the chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until beginning to soften (3-4 minutes).
- Add 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic, a few pinches of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste, and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes stirring frequently.
- Add the lean minced meat. Saute and break up the meat with a wooden spoon. Cook until cooked through about 5-7 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Turn the heat to medium-high. De-glaze pan with 2 tablespoons of white wine.
- Drain the fat from the meat and set it aside to cool down.
Make the Cheese Mixture:
- In a large bowl combine all the ingredients to make the cheese mixture. That is 2 cups fresh ricotta, 2 eggs, ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese or Pecorino Romano Cheese, 1½ cups freshly grated mozzarella and 2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley.
To Assemble:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the oven grate in the center.
- Combine the room temperature meat mixture with the cheeses to make the filling.
- Using two spoons or a pastry bag with the bottom cut off, fill each cavity with about 1½-2 tablespoons of the filling.
- Place about a ½-1 cup of tomato sauce at the base of your baking dish. To bake all of the 24 shells, you will need a 13 x 9″ baking dish.
- Tilt the dish so that the sauce coats the bottom evenly.
- Place all of the filled pasta shells in the prepared dish facing up.
- Top with the remaining tomato sauce, reserving about 1 cup.
- Place a piece of parchment paper over the top. Then cover tightly with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Bake in a preheated oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes.
- Uncover both the aluminum wrap and the parchment paper and bake for another 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven.
- Garnish with reserved tomato sauce (heated), chopped fresh parsley and extra grated cheese.
Notes
- One portion size is calculated as 2 pasta shells.
- Use a large pot of water to boil the pasta to prevent them from sticking together and breaking.
- Boil a few extra pasta shells just in case a few of them break while boiling them.
- Under-cook the pasta when boiling it as it continues to bake in the oven.
- Make sure the meat is no longer hot when combining it with the cheese mixture.
- How to Stuff: Using two spoons or a pastry bag with the bottom cut off, fill each pasta shell with about 2-3 tablespoons of the meat and cheese filling. Can you Freeze the STUFFED PASTA SHELLS? Yes. Place them individually on a cookie sheet that fits your freezer. Freeze for a couple of hours. Then, remove and place in a freezable container. When ready to bake, simply place them in a casserole with the tomato sauce and bake covered for 50-60 minutes.
Nutrition
Denise C says
Step 7 says this, “ Top with the remaining tomato sauce, reserving about 1 cup.”. What do I do with that 1 cup of reserved sauce?
Maria says
Thanks for your interest Denise. When I am serving the shells, I spoon a little over each portion, topped with extra cheese and parsley. I have updated the recipe card. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Rose says
Great recipe.
In my family we stuff half of the shells with only the meat mixture (a bit of sauce and grated cheese) and ricotta mixture for the other half. Then we serve one or two of each stuffed shell per plate. This pleases the picky eaters in my family.
BTW Do you have a good and simple recipe for GNOCCHI?
Maria says
Thanks Rose. Stay tuned for the gnocchi recipe.
Val says
Baked pasta shells are my favorite! Can’t wait to try this recipe, thanks Maria!
Maria says
Great to hear Val! Enjoy! Thanks for stopping by, appreciate it.