Stuffed Shells Recipe

My recipe features simple, comforting, baked stuffed shells. The best results come from the filling and homemade marinara sauce. The whole dish will take about 45 minutes and I have lots of important tips, storage, and freezing options. 

Lyuba’s Recipe Highlights

This stuffed shells recipe is the epitome of comfort food and has been beloved by readers and family for many years and I believe that’s because it’s simple enough but also holds so much comfort and beautiful flavor:

• I use simple ingredients but I’ve learned which ones to buy and how to manipulate them to make the best flavor and texture. I made sure highlight those in the ingredient notes.
• While, I highly recommend to make your own pasta sauce, I totally understand not having the time to do it. Luckily, tomato sauce keeps very well in the refrigerator for a few days and in the freezer for even longer. I made sure to share made ahead, freezing, and more tips on that below!
• It’s an easy recipe that even a rookie home cook could have an easy time following it.

Recipe Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

This is a very straight forward recipe, most ingredients you may already have in the pantry. I want to highlight the important ingredients and offer some substitution options:

• Pasta – make sure to get jumbo shells that are meant for stuffing. Get a package that’s about 10-12 oz so that you have a few extras to cook in case some break during cooking.
• The Filling: use whole milk ricotta and whole milk shredded mozzarella cheese. Using whole milk cheese will give you a rich and creamy filling. You can also add more flavor by adding cheeses like Asiago, Romano, or Fontina. Dried oregano and fresh basil and fresh parsley will create a great aroma and flavor. If you have to, you can also use all dried herbs just half the amount.
• Pasta Sauce – of course, it’s always best to use homemade marinara sauce, but you can also use your favorite store-bought one. After testing many sauces, I like La San Marzano Marinara Sauce or Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce. For a more budget friendly option, Whole Foods has a pretty good sauce, 365 Organic Marinara.

Tips for the Best Stuffed Shells

• If available, cook a few extra pasta shells because some will tear during the cooking and stuffing process. If you have some leftover, you can nestle them in the sauce as well, why not have a few more pasta bites.
• You can divide the shells among two smaller baking pans and cook both or cook one and freeze the other half.
• Feel free to double the recipe and it will be totally okay to use the whole 32 oz. ricotta container, a couple extra ounces of ricotta won’t hurt.

How To Make Stuffed Shells: Step-by Step and Tips

1. Cook your pasta shells in a pot of salted water until they are al dente (slightly undercooked). You want the shells to be just slightly under-cooked because they will finish cooking in the oven. Once cooked, strain and set aside to cool down enough to be handled.
2. PRO TIP: this recipe makes about 18 stuffed pasta shells but cook 3-4 extra shells just in case some rip and break apart. (And you can always throw in the broken ones into the sauce and just eat it as pasta.)
3. While pasta is cooking, mix your filling until all ingredients are evenly incorporated throughout. This is a great time saver, to work on different elements at the same time.

4. Spread about 3 cups of marinara sauce over the bottom of the 9×13 baking dish and spread it evenly. The reason I recommend using a baking pan (not a cast iron skillet) is because of the acidic tomato sauce. If your skillet is not property and well seasoned, the acid will eat away at the metal leaching it into the food.
5. Fill each shell with about 2 tablespoons of ricotta filling and place it in the sauce, in the pan. PRO TIP: Make sure to place stuffed shells in the pan seam up. 
6. Sprinkle some Mozzarella cheese, oregano, and parsley on top before baking! The more cheese, the better, I always say! Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese on top is melted and just beginning to turn golden brown at the edges.

Make Ahead Instructions

You’ll be happy to know that I’ve tested this recipe extensively because I, myself, like to make them ahead of time. This is how I do it in my kitchen:

• Prepare the stuffed shells per recipe but do not bake. Cover the baking dish air-tight and refrigerate for a day or so.
• I wouldn’t recommend making stuffed shells any more than 1 day ahead. 
• When ready, take the dish out of the refrigerator and take off the covering. Let it sit on the counter while the oven preheats and sprinkle mozzarella cheese and herbs on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Storing, Freezing, and Reheating Instructions

I shared this recipe originally over 6 years ago and one of the most common questions I’ve gotten have to do with freezing them. I want to break down the best ways of storing and warm it up, in addition to freezing:

• Storing: You can store the shells in the same baking dish. Cool it to room temperature, cover air-tight and refrigerate for about 3-4 days.
• To reheat: reheat individual portions in the microwave or reheat it in the oven at 350°F, in a baking dish, covered with aluminum foil, until heated through.

Expert Tip: if you are planning on freezing stuffed shells, prepare them right in the aluminum foil baking dish. This will make it easy to cover and freeze, and then bake.

• To freeze stuffed shells with sauce: Use aluminum foil baking dish to prepare the shells up to the step of baking. Wrap it air-tight with plastic food wrap and foil and freeze. Stuffed shells can be frozen for 3-5 months. 
• To bake frozen stuffed shells: you can either bake them frozen or let them thaw in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If you are going to bake shells frozen, take off the plastic wrap and cover the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil. Bake for 60 minutes in foil and then 10 minutes without foil.

Variations

Meats: A way to add some meat is to mix in about 1/2 lb. of cooked seasoned ground beef, crumbled Italian sausage, chopped rotisserie chicken, or another leftover chicken right into the filling. To make it extra meaty, try to combine Bolognese sauce with some homemade marinara sauce.

Spinach and Vegetables: You can sauté some onions and spinach, drain well, and mix it into the filling. You can also sauté any combination of veggies like onions, carrots, bell peppers, and mushrooms, drain them after sautéing and mix it into the filling.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta?

• Yes, you can actually substitute cottage cheese instead of ricotta for more protein in the dish but with some adjustments. Remember that cottage cheese has a lot more moisture, so try to drain off as much liquid as you can. The texture is also different so use small-curd cottage cheese and if you really want to get the texture closer to ricotta, pulse it in a blender.

How do I prevent the shells from tearing?

• Best way to do that is to cook the shells just until al dente so they remain firm. It’s also helpful to cook a few extra shells just in case some break. (And they will! Many crack in a box.)

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Some Italian Pasta Recipes To Try

• Cheesy Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells
• Baked Ziti
• Classic Manicotti
• Seafood Alfredo Stuffed Shells
• Instant Pot Spaghetti

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on February 19, 2019.