Chicken Stuffed Shells
These Chicken Stuffed Shells are filled to the brim with chicken, broccoli, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and then smothered in a rich garlic Alfredo sauce.
Servings: 5 people
Calories: 752kcal
Ingredients
- 16 - 20 jumbo shells cooked according to package instructions
Filling for Shells
- 1 cup cooked chicken
- 1 cup ricotta cheese low fat can be used here
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup cooked broccoli this can be broccoli you saute, steam, or thaw from frozen
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Alfredo Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk cold
- 1 cup heavy cream cold
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup Parmesan shredded
- salt and pepper (you will likely need 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon black pepper)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 2 quart dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a roaring boil. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Add the dry jumbo shells. Cook for the length of time indicated on the box. When the timer goes off, drain the water and rinse the shells with cold water.
- While the water is coming to a boil and the shells are cooking, combine all the ingredients listed above for the shell filling in a large bowl, using only 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat make the Alfredo Sauce. (Please note that you can skip this step and use 2 cups of Alfredo sauce.) Melt the butter and once it is melted, whisk in the flour. Gradually add the whole milk. Start by adding about 2 tablespoons at a time. Add more once it is fully combined with the flour. The mixture will look very gummy. The more you add the more quickly you can go. This whole process should take less than a minute. Now whisk in the heavy cream and garlic.
- Bring the liquid to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. You sould see just small bubbles. Stir occasionally.
- Stir in the freshly grated Parmesan so it melts completely. Remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Salt and pepper can make or break an Alfredo sauce, so really taste it and keep adding little bits of salt and pepper until you reach a flavor you like.
- Add just enough Alfredo Sauce to the bottom of the prepared baking dish to coat it. Fill the shells with the filling mixture and place them in the baking dish, seam side up. Pour the reamaining Alfredo Sauce over the shells. Top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes covered. Remove the cover and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more with the cover removed until the cheese is fully melted. Turn on the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes until you reach the desired level of browning your family enjoys. What you see in the pictures here is about two minutes. Watch the shells very closely.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 4shells | Calories: 752kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 195mg | Sodium: 1139mg | Potassium: 479mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1707IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 841mg | Iron: 2mg