Stuffed Shells with Meat
Stuffed shells with meat are the ultimate comfort food, absolutely delicious. These can be made ahead and frozen. They are the perfect dinner recipe.
Servings: 35 shells
Ingredients
- 35 jumbo shells see my notes in the post for how to cook them and how to find jumbo shells
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage cooked, broken up, and drained of fat
- 1 large egg
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated and divided
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (if using table salt, cut this to 1/2 a teaspoon)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 28 ounces spaghetti sauce divided (read here about using homemade sauce)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook the shells according to package instructions. Make sure the water is at a full boil before you put in the uncooked shells. Add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt to the water and set a timer so that the pasta is drained just before it is al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, in a large bowl combine the cooked sausage, egg, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, garlic, parsley, basil, salt, and black pepper. Spoon the mixture into the shells.
- Pour 1 cup of sauce onto the prepared casserole dish to coat the bottom. Place the filled shells, seam side up, in the pan. Top with the remaining sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. You may have some filling left over. We typically stuff the extra shells and cook them in a smaller casserole dish.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Serve, and enjoy.