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 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage cooked, broken up, and drained of fat, see note 1
- 1 large egg
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese see note 2
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded 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)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated and divided
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook the shells in a large pot 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.35 jumbo shells, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 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.1 pound ground Italian sausage, 1 large egg, 15 ounces ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley, 1/2 tablespoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 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.28 ounces spaghetti sauce, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Serve, and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- If your family prefers ground beef to Italian sausage or that is what you have on hand, you can use one pound of cooked ground beef instead of the Italian sausage. You could also use ground turkey. You might want to consider adding some Italian Seasoning since you will lose a little flavor with that swap; one or two teaspoons would be perfect while the meat cooks.
- You can replace the ricotta cheese with cottage cheese. While that is not my favorite swap, it is definitely an option if you don’t like ricotta or can’t find it. Cottage cheese will work as a replacement in this recipe.