Easy stuffed shells with meat and ricotta baked in the oven is a family favorite one pot meal. Use homemade or a jar of spaghetti sauce to make this hamburger meat recipe or with spicy ground sausage.
This is how to stuff shells with ground beef, meat and tomato sauce to create a favorite Old Fashioned meal you probably enjoyed with your Grandmother back in the day. 😉 An Italian casserole of sorts layered with cheeses we love. (affiliate links present)
Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef
I would say this is a bit like our Lazy Lasagna Casserole, except the filling stays inside better. A bit cleaner and prettier to serve to guests and kinda’ a fun activity to do with your kids. As far as the size of the noodles you should use large or sometimes can find giant stuffed shells XL varieites.
Ground meat of any kind works. Beef is typical but honestly I have used half Jimmy Dean ground sausage at times and it is wonderful with a bit of heat. Many times I will make this with Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce or quick with a jar of Prego (or whatever is on sale).
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Stuffed Shells with Meat and Ricotta
You will need to precook the meat at the beginning and combine with everything else to create a sort of mixture you can then spoon inside the al dente boiled pasta shells. If your meat isn’t fresh or defrosted this is How to Cook Frozen Ground Beef to start. Then continue on with the step by step directions listed below. You will need:
Stuffed Shells Ingredients
- Jumbo shells
- Ground beef
- Spaghetti sauce
- Onion diced
- Minced garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Mozzarella shredded
- 1 c parmesan grated
- Ricotta cheese
This will fit into a 9×13″ dish well. You don’t really want them to overlap but that isn’t a deal breaker if you wanted to add a few more on top so you didn’t have to use another pan. Just keep filling the insides until the meat and cheese mixture is all used up, you don’t want to waste any of that.
How to Cook Stuffed Shells in the Oven
You are going to boil the pasta in a pot full of salted water over medium high heat until they are al dente but softened. If too soft it will be difficult to fill without breaking apart so test often and drain in a colander. To stop the cooking just turn on the cold water for a minute or so over the top.
- Cook ground beef with the onions in a pan until no longer pink.
- Combine with half the cheeses and ricotta and most of the sauce
- Pour a bit of sauce on the bottom of the dish so it doesn’t stick
- Fill each large shell with meat mix.
- Lay inside dish until filled
- Cover with any remaining sauce or meat and cheese
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the top is melted and golden brown.
Stuffed shells filling ideas
You can make these vegetarian for sure as well. This is how to cook frozen spinach until warmed and then combine with sauce and your choice of dairy-free cheeses. The rest of the instructions would remain the same.
- You can make these Mexican style with some refried beans mixed with the ground meat and a drained can of black beans in there.
- Instead of meat use sun-dried tomatoes and pesto instead of tomato sauce.
- Use shredded chicken with alfredo sauce instead.
Can you make stuffed shells ahead of time?
Yes and no. You could surely make a pot full of homemade Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce with Beef so that is done. This way you would have little to no prep work other than folding in the cheeses before stuffing. The noodles really need to be cooked relatively close to the time you bake them or they’ll stiffen and won’t be pliable to spoon in the filling.
Can you freeze stuffed pasta shells?
If you don’t finish them all you could freeze it, after it cooled completely. I would bake it first and not freeze pre-baked for best results. Once cool, cover the dish with foil and sit flat. It could be kept for months this way until you’re ready to reheat it.
If they were left over and kept in the fridge it would only take 15 minutes or so at 375. Use an oven safe dish covered with foil to heat, then remove and top with additional cheese to melt and brown for a few minutes.
Once cooled you should transfer them into an airtight container and keep in the fridge until you are ready to reheat them in the oven or microwave.
Use a small spoon to scoop up your filling. Hold the al dente pre-boiled shell with one hand and fill with meat and cheese until full. You could use a knife too to smear the ricotta ground beef mixture inside.
Other easy pasta recipes you’ll love
Stuffed Shells with Meat
Equipment
- 1 9×13 pan
- 1 pot to boil noodles
- 1 pan
Ingredients
- 12 oz. jumbo shells
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 24 oz spaghetti sauce
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 c mozzarella, shredded
- 1 c parmesan, grated
- 3/4 c ricotta
Instructions
- Begin to cook pasta according to package instructions. Only cook to al dente, so the noodles still hold their form. Drain and set aside for now. **I cooked my shells for 10 minutes.
- In a large skillet, begin to brown the ground beef. Add the chopped onion, minced garlic and Italian seasoning. Continue to saute until the onion is tender and beef is fully cooked. Reserve 4 Tbsp of the sauce. Stir the remaining marinara sauce into the skillet, along with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and ricotta. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- In a large baking dish (mine was 9×13), spread the 4 Tbsp of marinara sauce on the bottom. Carefully stuff each cooked shell with the ground beef sauce mixture and lay into pan until the baking dish is filled. Top the shells with any leftover sauce.
- Then layer with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the top is melted and golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to sit for 5 minutes and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these stuffed shells for dinner last night and they were delicious! Perfectly cheesy and I loved the meat!
so glad
This one pot meal is a family favorite over here! So easy to make and always delicious!
I just tried the Stuffed Shells with Meat and Ricotta recipe, and it was a hit with my family! Such a delicious and satisfying meal that’s surprisingly easy to make. Definitely adding this to our regular dinner rotation!