Baked pasta dishes are the godsend of the holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. You can prepare these Italian Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce a day or a month in advance, and it will still be the most delicious dish at the table.
If you're looking for more family-style recipes like stuffed shells, try our Eggplant Parmigiana, Chicken Scarpariello, or Chicken Francese.
A Quick Look at The Recipe
- ✅Recipe Name: Italian Stuffed Shells with Ricotta and Meat Sauce
- ⏲️Ready in: Active 1 hour and 15 mins
- 👪Makes: 8 servings
- 📋Main ingredients: Jumbo shells (conchiglioni), Marinara Sauce, ground beef, and ricotta.
- ⭐Why You'll Love This Recipe: This is a classic Italian-American baked pasta recipe served with a rich ricotta cheese filling and meat sauce!
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Why You Need to Make This!
Whenever I'm planning my meals for the holidays, I always include baked pasta dishes like Stuffed Shells, Authentic Italian Lasagna, or Authentic Italian Baked Ziti. Anything that I can prepare in advance helps create less work the day of the holiday, which means more time with my family.
Here's why you should make Italian Stuffed Shells in Meat Sauce
- You can prepare the dish in less than 45 minutes to refrigerate or freeze before baking.
- Stuffed shells can be made a day in advance or 3 months in advance.
- These can serve a lot of people, which means making fewer dishes.
- Stuffed shells or any stuffed pastas are always a hit.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Crushed Tomatoes. I usually don't buy crushed tomatoes. I take a can of whole plum tomatoes and put them in the blender. You could also replace the sauce altogether with a jar of sauce or use Authentic Italian Sunday Sauce if you're going to be making meatballs or braciole to serve with the stuffed shells.
- Meat. I like to use ground beef or ground sausage. You could also use a combination of the two.
- Shells. The shells are a conduit to get the ricotta into your mouth. You could also stuff manicotti if you prefer to make a Baked Manicotti. Make sure you don't cook them all the way through. I think halfway is the perfect amount.
- Ricotta. I like to use Trader Joe's or Bel Gioso, but you can use whatever brand you like. Keep our Ricotta Filling recipe on hand for all your favorite recipes!
- Jumbo Shells: Jumbo shells or conchiglioni are perfect for stuffing with ricotta. Manicotti is a great substitute.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.
How to Make Italian Stuffed Shells in Meat Sauce
*Follow the numbered steps below to make a ricotta-stuffed shells bake.
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine ricotta, egg, parmesan, ½ cup mozzarella, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, parsley, and minced garlic. Mix well.
Step 2: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add your jumbo shells and boil for 5 minutes. Remove the shells from the boiling water and place them on an oiled baking sheet to cool.
Step 3: Bring a large saucepan to medium-high heat. Place ground beef in the pan and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Brown ground beef until it is no longer pink. Remove the ground beef with a slotted spoon
Step 4: Remove excess oil from the pan. Return the pan to medium heat. Add 2 tablespoon olive oil. Stir in 1 clove of minced garlic. Sauté for 1 minute until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Step 5: Stir in the crushed tomatoes. Add 1 teaspoon salt and basil leaves. Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the ground beef back in. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 6: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a layer of thick sauce into your baking dish.
Step 7a: Use a piping bag or a spoon to fill the shells with the ricotta mixture (see the video in the recipe card).
Step 7b: Cover the stuffed shells with a layer of the meat sauce.
Step 8: Add a layer of mozzarella and parmesan as shown in image 8, then place in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the baked pasta dish from the oven and garnish with fresh basil. Rest for 10 minutes for the filling to set, then serve.
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Pro-Tips
- Don't cook the shells completely through but also be aware that they are cooking evenly by stirring them often in the pot. You don't want them to be really hard because then they won't soften up in the baking pan.
- Make sure the shells are packed tightly up against each other; otherwise, they will ooze out all of their filling.
- Cover with as much of the sauce as you can. This will help soften up the shells so they have the perfect texture. Save any extra sauce for reheating, because the shells will soak up some of the sauce and be slightly drier when reheated.
Making Stuffed Shells in Advance
To make Italian Stuffed Shells in advance, follow the process up until the point of baking. Then cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months. My mom always used to send me back to college with frozen pasta dishes.
If refrigerating, just remove and bake for 5 minutes longer than directed in the recipe card. If freezing, thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours in advance. Then bake 5 minutes longer than directed in the recipe card.
What to Serve with Stuffed Shells
- Vegetables: Try serving them with some greens like Italian Lacinato Kale Recipe (Tuscan) or Italian Cabbage Recipe.
- Poultry: I like to have some chicken dishes to add to stuffed shells with meat sauce, like Crispy Italian Chicken Cutlets or the PERFECT Cast Iron Chicken Breast.
- Beef: Serve with a main like Classic Italian Fried Meatballs or Authentic Italian Braciole.
- Dessert: You'll need some holiday cookies like Chewy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies or Dark Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies.
FAQs about Stuffed Shells
You can either pack them close to each other, so they're tightly closed, or flip them upside down and bake them with the opening upwards!
The egg prevents the ricotta from becoming watery and acts as a binder between all the ingredients.
Basically, yes. Except that the shape of the pasta is different. I still stuff them with the same ricotta mixture.
Stuffed shells are also known as conchiglioni ripieni.
Other Classic Italian Dishes
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
Classic Italian Stuffed Shells
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 pyrex baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo shells or conchiglie
- 2 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 lb ground beef
- 4 basil leaves
- 1 30 oz container ricotta
- 1 ¼ cup mozzarella
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add your jumbo shells and boil for 5 minutes. Remove and place on an oiled baking tray to cool.
- Bring a large saucepan to medium-high heat. Season ground beef with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Brown ground beef until you can no longer see any pink. Remove the ground beef with a slotted spoon and clean out the pan.
- Return the pan to medium heat. Add 2 tablespoon olive oil. Stir in 1 clove minced garlic. Saute for 1 minute and then stir in the crushed tomatoes. Add 1 teaspoon salt and basil leaves. Bring the sauce to a simmer and then add the ground beef back in. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375℉. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, egg, parmesan, ½ cup mozzarella, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, parsley, and the rest of the minced garlic. Mix well.
- Using a spoon fill each shell with the ricotta filling. Spoon a layer of sauce into the pyrex dish. Place your stuffed shells into the pan. I like to place mine with the opening on the top and press each shell tightly up against one another until they are all stuffed into the dish. Top with the rest of the sauce and then add a layer of mozzarella. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese and sauce are bubbling. Serve hot!
Video
Notes
- Don't cook the shells completely through, but also be aware that they are cooking evenly by stirring them often in the pot. You don't want them to be really hard because then they won't soften up in the baking pan.
- Make sure the shells are packed tightly up against each other; otherwise, they will ooze out all of their filling.
- Cover with as much of the sauce as you can. This will help soften up the shells, so they have the perfect texture. Save any extra sauce for reheating, because the shells will soak up some of the sauce and be slightly drier when reheated.
Briana says
Delicious! I made two pans, one to freeze. If frozen, do you thaw before cooking? Or if cooking from Frozen, how much additional time do you cook for?
Vinny says
I would take it out and thaw in the fridge 24 hours prior to cooking.
Vinny says
Our mom used to make these for every Christmas. It's her recipe and it is so so good! I love anything filled with ricotta.