Classic Stuffed Pasta Shells

A person using a large serving spoon to scoop stuffed pasta shells out of a casserole dish.

4.97 — Votes 31 votes

Classic Stuffed Pasta Shells

In the mood for some seriously good comfort food? Enter Stuffed Pasta Shells. We're talking about big pasta shells stuffed with a mouthwatering Italian sausage, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese mixture, and then topped with marinara and MORE cheese. It's like a warm, cheesy hug for your taste buds, and I can guarantee that it'll be your new favorite dinner.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1 5

Total Time1 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian-Inspired

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: Servings

Author: Cassy Joy Garcia

Ingredients

16 ounces jumbo pasta shells
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
16 ounces ricotta cheese
2½ cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
½ cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 eggs
32 ounces marinara sauce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cook sausage to a fine crumble. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan (leaving the pan drippings behind).
While the meat is cooking, boil the water for the pasta shells in a 5 quart pot with 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 17 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes so that the shells don’t “nest” into one another.
Make the filling: add the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs, italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and eggs and the meat.
Prepare the baking dish: Pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a dish.
Drain the noodles and pull out the unbroken shells and place in the baking dish face up. (about 6 wide and 10 deep). Add 1 tablespoon of filling in each shell. Pour the rest of the marinara on top of the filled shells. Top with 1 ½ cups finely shredded mozzarella (a little pile on top of each shell).
Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and cracked pepper.
Serve and enjoy!

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