Cheesy Stuffed Shells

These cheesy stuffed shells are so easy to make, and totally delicious. They’re a hearty, family-friendly dinner that everyone will love!

Stuffed shells are one of those meals (like Swedish meatballs and chicken enchiladas) that remind me strongly of childhood. They were a favorite in my family growing up, but I realized recently that I’ve never made them for my own kids! They’re fairly simple and straightforward to make, but still fancy enough to serve for company or special occasions. My version is a little different from my mom’s version, but still delicious and cheesy comfort food. I like to use ricotta instead of cottage cheese, add a little extra nutrition and some color with spinach in the filling, and top it all with a hearty meat sauce. These cheesy stuffed shells are a new favorite at my house!

These shells will keep well in the fridge for a few days, and I think they taste even better the next day (like most Italian food). They also freeze really well, so you can do all of the steps to assemble the tray of shells, then cover them and freeze them until you’re ready to bake. This is one of those meals that works well to portion out for lunches later in the week, too! If you are making them for a crowd, I would plan on 3-4 shells per person, and you can easily double the recipe if necessary. These cheesy stuffed shells are so delicious!

Stuffed Shells

Print Recipe

Prep Time:30 minutes mins

Cook Time:30 minutes mins

Total Time:1 hour hr

Ingredients

for the sauce:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 24 ounce jar spaghetti sauce I prefer Rao's

for the shells:

• 1 12 ounce package jumbo shells
• 32 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 8 ounces frozen spinach thawed and drained
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese divided

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
• To make the sauce, cook the ground beef in a large skillet until browned and cooked through. Drain the excess grease and add the spaghetti sauce to the skillet. Cook until heated through, then keep warm while preparing the shells.
• While the ground beef is cooking, cook the shells according to the package directions. When they are tender, drain the water and lay the shells out on a baking sheet to cool. Mix together the ricotta, parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, spinach, and half of the mozzarella cheese.
• Spread about one cup of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Fill each of the cooled shells with about a tablespoon of the cheese filling, and place in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce over the top, then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.
• Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Servings: 8