These easy Stuffed Shells are the perfect dinner and a family favorite. Filled with three kinds of cheese and baked in Marinara Sauce, it’s quick to prepare, and leftovers keep and reheat beautifully. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is to make ricotta-stuffed pasta shells.
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“These are simply the best! I love all your Italian recipes but this is my #1! So easy to make and feeds an army! Also they freeze exceptionally well.” – Laurie ★★★★★
Stuffed Shells Video
My stuffed shells recipe feeds my whole crew with leftovers for later in the week. It’s a great freezer meal for meal prepping and always gets rave reviews when I bring a pan to the neighbors.
I love Pasta recipes from Creamy Shrimp Pasta to Pierogi, and of course, our Homemade Pasta from scratch. If you are a fan of pasta, this Stuffed Shells Recipe is a must-try!
Best Stuffed Shells Recipe
This Stuffed shells recipe makes a casserole similar to Italian Baked Ziti with pasta that looks like seashells and is similar to Manicotti. The pasta shells are stuffed with a ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan filling, making them easy to portion. It’s a delicious, cheesy, warm comfort food everyone loves.
My kids especially love these stuffed jumbo shells, so they always disappear fast. In the off chance we have a few left over, they reheat well, so I put them into their lunchboxes, and those lunchboxes always come home empty.
Stuffed Shells Ingredients
The ingredients for this stuffed shells recipe are similar to those of other Italian comfort food recipes, so you know it will be good.
- Jumbo pasta shells – or “Conchiglioni” in Italian, found in most grocery pasta aisles. You’ll need a 12oz box.
- Aromatics – onions (chopped), garlic cloves (minced), salt, pepper, and dired oregano
- Marinara sauce – Homemade Marinara is best, but you can use canned sauce if needed.
- Cheeses – ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella. To substitute the ricotta in stuffed shells, drain and mash plain cottage cheese and substitute 1:1.
- Egg – to hold the filling together
- Garnish – parsley, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese
How to Make Stuffed Shells
There are 3 main elements to stuffed pasta shells: the pasta, sauce, and cheese filling. Each element takes just minutes but comes together…*chef’s kiss*!
- Cook the pasta shells according to the package instructions, al dente (firm to the bite), since they will be baked later. Then drain and refill the pot with cold water to keep the shells from over-cooking and sticking.
- Make the red sauce – Sauté onions in oil, add garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. Stir in 3 cups of your favorite Marinara Sauce. Pour tomato sauce into a 13×9 casserole dish.
- Combine Cheese filling – In a large bowl, mix ricotta, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, egg, salt, pepper, and oregano.
- Stuff the shells – spoon a few tablespoons of ricotta filling into each pasta shell, and then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella over the pasta shells
Pro Tip:
The easiest way to portion is to fill a trigger ice cream scoop halfway with ricotta mixture, and then fill the shell.
- Bake – Cover with foil, and bake at 375˚F for 30 minutes, and then broil uncovered for 2-4 minutes if you want the cheese to brown a bit.
Pro Tip:
Note on glass casserole dishes: Broiling is not recommended with glass bakeware, so once you remove the foil, increase the heat to about 475˚F and bake for 3-5 minutes until cheese is bubbly.
What to Serve With Stuffed Shells
Stuffed shells are the perfect vegetarian main course, garnished with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and paired with Garlic Bread and a simple green salad or veggies.
Stuffed shells are a popular vegetarian casserole that feeds your whole crew, and they are also truly easy to make. The prep time is minimal, and then the oven does the rest. Toast up a side of garlic bread for the ultimate Italian comfort dish.
Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked to package instructions
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- 15 oz ricotta cheese*
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup parsley, plus more to garnish
Instructions
- Cook Pasta: Preheat oven to 375˚F. Cook shells in salted water according to package instructions (stirring several times to keep the pasta from sticking to the pot), then drain and fill pot with cold water to stop the cooking process and keep shells from sticking to each other.
- Make the red sauce: In a deep pan over medium-high heat, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and sauté chopped onion until softened and golden (3-5 min). Add minced garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp oregano. Sauté another 1 minute, stirring constantly until garlic is fragrant. Add 3 cups of marinara and bring to a uniform boil, then simmer for 2 minutes, and pour the sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Combine cheese filling: In a large bowl, add 15 oz ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella, 1/3 cup parmesan, 1 egg, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Stir until well combined.
- Stuff the shells: Use about 1/2 ice cream scoop or just until filled (do not overstuff). Place them in the casserole over the marinara sauce in a single layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top.
- Bake: Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. The sauce should be bubbling at the edges. Remove foil and broil for 2-4 minutes to lightly brown the cheese. Remove from the oven and garnish with parsley to serve.
Notes
- To Refrigerate: Assemble, cover with foil, and refrigerate unbaked stuffed shells within 2 hours for 1-2 days, then bake as directed, adding 5 minutes to the bake time if baking a chilled casserole. You can also refrigerate a fully cooked and cooled casserole.
- Freezing: Fully assemble shells in a casserole dish (without baking), cover tightly with foil, and freeze up to 3 months. Bake from frozen (covered with foil) at 375˚F for about 45-55 minutes.
- Reheating: Warm portions in the microwave or oven until shells are heated through to 165°F and cheese is melted.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Pasta Casseroles
Pasta bakes are the best kind of family-friendly dinner. Each of these recipes makes a big batch, and each reheats really well, making them perfect for meal prep.
- Baked Feta Pasta
- Classic Lasagna
- Chicken Lasagna
- Chicken Orzo Bake
- Lasagna Roll-Ups
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Baked Mac and Cheese
Love your recipes! So easy to follow- things I like to cook and eat!
Hi Peggy, I’m so happy to hear that!
Absolutely delicious
Making tonight and I can’t wait! Think I’ll add ground beef to the sauce to make my meat eater hubs happy!
I hope you love this stuffed shells recipe.
Delicious, the family loved this recipe.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
It’s in the oven now. Can’t wait to taste it.
In making this comment I’m not going to get hundreds of commercial emails am I? Lol I have 24oo emails as of now.
Definitely not. I hope you love the recipe!
looks great. you should use Italian parsley to be somewhat authentic
Thank you, Sharyn. I imagine that should work too!
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for your wonderful and delicious recipes! All I can say is YUMMY!! I’ve made so many of them and they are delicious.
btw, you seem to think that you need to be smiling and happy and funny in every video. But you can relax and be yourself. You are wonderful as is!
Can’t wait to make this recipe!
Thanks for your good feedback and suggestion. I appreciate it!
Can you please share the link to the parmesan cheese grater? I couldnt find in the shop. Thanks!
HI Summer, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
Hi Natasha,
A question….instead of these being filled with cheese, could I use a ground beef mixture for about half of them for a variation of this meal to make it a one dish meal?
Hi Lorna, this recipe is pretty versatile, it’s hard to say with an experiment, but if you do test that out, I would love to know how you like that.
I have added hot or sweet sausage to the cheese mixture and even ground beef. I also have made them with a hearty meat sauce on the bottom of the shell and top with cheese layer, both with good results.
I’m going to try cooked chicken in this as well. Thanks for all recipes. You and hubby are a super team.
That sounds delicious! I hope you love the stuffed shells!
photo looks better than all other posts. very nice recipe should say flat leaf parsley rub dry herbs in palms add with onion to create release of more herb oils really Nice Job Natasha “Good Eating” Joseph , really love the job you do. !!!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes, Joseph! Thank you for that thoughtful review.
JOSEPH, I have been rubbing my herbs in the palm of my hands for over 55 yrs to release flavor & oils. My home exc teacher taught us that when I was in the 8th grade. Glad to see a guy does this
Hi Natasha,
Love your recipes! Question on the sauce in this one… if you use your homemade marinara, do you still add another 1/2 onion and 3 cloves garlic to that? Or is that only if using a plain store bought one? Can’t wait to try this! Thank you!
Thank you, Linda! I used homemade marinara sauce too in the recipe and still used onion and garlic to the recipe.
Hi Natasha, made this last night and my family loved it! My son thanked me for making such a delicious meal! I will definitely be making this again. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Linda. I hope you and your family will love every recipe that you will try!
Hi Natasha,
This looks fantastic. I’ve always had great success with your recipes so I’m excited for this one as well. For the cheese filling, would it be possible to leave out the egg or replace it with something else? One member of our family cannot have eggs.
Hi Aman, the recipe would still work if you leave out the egg and make it as eggless stuffed shells.
Hi Natasha, i want to try this one but i dont have oven. Can i use turbo boiler or microwave for this? And how many minutes to bake it. It’s really mouthwatering when i watch this so yummy 🤤
Hi Joanna, I haven’t tried either of these with this recipe. I think the oven is best for a recipe like this.
Can a pound of ground beef be added to the marinara?
Hi Sim, yes, you can sautee 1/2 lb of ground beef with the onion. Also, push the shells down into the sauce afterward. The shells go in easier without the meat in the sauce, but both taste great. Can you tell I’ve experimented with a meat sauce? I hope you love the recipe!
if ya add meat it aint Marinara just make meat balls
Your recipes is so yummy thanks for that
You are so welcome!
I saw someone requested in YouTube for Orange bundt cake recipe also I want to see this recipe from you
Hi Salma, I don’t have one yet but thank you for the reminder.
This has always been one of my favorite recipes, thank you so much! I am definitely making this again!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
This is a very family-friendly recipe!! They are filled with everything we like. My kids love how cheesy they are!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
It was a really huge hit for our dinner last night! Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Toni, I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review.