Who doesn’t love stuffed pasta shells? This Easy Lasagna Stuffed Shells is filled with beef, ricotta cheese, and is topped with even more cheese. This freezer-friendly pasta bake is always a crowd-pleaser.
This lasagna shells recipe is a foolproof, easy pasta dinner that is always a hit. Who doesn’t love a cheesy pasta dish?! These stuffed shells with ground beef are always a hit and has all our favorite flavors of lasagna but is a nice change from traditional lasagna. What can I say? I had a ton of jumbo shells to use up and thought it’d be fun to make lasagna-stuffed pasta shells!
Why You’ll Love This Stuffed Shells Pasta Bake
- This is a freezer-friendly dish. You can adjust this stuffed shells recipe to individual pans (like my individual lasagnas!) and freeze them for later.
- This is pure comfort food, you have a cheesy, meaty filling paired with a marinara sauce. Perfect for when you’re craving a cozy pasta dish on a cold day.
- These beef stuffed shells are loaded with flavour. You’ll love it!
What You’ll Need
- jumbo pasta shells — I love the jumbo ones! It takes less time to stuff the jumbo ones than the smaller ones.
- ground beef — I use lean ground beef, so I don’t have to drain any liquid when browning.
- salt & pepper
- garlic
- onion — a small yellow onion is what I use. However, you can use any onion you have on hand.
- mushrooms — I dice up two portobello mushrooms, but you can use baby bellas or white mushrooms.
- baby spinach — I prefer baby spinach as they’re a little sweeter than regular spinach.
- marinara sauce — use your favorite! You can also make your own marinara sauce if you’d like.
- tomato paste — if you are using tomato paste from a can, you can freeze what you don’t use!
- ricotta — I like using ricotta made with 100% whole milk.
- mozzarella — shredding cheese from a block tends to melt nicer than bags of pre-shredded cheese as they tend to be coated in an anti-clumping powder.
- parmesan cheese — again, I prefer to shred my own parmesan.
- egg — to help bind everything together.
- dried basil — if you’ve got fresh, great! But I use dried basil as it’s always in my pantry.
How to Make Stuffed Shells
- Heat oven to 350F.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- In a skillet, brown the beef, seasoning with salt and pepper. Once 80% browned, add in diced onions, minced garlic, and diced mushrooms. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in ¾ cup marinara sauce, tomato paste, and baby spinach. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stirring throughout.
- Add the jumbo pasta shells to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute before it’s al dente (my package says it takes 10 minutes to cook, so I cooked mine for 9 minutes, yours may vary).
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, egg, and dried basil. Mix to combine.
- Drain the water from the pasta when done.
- Once the sauce and beef have done simmering, add it to the cheese mixture. Stir to combine.
- In a 12¼ by 8¼ baking dish, spray with some non-stick and then spread 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom.
- Stuff each shell with the cheesy beef mixture and place them in the baking dish.
- Add any extra cheesy beef mixture you have on top of the shells, the rest of the marinara sauce, and top with the rest of your mozzarella.
- Place the beef stuffed shells casserole onto the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Let cool before serving.
Tips and Notes
- The jumbo shells will cook in the oven, which is why I suggest cooking 1 minute less than directed on the package.
- Be sure to cover as much of your pasta shells as you can with either pasta sauce or cheese before baking. While it may look prettier with the shells on display, the shells will dry out in the oven if they’re exposed. I do let a little peak through because I like a little crunch but only a little bit!
- I use a tablespoon to easily stuff my shells.
- You can use a 9×13 dish if you prefer. I have both, and it fits perfectly fine. A bit more snug in the 12¼ by 8¼ baking dish, but it fits!
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: store the cooked lasagna stuffed shells in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: allow the stuffed shells to cool before transferring them into an airtight container and storing them in the freezer.
- How to prep this for the freezer: pack the lasagna stuffed shells in a freezer friendly container that can go directly into the oven. Instead of baking it, cover it, and store it in your freezer. This way, you can directly bake it from frozen without risking thermal shock to your casserole dish. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready, bake directly from frozen at 350F for 40 to 50 minutes, covered with a greased piece of tinfoil. Uncover and broil for 1 to 2 minutes at the end if the cheese needs a little help.
Lasagna Stuffed Shells
Who doesn't love stuffed pasta shells? This Easy Lasagna Stuffed Shells is filled with beef, ricotta cheese, and is topped with even more cheese. This freezer-friendly pasta bake is always a crowd-pleaser.
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Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 20-25 jumbo pasta shells
- ¾ lb lean ground beef
- 1 tsp salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 small yellow onion, fined diced
- 2 portobello mushrooms, finely diced
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 650 ml marinara sauce, (one jar)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 280 grams ricotta
- 2 cups mozzarella, divided
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 2 egg egg
- 1 tbsp dried basil
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- In a skillet, brown the beef, seasoning with salt and pepper. Once 80% browned, add in diced onions, minced garlic, and diced mushrooms. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in ¾ cup marinara sauce, tomato paste, and baby spinach. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stirring throughout.
- Add in the jumbo pasta shells to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute before it’s al dente (my package says it takes 10 minutes to cook, so I cooked mine for 9 minutes, yours may vary).
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, egg, and dried basil. Mix to combine.
- Drain the water from the pasta when done.
- Once the sauce and beef has done simmering, add it to the cheese mixture. Stir to combine.
- In a 12¼ by 8¼ baking dish, spray with some non-stick and then spread 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom.
- Stuff each shell with the cheesy beef mixture and place them in the baking dish.
- Add any extra cheesy beef mixture you have on top of the shells, the rest of the marinara sauce, and top with the rest of your mozzarella.
- Place the beef stuffed shells casserole onto the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Let cool before serving.
Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥
Nutrition Per Serving
Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 376mg | Sodium: 1456mg | Potassium: 963mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2192IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 419mg | Iron: 6mg
More Pasta Recipes to Try
- One Pot Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
- Individual Freezer Tomato Pesto Beef Pasta
- One Pot Chicken, Broccoli, and Peas Pasta
- Bacon, Mushroom, Spinach Pasta
- Instant Pot Beef and Pasta (Beefaroni)
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