Stuffed Shells

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Stuffed Shells are so easy to make, and something the whole family will love. Even my picky 3-year old likes them. I was shocked when he tried them and asked for more.

There are only a few ingredients you need to make this one-dish wonder:

• jumbo shells
• marinara sauce
• ricotta cheese
• egg
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Cook the jumbo shells as directed on the box. Be sure to cook a few extra in case some break while cooking.

Mix the ricotta cheese with the egg, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, and some salt.

Pour 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

When the shells are finished cooking, drain them and run cool water over them to stop them from cooking and cool them down enough to handle.

Gently hold the shell in your hand while using your thumb and index finger to hold the shell open. Using your other hand, stuff the shell with the ricotta cheese mixture and place it over the marinara sauce in the baking dish. Repeat until all 24 shells are evenly filled.

Pour 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce over the stuffed shells and spread out evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese over the top.

Cover with tinfoil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove tinfoil, and bake another 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted. Rest for 5 minutes. Serve with garlic bread and/or a side salad.

If you’d like to, you can also cook some ground beef to mix with the marinara sauce to make a meat sauce for a more complete meal.

To save on time, you can also make this the night before or a day ahead. Just refrigerate until ready to cook, and bake as directed.

You may also like:

• Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Mama’s Chili
• Ricotta Stuffed Fried Lasagna
• Taco Casserole Dip
• Copycat Olive Garden Fried Ravioli
• Baked Ravioli

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Stuffed Shells

Jumbo pasta shells are stuffed with a ricotta and mozzarella cheese mixture and baked in marinara sauce for a complete meal in one.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Resting Time5 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: easyrecipe, italianrecipes, ricottastuffedshells, stuffedshells

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Brittany

Ingredients

• 24 jumbo shells
• 3 cups marinara sauce divided
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook pasta shells according to the directions on the box. Be sure to cook extra as some may tear or break while cooking.
• While those are cooking, mix together the ricotta cheese, egg, 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, and salt to taste in a medium bowl.
• Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and pour 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce in the bottom.
• When the pasta shells are finished cooking, drain them and run cool water over them to stop the cooking and cool them down.
• Gently spread each pasta shell apart and stuff them with the ricotta cheese mixture.
• Once they are all stuffed and in the baking dish, pour 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce over the top and spread it out evenly.
• Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese on top, cover with tinfoil, and bake for 35 minutes.
• Remove tinfoil and bake another 10-15 minutes.
• Rest for 5 minutes and serve.

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