Classic Stuffed Shells are pasta shells stuffed with cheesy ricotta and mozzarella, topped with marinara and baked until bubbly.
This recipe is great for dinner at home, but also great to serve for a holiday or gathering as a first course.
What you’ll need for this recipe:
- jumbo shells
- garlic
- crushed tomatoes
- part-skim ricotta
- part-skim mozzarella
- fresh basil
- fresh parsley
- pecorino romano cheese
- an egg
The ingredient list is quite small considering this is such a comforting and delicious, classic dish. For this recipe, I opted to use part-skim cheeses as opposed to fat free cheeses. I wanted that cheese pull and extra creaminess for this recipe. Feel free to sub in whatever ingredients you prefer.
Making the marinara sauce
This recipe includes the steps to make a quick homemade marinara sauce. Don’t fret! You can definitely skip this step and just use marinara from the jar, but I promise you, this step takes an extra 5 minutes of prep and is worth it.
To make the sauce, simply add the chopped garlic cloves to pan with some olive oil spray. THEN turn the heat on the pan to medium. This allows the garlic to slowly start to cook. The garlic will become fragrant in about a minute or two. This prevents the garlic from burning. Have you ever added garlic to a screaming hot pan with oil, and it seized up and burned within seconds? Yeah, that’s what we want to avoid here. Burnt garlic = bitter. And it will ruin your dish.
Once the garlic becomes fragrant, you will add the can of crushed tomatoes. Bring it to a slow boil and add some salt and pepper to taste. Tomatoes need a bunch of salt to bring out their flavor, so don’t be afraid of it. Add a little at a time and taste as you go. Then stir in some fresh basil. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes while you are preparing the other ingredients.
You can also add dried basil, parsley, oregano, or any other seasonings you enjoy in your sauce. I personally omit them because I enjoy the simple flavor of the sauce. But feel free to make this your own!
Cooking the shells
While the sauce is simmering away, we can cook our shells. You only need 24 shells for this recipe, but I advise cooking more, just in case any of them break or tear while cooking or draining.
Simply cook the shells in boiling salted water, like you would any other pasta. These only need to cook for a few minutes, though. We want them to be al dente, or firm to the bite. They will continue to cook in the oven. You want the shells to be firm enough to stuff, and not turn to mush. Check them every few minutes to ensure you don’t overcook them.
Once the shells are cooked, remove them from the boiling water with a large slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel. This helps absorb any excess water and lets them dry a bit before stuffing.
The filling
The filling is made of part-skim ricotta, part-skim mozzarella, pecorino romano cheese, an egg, and some fresh herbs. You are going to reserve 1/2 cup of the mozzarella to use later for the topping. This filling doesn’t even need salt because of all the flavor from the cheese. Simply combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and set aside as you wait for the other components to finish cooking.
Filling the shells, assembly and cooking
Spoon a layer of your marinara sauce in the bottom of a baking dish or casserole. While holding a shell in the palm of your hand (make sure it has cooled off a bit), fill it with a heaping tablespoon of the filling, and then set it down in the baking dish. Repeat this step with all of the 24 shells.
Once all of the shells are assembled and the filling is used up, top the shells with the remaining marinara sauce and remaining mozzarella. Sprinkle the reserved pecorino romano on top.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes is up, remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes to crisp it up a bit. That’s it!
Serving and storage
Serve with extra marinara if you so wish. This dish will stay fresh in the fridge for several days. You can also easily freeze it. To freeze it, place it in a freezer-safe container or in a freezer bag. To reheat, microwave to defrost and then pop in the oven to bring it back to life.
For this recipe, I used two small casserole dishes. Since this recipe makes 8 servings, I split it into two dishes at 4 servings each. I figured I could either freeze one portion, or give it to a family member or friend for dinner.
Classic Stuffed Shells
Equipment
- sauce pan
- large pot
- baking dish
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup basil, fresh
- kosher salt, to taste
Shells and Filling
- 24 jumbo shells
- 15 oz part-skim ricotta
- 2 cups part-skim mozzarella, 1/2 cup reserved
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano, 2 tsp reserved
- 1/4 cup basil, fresh, chopped
- 2 tablespoons parsley, fresh, chopped
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
Marinara Sauce
- Add the minced garlic to a sauce pan with olive oil spray.
- Turn the heat on to medium.
- Cook the garlic for 1-2 minutes or until it becomes to sizzle and become fragrant.
- Add the can of crushed tomatoes.
- Season with salt to taste. Stir in the fresh basil.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
Shells
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a sprinkle of kosher salt.
- Cook the pasta until al dente (about 8 minutes or less).
- Make sure the shells are still firm enough to stuff and bake, do not overcook.
- Remove the shells from the water with a slotted spoon and set on paper towels to dry.
Filling, Assembly and Cooking
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the mozzarella for the topping later.
- Reserve 2 teaspoons of the pecorino romano for the topping later.
- Add the remaining mozzarella to a mixing bowl with the ricotta, pecorino romano, egg, basil, and parsley. Stir to combine.
- Spoon a layer of marinara sauce in the bottom of a baking dish or casserole.
- Fill each shell with 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling.
- Place the filled shells into the marinara-lined baking dish,
- Once all shells are filled, top with the remaining marinara. Sprinkle with the reserved mozzarella and pecorino romano.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes,
Notes
- This recipe calls for 24 shells to serve 8 people at 3 shells each.
- I suggest cooking more than 24 shells to account for any breakage while cooking.
Marisa says
Definitely want to make this for Christmas! Could you leave this in the fridge overnight and then pop it in the oven to reheat? Would prefer to get some of it prepped before!
Steph says
yes absolutely! I made mine the day before we ate it, reheated in the oven! You might just have to add some extra marinara sauce before serving.
Emma says
How long and at what temp would be best for reheating? Im thinking these would be a great option to premake on the weekend for a quick easy dinner on our crazy busy weeknights with the kids sports schedules.
Lauren says
I made these over the weekend and they are so delicious! I gave half of the shells to my dad to have for some meals this week and he’s been repeatedly texting/calling to say how good they are! My husband also approves. I will be making again very soon!
Steph says
😭 I love this!
Crystine Morehouse says
These were delish!! Thanks for the best recipes!
Donna says
These were wonderful. Definitely on our list of remakes!
lisa says
Delicious!!! Made these for the holiday and it was a hit. I added chopped spinach to the mixture and it was a good addition. They were also great reheated as well. This will be a staple in our household.
Terri says
Delicious! Thank you!
Roseann says
I made this last night since we could not eat meat (Ash Wednesday). It did not feel like a guilt free recipe! The serving was perfect, and you still get the perfect cheesiness by taking the extra points and using part skim cheeses. I’ll definitely be making this again on a meatless Friday night!
Katie c says
Amazing! Such an easy to follow recipe that is so filling the serving size is perfect!
Maryellen says
My family loved these stuffed shells! These are similar to my usual recipe (non-recipe), but I’d never made my own sauce.
Celia Thorn says
This is one of our family’s favorite recipe! It’s so easy and so flavorful!!!
CR says
Delicious! It was a crowd pleaser! I definitely will make this again!
Tammy says
I made these tonight and omg they were SO good! Even my picky husband who doesn’t like stuffed shells said he liked them.
Celia Thorn says
This recipe is one of my favorites. It’s so tasty!!
I do add Italian Seasoning to the sauce to jazz it up a bit more.
Natalie C. says
Love this recipe! I doubled it and brought it to a friend who just had a baby. It was easy for both of us to reheat and enjoy. 🙂