Baked Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Meat is a complete swoon-worthy dinner that the entire household might be obsessive about. Jumbo pasta shells full of a flavorful combination of cheese and herbs, then lined in home made Ragu sauce and baked to perfection!
We like to serve this with a Classic Caesar Salad and use my Wine Guide as a wine pairing match in heaven.
Simple Ricotta Stuffed Shells With Home made Meat Sauce
Tacky pasta dishes are among the many biggest types of consolation meals, and this one is about to rock your socks off. Every jumbo shell is oozing with a heavenly combination of ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and herbs. The home made Ragu sauce ties all of it collectively, including tomatoey goodness and a lift of protein within the type of floor beef, bacon and Italian sausage. Each chunk is pure satisfaction!
With countless customization choices and the power to stuff the shells prematurely, this hearty entree is certain to earn a spot in your weekly dinner rotation. It’s a tacky, meaty masterpiece that comes along with ease. When you’re making it on an evening that you’ve got firm, you would possibly need to print out a pair copies of the recipe card forward of time – your friends gained’t need to go residence with out one!
What You’ll Want
This crave-worthy dish kicks issues off with a brilliant easy ingredient lineup. Bear in mind to scroll right down to the recipe card to see the related quantities.
- Jumbo Shells
- Home made Ragu Sauce [LINK]: Use the traditional store-bought form in the event you should, however I extremely advocate whipping it up from scratch.
- Ricotta Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese: I wish to grate the parmesan myself, however you may go for pre-grated cheese if most well-liked.
- Garlic Powder
- Basil
- Parsley
- Oregano
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Pesto Sauce (Non-obligatory): Or recent basil, to garnish the dish.
How one can Make Stuffed Pasta Shells With Meat
Earlier than you make the ricotta filling and stuff your shells, you’ll must cook dinner the noodles till they’re al dente. In different phrases, they need to be mushy and chewy however nonetheless a bit agency.
Prepare dinner Pasta Shells: Fill a big pot with water and convey it to a boil over the range. Salt the water to season it, then add within the jumbo pasta shells. Prepare dinner the noodles in response to the package deal directions till they’re al dente (roughly 12-14 minutes). Drain the water and set the noodles apart.
Make Filling: Add the ricotta, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, basil, parsley and oregano to a small bowl. Combine every thing collectively and switch the ready filling to a big ziplock bag. Seal the bag nicely and minimize off one of many corners. This might be used to pipe the filling into the shells. Set the crammed piping device apart.
Prep for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cowl the underside of a 13×9-inch baking dish with half of the home made ragu sauce.
Stuff Shells: Working with one pasta shell at a time, fill every shell with about 1 tablespoon of the cheese combination by piping it in utilizing the ziplock bag. Place the crammed shells into the ready baking dish and repeat till all the shells (or all the filling) is used up.
Prime With Sauce & Mozzarella: Spoon the remaining sauce evenly over the crammed shells and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on prime.
Bake: Bake the shells at 350°F for 20 minutes, or till the cheese has melted.
Garnish & Serve: Prime the dish with a drizzle of pesto sauce or a sprinkle of recent basil if desired, then serve it heat.
Can I Stuff the Shells in Advance?
You positive can! As a substitute of assembling the stuffed shells within the baking dish with the sauce, put them in an hermetic container and maintain them within the fridge. While you’re able to proceed with the recipe, layer the stuffed shells into the casserole dish with the sauce and bake as traditional. It’s greatest to do that inside 24 hours of filling your shells.
When you’d wish to stuff your shells greater than a day prematurely, you may retailer them within the freezer as a substitute of refrigerating them. Place the stuffed shells onto a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze them till they’re stable, about 2 hours. Switch them to a freezer-safe container and retailer them for 2-3 months, thawing them out within the fridge earlier than assembling and baking.
Suggestions for Success
These useful suggestions could have you serving up the most effective stuffed shells of your life. Remember to examine them out!
- Make the Sauce a Day Forward of Time: Whilst you can completely make the sauce proper earlier than you begin working in your stuffed shells, I favor to arrange it a day prematurely. This permits the flavors to accentuate, making the completed dish even tastier.
- Don’t Overcook the Pasta: Needless to say the pasta shells are going to be baked for fairly some time after they’re cooked and crammed. When you allow them to get too mushy the primary time round, they could change into mushy within the oven.
- Customise Away: Whether or not you need to add gently cooked spinach to the ricotta filling or want to make use of gluten-free pasta shells to make this dish comply along with your food regimen, go proper forward. It’s a brilliant versatile recipe!
Serving Strategies
Spherical out your meal in an unforgettable means by pairing your ricotta stuffed shells with one of many following accompaniments.
- Serve With Bruschetta: In search of a traditional Italian appetizer to set the stage in your major course? This recent Avocado Bruschetta provides a creamy twist to a fast and straightforward crowd favourite.
- Pair With Brussels Sprouts: It’s severely exhausting to cease consuming these Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts. They’re the right crispy aspect dish to take pleasure in alongside your stuffed shells.
- Serve With Spinach Salad: This 5-minute Spinach & Arugula Salad is blissfully easy and splendidly recent. Whip it up for a fuss-free aspect that gained’t disappoint.
- Pair With Potato Wedges: Wish to actually go all out with the consolation meals? Accomplice your meaty stuffed shells with these crispy Garlic Parmesan Potato Wedges. Yum!
Storage and Reheating
As soon as they’ve cooled fully, retailer any leftover stuffed shells in an hermetic container within the fridge. They’ll final for as much as 4 days. Heat up your leftovers in a 350°F oven till heated by way of.
Do Stuffed Shells Freeze Nicely?
Sure – simply you’ll want to maintain your leftovers in a freezer-safe container. Freeze the stuffed shells for as much as 3 months, thawing them out within the fridge earlier than you reheat them.
Description
Baked Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Meat is a complete swoon-worthy dinner that the entire household might be obsessive about. Jumbo pasta shells full of a flavorful combination of cheese and herbs, then lined in home made Ragu sauce and baked to perfection!
Scale
Components
- 1 lb. jumbo shells
- Homemade Ragu Sauce
- 15 oz. ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- elective: pesto or recent basil for garnish
Directions
- To begin, make my easy Homemade Ragu Sauce.
- Subsequent, fill a pot with water and convey to a boil. Salt the water to season and add jumbo pasta shells. Prepare dinner noodles till al dente in response to package deal directions. (roughly 12-14 minutes) Drain the water and set the noodles apart.
- Make the ricotta cheese filling: to a small bowl add ricotta, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, basil, parsley and oregano. Combine every thing collectively, put in a big ziplock bag, seal and minimize the nook off. This might be used as a “piping” device later. Put aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cowl the underside of a 13″x9″ baking dish with half of the ragu sauce.
- Working with one pasta shell at a a time, fill every shell with about 1 tablespoon of the cheese combination by piping it in utilizing the ziplock bag. Place the crammed shells within the ready baking dish and repeat till all of the shells or cheese filling is used up.
- Spoon the remaining sauce over prime the crammed shells and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or till cheese is melted.
- Prime with pesto or recent basil to garnish and serve.
Notes
- Makes 8-10 servings.
- To Make Forward: Switch crammed shells to an hermetic container and refrigerate for as much as 24 hours, or freeze for as much as 3 months. When able to proceed, layer stuffed shells into casserole dish with sauce and bake as traditional. If shells have been frozen, thaw within the fridge earlier than assembling and baking.
- To Retailer & Reheat: Refrigerate cooled leftovers in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven till warmed by way of.
- To Freeze: Retailer cooled leftovers in a freezer-safe container and freeze for as much as 3 months, thawing within the fridge earlier than reheating.
Vitamin
- Serving Dimension: 3-4 shells
- Energy: 463
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 603 mg
- Fats: 18 g
- Saturated Fats: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Ldl cholesterol: 69 mg
Key phrases: stuffed shells ricotta, make stuffed shells, stuffed pasta shells
