Italian Stuffed Shells At Home
With the rainy weather we are having here in Tennessee, I wanted to remind you of a recipe I shared with you on the old version of my blog – Italian Stuffed Shells At Home. My Italian Stuffed Shells are full of fresh, delicious ingredients and pack so much flavor into such a simple dish. It is simply something you have to try! And the fresh lemon in the ricotta filling…wow, this is what puts this dish over the edge!
Please, don’t let the process of stuffing the shells intimidate you. And don’t worry about it getting a little messy. Below I will share a photo of my shells in process. They are not perfect, but boy they taste AMAZING!!! One important thing to remember is to boil a BIG POT OF WATER! If you crowd your shells, they will break as they soften. And if they break you will get upset and frustrated. And we don’t want that.
If you have concerns about stuffing the shells for your Italian Stuffed Shells At Home, please take a few minutes to watch my YouTube video. You will see how easy it is.
Italian Stuffed Shells can also be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Just remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before you are ready to bake. Then add 15 minutes to your bake time. This is a great way to prepare for a family gathering or party.
Italian Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 TBSP Italian Seasoning
- salt & black pepper to taste
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes Dei Fratelli is my favorite
- 1 TBSP honey optional depending on your choice of tomatoes
- 12 oz box large shell pasta
- Cheese filling
- 32 oz container whole milk ricotta cheese
- zest from one lemon
- juice from one lemon
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup parmesan or asiago cheese grated
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese for the top of the dish
Instructions
- In a medium stockpot, over medium heat. Add a small amount of olive oil and brown your sausage and ground beef.
- Bring a 6 qt pot of water to boil for your pasta. Saltwater generously.
- Once your meat is cooked through. Add your diced onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt/pepper to taste. Stir well and allow to cook for 5 minutes. After onions have softened, add your crushed tomatoes. Cover your sauce and reduce heat.
- Cook your pasta in prepared water. Cook for less time than package calls for. You want firm/almost hard pasta. It will continue to cook in the oven. For example: If your pasta directions say to cook for 9 minutes for Al Dente. Cook your pasta for 7 1/2 minutes. Then rinse your pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process. Toss with a small amount of olive oil to keep it from sticking to itself until you can stuff it with your cheese mixture.
- Mix your ricotta cheese with your lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Once it is well incorporated, fill your zip top bag with the cheese mixture. Now you are ready to fill your shells. Cut one corner off of the bag.
- Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour some of your pasta sauce into the bottom of the dish. Start filling your pasta shells with the cheese mixture and place the filled shells in the dish. Once you have filled the dish with stuffed shells. Top the filled pasta shells with more pasta sauce. Then top the entire dish with shredded mozzarella.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350. Remove foil for last 10 minutes
