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Classic Stuffed Shells
March 16, 2022
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Make amazing Stuffed Shells at home with this easy recipe. Pasta shells are filled with three kinds of cheese, topped with Alfredo sauce, and baked in a delicious store-bought marinara. So so delicious served with Homemade Garlic Bread and Cucumber Tomato Salad. Lick your plates clean with this delicious recipe!
Stuffed Shells: The Easy Way!
I’m so excited to be sharing this Stuffed Shells recipe with you today! After testing this recipe and having five devoted readers test this recipe too, I am thrilled that I can finally share it with you. While I have a couple of recipes for stuffed shells on my site (Alfredo Stuffed Shells and Crockpot Pesto Stuffed Shells), I wanted to make sure I had a classic recipe that was fail-proof and delicious!
The larger pasta shells are par-boiled, filled with a mixture of cottage cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese then nestled in a rich marinara. Topped with a little alfredo sauce, extra cheese, and baked to perfection. You will fall in love with this recipe.
Using really good store-bought alfredo and marinara sauce are my secrets to getting this on the table fast while still tasting amazing. Rao’s is my all-time favorite if you can find it! Or just find and use a brand that you love! Worst case scenario, you make homemade alfredo sauce and marinara sauce (aka bolognese without the meat).
A Note about Cheese
In this recipe, I stuff my shells with a combination of three kinds of cheese: cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmigiano Reggiano. For best results, please read these notes:
Cottage Cheese
I use low-fat cottage cheese in my stuffed shells because I prefer the taste and texture much better than traditional ricotta. After it bakes, it melts together and is smooth and creamy through and through. Ricotta isn’t quite as smooth and tastes a little different.
Can I substitute Ricotta Cheese for Cottage Cheese in Stuffed Shells?
If you would like to substitute ricotta cheese for cottage cheese, just be aware that because it’s thicker, it will fill fewer shells. Expect to get about 30 shells total.
Mozzarella Cheese
For good mozzarella that melts beautifully, you will want to look for a block of whole milk low moisture mozzarella and grate it yourself. The pre-grated kind will work but doesn’t melt as nicely because of the food starch it’s coated in (to prevent the shreds from sticking to each other). Also, fresh mozzarella adds extra moisture and doesn’t grate well at all, so I’d recommend the firmer low moisture mozzarella.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Please please please don’t confuse Parmigiano Reggiano with a regular (pre-grated) parmesan cheese. Parmigiano Reggiano is real parmesan cheese that you will want to grate yourself that has its name stamped on the rind. Most grocery stores will have the Parmigiano Reggiano close to the deli section with more specialty cheeses, like brie, feta, and goat. Of course, you *can* use the pre-grated kind, but just know it won’t be as good as it could be.
Do I Really Have to Use Eggs?
You don’t *have* to use eggs however the filling won’t hold together quite as well. But the taste will be there!
Can I Add Veggies to the Filling?
You can absolutely add veggies to the filling. I would suggest something classic and simple like wilted spinach, steamed broccoli, or riced cauliflower for taste and nutrition.
How to Make Stuffed Shells | Directions
The biggest secret to making these stuffed shells is using these disposable pastry bags to fill them. It makes life SO much easier and the whole process really quick. If you don’t have the disposable bags, use a sturdy freezer bag and snip a 1-inch hole in the corner to pipe. Of course, spoons are a simple way to fill them too, it just is a little more time-consuming.
Cook the Pasta Shells
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add shells and cook according to package directions. I like cooking mine for a few minutes less than the recommended time so they stay sturdy as you fill them but then soften up as they bake in the marinara sauce.
Make the Filling
In a large bowl, stir together cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, eggs, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper until well combined. Spoon into a piping bag and set aside.
Fill the Shells
After you drain the pasta, rinse with cold water. Pour two entire jars of marinara sauce into your two baking pans. Using the piping bag, fill the par-boiled shells and place them into the marinara sauce, 20 shells per baking dish.
Top with Alfredo Sauce and Bake
Spoon pre-made Alfredo Sauce over the shells and top with more mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. In the last 10-15 minutes of cooking, remove the foil to brown the cheese.
Storing Stuffed Shells
Stuffed shells can be stored either in the baking pan or individual containers wrapped well. Stuffed shells will last for up to four days in the refrigerator. To reheat simply cover and bake in the oven or the microwave until heated through.
Freezing Instructions
These Stuffed Shells are one of the best recipes to freeze! They freeze so beautifully and bake up perfectly from frozen! To freeze, simply make the shells according to the recipe directions below, being sure to place them in disposable pans. Then before freezing, simply wrap well with heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to four months.
To bake, transfer stuffed shells from the freezer to the hot oven. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour or until hot and bubbly. Remove the foil to brown the tops or simply broil for the last few minutes.
What to Serve With Stuffed Shells
This stuffed shells recipe goes perfectly with cooked vegetables, bread, salads, you name it. Here are some tasty ideas to get you started:
- Homemade Garlic Bread
- Craigo’s Breadsticks
- Caprese Salad Recipe
- Caesar Salad Recipe
- Roasted Asparagus
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Cauliflower
Love Stuffed Shells? Try These Other Italian Favorites:
I have published lots of Italian Recipes through the years, but here are some of my favorites (and reader favorites, too!)
- Best Ever Lasagna Recipe
- Italian Sausage Peppers Pasta
- Browned Butter Alfredo Pasta
- Amazing Italian Cream Cake
- Easy Cannoli Recipe
Classic Stuffed Shells
Make amazing Stuffed Shells at home with this classic recipe. Filled with three cheeses, topped with Alfredo sauce and baked in a store-bought marinara. Lick your plates clean with this delicious recipe!
Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta shells 1 box, about 40 shells
- 4 cups low fat cottage cheese
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese divided
- 3/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 48 oz marinara sauce 2 jars of Rao's recommended
- 15 oz alfredo sauce 1 jar
- chopped fresh parsley optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta shells for 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside to drain. Pour both jars of marinara sauce into the bottom of two 9×13 baking dishes, one jar per pan.
- In a large bowl, stir cottage cheese together with 1 cup mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, eggs, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Fill disposable piping bag (or large freezer bag) with filling. Snip the end of the bag to create a 1-inch hole and fill each shell. (Spooning it into the shells also works, it just takes a little more time.)
- Place the filled shells into the prepared pans, 20 shells per pan.
- Spoon prepared alfredo sauce overtop the filled shells. Sprinkle the tops with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella (1/2 cup cheese per pan), cover with foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for remaining 15 minutes to brown the tops.Alternately, you can keep the pans covered for the full 45 minute bake time and broil the tops at the end of the cooking time.
- Remove from oven and set 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve hot.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 103kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 411mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 223IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 1mg
Can you add hamburger to this recipe?
This is one of my top ten recipes of my whole life. Nuff said.
Great recipe!!! I make shells all the time for our vegetarian family. Will try yours now. This will now be a nice change for them.
I made these tonight and I have to say they were the BEST stuffed shells I’ve ever had!! I think the addition of the Alfredo sauce is what put them over the top!
This was much more delicious than I dreamed it might be. I used homemade mushroom marinara for the tomato sauce. A hit for sure!
This is one of my favorite recipes of Lauren’s. We just swoon over the blend of perfection.
I don’t leave reviews on recipes. However, this one definitely deserves one. I’ve never made shells before. I used this recipe for my first attempt. I used homemade pasta sauce and homemade Alfredo sauce. These turned out awesome! So awesome in fact, that I’ve made them twice in a month. They get rave reviews from friends and family. my parents even want to pay me to make some to use as a meal to take to someone. Also, they keep asking me to make them more too, and they’ve only had my leftovers!
I really just want to cut this recipe in half. Don’t need two pans
I made these for supper tonight. They were great! I will definitely make them again 🙂
These are amazing!!
This was BEYOND delicious! We are meat eaters so I just had to add something to it. I simmered the marinara in ground beef and sautéed onion while prepping everything else and layered the bottom of the pan with the sauce/meat mixture then did the shells on top and followed everything else to a T and my goodness the creaminess of this dish was exceptional. It will definitely go into our rotation!
This recipe is so delicious!! I’ve made these twice now and they were perfect both times. I was skeptical of the cottage cheese instead of ricotta, but I never missed the ricotta and the flavor and texture are exactly what you expect stuffed shells to be. A definite winner!!! Oh, and this is an easy recipe to cut in half if you don’t want to make two 9×13 pans of shells.
I made this recipe tonight to share a freezer meal for my son’s family who just welcomed a new baby boy! It was fabulous!
Can I divide this recipe into one 8×8 pan and one large roaster pan so we can’t give the larger one to our son’s family? Would baking time be the same for each pan?
Slightly less time for the smaller pan, slightly more for the larger pan. You just want to make sure the egg in the filling gets cooked completely.
Hi silly question? If I want to make as a freezer meal, do I bake and then freeze? Or just freeze instead of baking?
Thanks so much!
You can do either! Personal preference.
These were DELICIOUS!!! And Rao’s marinara is now my new favorite! Thank you Lauren!!
This was so good! The flavor and the consistency were on point and it was incredibly easy to make. I followed the recipe exactly as posted, so there were no changes / substitutions made.
I hadn’t realized before that this recipe makes 2 pans. So I was a little worried about that as I made it for the first time last night. There was no reason for me to worry as it was delicious! I’ve already had leftovers for lunch and dinner again! It’s so good and easy to make! Next time I’m going to try it with the Raos sauce and I’m sure we will love it even more! I might even be willing to give the second pan to someone else so they think I’m a good cook. Thanks Lauren!!
I used the Rao’s Alfredo sauce and it was just delicious!
This recipe is just fabulous! I try to eat keto or low carb but I definitely went off that for this meal. It is heavenly.
This is was amazing! ❤️ Definitely adding it to our dinner rotation! Kid approved!
Kiddo has an egg allergy, Could you leave it out and be ok with all the cheese?
Yes, it just won’t hold together quite as well. But the taste will be there!
Thank you. I am just sampling egg replacements and would prefer to leave them out if not required.
Also wondering what the preferred brand of alfredo would be? Is the nutritional information based on 1 shell?
Can’t wait to try this one!
I like the fresher alfredo sauces out of the refrigerated section, usually with the fresh pasta. But just make sure you use one you like! Yes the nutritional information is based off of 1 shell.
Ok! This looks amazing! What brand Alfredo sauce do you recommend?
I was wondering that too, wondering if anyone has tried the Rao’s Alfredo?
Wow looks soooo delicious cannot wait to cook this for my fam🥰 Thank you for sharing❣