Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef recipe—cheesy, saucy, and baked until bubbly. It’s like lasagna in pasta form.
🧀 Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef
🧾 Ingredients
Pasta:
- 20–25 jumbo pasta shells
- Salt (for boiling water)
Beef filling:
- 300–400g ground beef
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian herbs or oregano
- 1 tbsp oil
Cheese filling:
- 1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup grated Parmesan (optional)
- 1 egg (helps bind)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Sauce:
- 2 cups marinara or tomato sauce
- 1 tsp sugar (optional, balances acidity)
- ½ tsp oregano
👩🍳 Instructions
1. Cook pasta shells
Boil shells in salted water until al dente (firm).
Drain and cool so they don’t tear.
2. Cook beef
- Heat oil in a pan
- Sauté onion and garlic
- Add ground beef and cook until browned
- Season with salt, pepper, and herbs
- Set aside to cool slightly
3. Make cheese mixture
In a bowl, mix:
- ricotta
- mozzarella
- Parmesan
- egg
- salt & pepper
Then fold in the cooked beef mixture.
4. Assemble shells
- Spread a layer of tomato sauce in a baking dish
- Stuff each shell with beef-cheese filling
- Place in dish neatly
5. Add sauce & cheese
- Pour remaining sauce over shells
- Sprinkle extra mozzarella on top
6. Bake
- Cover with foil
- Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 25 minutes
- Uncover and bake 10 more minutes until bubbly and golden
🍽️ Result
You get:
- tender pasta shells
- rich beef and creamy cheese filling
- tangy tomato sauce
- melted golden cheese on top
🔥 Tips for best stuffed shells
- Don’t overcook pasta or it will tear
- Let beef cool before mixing with cheese
- Add spinach or mushrooms for extra flavor
- Rest 5–10 minutes before serving so filling sets
If you want, I can also give you:
- a vegetarian spinach ricotta stuffed shells version
- a spicy Pakistani-style fusion version
- or a make-ahead freezer method for busy days
