Cheese Stuffed Shells

5 from 100 votes

These Cheese Stuffed Shells are made with ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese; and baked in a marinara sauce. It's an easy weekday family friendly meal!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Total Time 55

Servings servings

Calories 404kcal

Author Yumna Jawad

Equipment

Ingredients

8 ounces jumbo pasta shells
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese divided
½ cup grated Kaltbach Le Cremeux cheese
1 large eggs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 - 28 ounce jar marinara sauce
Fresh basil for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or a little less than al dente; drain and rinse with cold water.
In a large bowl, combine ricotta, Kaltbach cheese, half the mozzarella cheese, egg, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Spread ¾ of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Spoon the cheese mixture into the cooked shells and place in the baking dish. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over shells and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake in preheated oven covered (preferably but not necessary) for 30-35 minutes, until edges are bubbly and shells are slightly set.

Video

Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 3-4 days in the fridge.

Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the shells before baking without the sauce. Just place them in a freezer safe baking dish or disposable foil pan. You can also freeze them on a baking dish, and once frozen, store them in a freezer bag so you select the quantity to bake.

When you're ready to bake, just remove from the freezer, pour the sauce, add any extra cheese on top and bake with the frozen shells, adding an extra 5-10 minutes to the bake time.

Make Ahead Tips: You can make these stuffed shells 1-2 days ahead of time. Boil the pasta, stuff the shells and place in the fridge. When you're ready to bake, pour the sauce over the pasta and then bake. If you pour the sauce a couple days in advance, it will affect the texture of the pasta.

Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.

To make this lower in fat, you can substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta
Feel free to use other types of cheeses you like instead of the suggested ones, but the combination is amazing together.

Serving Size: One serving is equivalent to two jumbo shells.

Nutrition