Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce
Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce is a comforting and hearty dish. Ricotta stuffed jumbo shells are smothered in a simple homemade meat sauce. They are absolutely delicious and family friendly.
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 30 jumbo shells pasta
Sauce
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cheese Filling
- 30 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Boil a large pot of water, salt the water well and cook the jumbo shells a minute less than the package directions for al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet brown the ground beef and onions together over medium heat until the beef is no longer pink and the onions are translucent.
- Add the olive oil and minced garlic and sauté a minute or so until the garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, water, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, granulated sugar, salt and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the sauce while you make the ricotta filling.
- In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese, eggs, half the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, oregano, parsley, salt and black pepper. Stir together to combine everything well.
- Place half of the meat sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Once the pasta shells are drained and cool enough to touch stuff 30 shells with ricotta filling using a spoon. Fill them so they are full, but not overfilled that the shells break.
- Arrange the shells in a single layer in the casserole dish in 5 rows with 6 stuffed shells in each row.
- Spoon the remaining meat sauce over the shells and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top of the sauce.
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil. Bake covered in preheated oven on center rack for 20 minutes.
- Uncover the casserole dish and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 3 shells | Calories: 593kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 157mg | Sodium: 1029mg | Potassium: 597mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1021IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 554mg | Iron: 3mg
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