Cheesy Italian Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef Filling [Sip Bite Go]
Make Cheesy Italian stuffed shells with ground beef filling. It's an easy family style meal or holiday pasta dish. See how to make the best, super easy ground beef stuffed shells with this recipe guide.
Boil the large pasta shells. Heat a large pot of water on the stove to medium high and boil water with large pasta shells as directed until cooked al dente. This is a good time to start cooking the ground beef filling. Do not overcook the pasta, though, since the stuffed pasta will finish cooking in the oven. Once finished, drain pasta, then toss it in olive oil to prevent pasta from sticking while finishing the stuffing for the shells.
Brown the Italian seasoned ground beef. Heat a large skillet on the stove to medium-high. Add olive oil and let it heat until the oil is hot and shiny. Add the ground beef, onion, red pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano. Brown beef and vegetable mixture for about 10 minutes, breaking down beef as it cooks and stirring regularly until beef is thoroughly cooked and onions are translucent. Once done, remove from heat and strain on a plate lined with paper towel to remove excess grease.
Set out a medium sized baking dish and set the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the bottom of the dish with 1 cup pasta sauce.
Mix together the stuffed pasta filling. In a large bowl, gently combine the cooked beef mixture, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of pasta sauce. Add a little extra salt and pepper to the cheese mixture if desired. Stuff every cooked shell with filling mixture and add them to a medium sized baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Bake stuffed shells with ground beef filling for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Cover with tin foil if waiting to serve longer to keep it warm.
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Notes
Cook jumbo shells to al dente for baked pasta dishes like this one. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven.
Don’t forget to line the bottom of the baking dish with tomato sauce before adding the shells. This helps keep the shells from burning and sticking to the baking dish.
This recipe is a blank canvas - if you don’t like one of the filling ingredients or just want to change it up, you can try using different meats (ground chicken, sausage), making it half ground beef and half shrimp, or making it vegetarian (mushrooms, spinach).
If you have leftover meat sauce, use it in something creative or freeze it for later.
See the recipe: https://sipbitego.com/stuffed-shells-with-ground-beefSee the recipe video for Italian stuffed shells on Sip Bite Go’s YouTube.