These sausage and cheese stuffed shells are as pretty as they are delicious. Spicy Italian sausage is blended with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, then nestled in a jumbo pasta shell. Blanketed with hearty tomato sauce and sprinkled with more cheese, this dish is perfect for a cozy dinner at home or to feed a crowd at holiday meals. And since they freeze well, you can portion them into amounts that are just right for your family, tuck them into the freezer, and bake them another day!
This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn compensation when you click links, at no additional cost to you. This helps our site continue to produce great content. Thank you for your support!
What are Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Shells?
Stuffed shells is a heavy pasta dish, in which a filling is placed in the cavity of a piece of pasta that is shaped like a seashell. In this recipe, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses are mixed with Italian sausage, onion, and garlic to create the stuffing. The dish is baked in tomato sauce, creating a full-bodied meal.
Officially, pasta shells are known as conchiglie, which means seashell in Italian. There are three basic sizes of pasta shells, though some companies’ sizes are different than others. The smallest shells are called conchigliette. They’re a little too small to use in a main dish, but they are popular in soups and stews.
The medium-sized shells are the original conchiglie and go by that name. These shells are the size that you may use when making macaroni and cheese or other pasta dishes that have thick, robust sauces. They are also good to use in cold pasta salads with mayonnaise based dressings.
The largest shells, which are used in this recipe, are conchiglioni. They are often called jumbo shells in American grocery stores. These shells are deceivingly fragile and must be stuffed with filling to hold up in sauces, otherwise they collapse into themselves.
Do I Have to Use Italian Sausage?
No!
You should always tailor food according to your own preferences and needs. If you don’t eat meat, these shells are just as delicious without it. You could also add diced cooked veggies (like mushrooms, green peppers, eggplant, or zucchini) to the cheese mixture for additional substance.
Most recipes for meaty-filled shells use ground beef as their filler. I absolutely LOVE using Italian sausage instead. It’s spiced just right, Italian style, so I don’t have to worry about adding salt and seasonings. If you do use ground beef or turkey, you’ll have to add some herbs like oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme to your cheese and meat mixture, as well as salt. Season after the meat has cooked and be sure to let your taste buds be your guide.
Can I Make Stuffed Shells Ahead?
Yes!
These sausage stuffed shells are great for people who like to prep their meals for the week on the weekends. Just prepare them in a 9×13″ pan with a lid, or cover the unbaked shells tightly with plastic wrap or foil. When you’re ready to bake them, uncover and follow the recipe directions. But remember, they may a longer baking time since they’ll be cold from the fridge.
You can also freeze stuffed shells, which is great because this recipe makes a lot. Sometimes I’ll bake half a recipe for dinner and freeze the other half for another day. Only freeze stuffed shells that have not been baked. They will keep in the freezer for about 3 months.
When it’s time to bake the frozen shells, you can thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or bake them from frozen. Remember to allow a little extra time when baking frozen shells so they become hot throughout.
Print
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
Prepare pasta shells according to package directions, cooking until al dente. Drain and set aside. I like to lay mine on wax paper so they don’t stick together in the colander.
- In a large skillet, brown the sausage, onion, and garlic together until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft. Drain any excess grease. Cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, and 2 cups of shredded mozzarella.
- Add the meat mixture to the ricotta mixture. Stir to combine.
- Pour about 1/3 of one jar of spaghetti sauce into a 9x13u0022 pan.
Then, spoon the meat and ricotta filling into each pasta shell. Place filled shells in the prepared 9x13u0022 pan.
- When all the shells are filled, spoon sauce over them. The amount of sauce depends on your own preference. I usually go through about a jar and a half in preparing the shells, then I warm the extra half jar of sauce to serve when it’s time to eat.
- Sprinkle shells with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- If you’re prepping ahead or want to freeze your shells, stop here! Tightly cover before placing in the refrigerator or freezer.
If you want hot, delicious shells today, bake at 400 F for 30 minutes or until heated through. Enjoy!
Looking for More Comfort Foods?
- Lemon Roast Chicken brings soothing comfort after a crazy week
- Short on time? Make Slow Cooker Stuffed Green Peppers and dinner’s ready when you get home
- Fire up the grill for some Peach Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Shells
Course: Main Dishes, Pasta, RecipesDifficulty: Medium10
servings30
minutes30
minutes1
hourSpicy Italian sausage is blended with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, then nestled in a jumbo pasta shell and blanketed with hearty tomato sauce.
Ingredients
12 oz box jumbo pasta shells
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg
3 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
1 to 2 -24 oz jars spaghetti sauce
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Prepare pasta shells according to package directions, cooking until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown the sausage, onion, and garlic together until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft. Drain any excess grease. Cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, and 2 cups of shredded mozzarella.
- Add the meat mixture to the ricotta mixture. Stir to combine.
- Pour about 1/3 of one jar of spaghetti sauce into a 9×13″ pan.
- Spoon meat and ricotta filling into each pasta shell. Place filled shells in the prepared 9×13″ pan.
- Spoon sauce over filled shells.
- Sprinkle shells with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes or until heated through.
Notes
- These can be made ahead and frozen before baking. Do NOT bake before you freeze.
Chicken Soup with Dumplings is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
