The Scoop
A story about how these pasta shells basically turned lasagna into finger-sized real estate.
Stuffed Italian Shells are the cozy, cheesy answer to the eternal question: What if pasta could be its own little casserole?
Jumbo shells are packed with creamy cottage cheese, mozzarella, and Parmesan, tucked into hearty marinara and ground beef, then baked until bubbling and golden. They’re comforting, customizable, and just complicated enough to make dinner feel like an event without requiring an Italian grandmother to supervise.
Ingredients
- 20 jumbo pasta shells
- 1 pound ground chuck
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cups small curd cottage cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated, divided
- fresh basil leaves, to taste, chopped, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the pasta shells to al dente according to the package directions.
- Drain the pasta shells and place them upside down on a baking sheet to dry.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground chuck, while crumbling, until it is no longer pink. Drain the excess fat.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the oil and the onion to the meat, and cook until the onion is translucent, about 30 seconds.
- Add the garlic to the meat mixture and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Reduce the heat to low, add the marinara sauce to the meat mixture, and simmer, uncovered, while stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix the egg, the cottage cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese together.
- Pour 3/4 of the meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Stuff the cooked shells with 1 rounded tablespoon of the cheese mixture and arrange them on top of the meat sauce, open-side up.
- Spoon the remaining meat sauce in between the shells but not directly on top of them.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Carefully discard the foil, sprinkle the shells with the remaining mozzarella cheese and the remaining parmesan cheese, and bake until the cheese has melted, about 5-7 minutes.
- Garnish the shells with the basil and serve.
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