Stuffed Shells

By Ali Slagle

Stuffed Shells
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
About 2 hours
Rating
4(1,720)
Notes
Read community notes

Of all the baked pasta dishes, stuffed shells are beloved for good reason: The fluffy ricotta filling, punchy tomato sauce, melted cheese and oversize noodles creates the ultimate comfort food, and the make-ahead aspect is equally compelling. The tomato sauce can be made and refrigerated five days ahead, or you can save time by swapping in three cups of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce. The shells can be assembled a few hours ahead, then baked from the refrigerator an hour before it’s time to eat. While some versions add frozen spinach, herbs or lemon, you really don’t need anything beyond the basics; this classic version is pure comfort. If you're craving greens, serve with a Caesar salad or a side of braised broccoli rabe.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

    For the Sauce

    • ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1medium onion, finely chopped
    • Kosher salt
    • 4garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
    • 3tablespoons tomato paste
    • 1(28-ounce) can tomato purée

    For the Filling and Assembly

    • Kosher salt and black pepper
    • 1pound fresh ricotta (about 2 cups)
    • 10ounces fresh mozzarella, grated (about 2½ cups)
    • 5½ounces Parmesan, finely grated (about 2 cups)
    • 2egg yolks
    • 1garlic clove
    • 12ounces jumbo shells
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

625 calories; 32 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 51 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 759 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the sauce: In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until the paste turns one shade darker, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée, season with salt, then bring to a simmer. Cover halfway to reduce splattering, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly, 20 to 30 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

  3. Step 3

    Make the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta with 1½ cups mozzarella, 1 cup Parmesan and the egg yolks. Grate the garlic directly into the bowl, then season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir to combine, then set aside.

  4. Step 4

    Add the shells to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente. (You’ll want to cook the shells about 2 minutes less than the minimum time listed on the package, as the shells will continue to cook in the oven in Step 5.) Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain the pasta and rinse it under cold water to cool. Count out 24 shells. (You will have cooked off more shells than will fit in the dish; that’s insurance in case any rip. Reserve extras for another use.)

  5. Step 5

    Stir the pasta water into the sauce, then add half the sauce to a 3-quart/9-by-13-inch baking dish and spread it in an even layer. Spoon about 2 tablespoons filling into each of the 24 shells, lining up the stuffed shells in the dish as you go. Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup Parmesan.

  6. Step 6

    Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. (If you’d like to brown the cheese, you can broil for a few minutes.) Let sit 5 minutes, then serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,720 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Bebe

I have cooked an entire package of the big shells, stuffed each with the ricotta mixture, and let them cool on waxed paper. Then loaded them into freezer bags and froze them. They don’t stick together. Later thawed the stuffed shells and finished with sauce. This way you can take out as many frozen shells as you wish to bake with the sauce. They came out very well. Did this many times.

John

There is no need to boil the shells. Put the shells into a large bowl of warm, salted water and let sit for about 1 1/2 hours. Drain and fill the shells. The shells are flexible and feel 'rubbery' and tend not to tear when manhandled. The shells are perfectly cooked as the dish comes out of the oven.

Mackenzie

I loved the dish and so did everyone else! The whole casserole was demolished at dinner. Delicious! Sauce was excellent. I reduced the parmesan a little and added half a bunch of spinach to the filling (chopped fine). I used about 1.5 Tbsp filling per shell and was able to use all the shells in my 12 oz box except maybe 4. It all fit in my 9x13. Served with fresh herbs scattered on top. Will do all of it again :)

easy and delicious!

Great, easy recipe. The cheese stuffing is delicious. Add red pepper flakes to the sauce.

dimmerswitch

Forgot to add to previous note: *One whole egg works as well as two yolks in our experience.

barbara

I would add chopped parsley and/or chopped proscuitto to the stuffing mix

Migdalia

My mom got her recipe back in the 50s from lovely elderly Italian grandma, similar to this one. She had a few more ingredients, including 2 whole eggs and 1/4 cup of Italian bread crumbs for the stuffing. Its been passed down to our grand babies now - a family favorite, delish feast - together with garlic bread of course.

Sandra

Easy and delicious. I used tomato sauce I had on hand and added lots of chopped parsley to the filling. My baking dish is slightly smaller and holds only 15-17 VERY stuffed shells. Also took the suggestion to broil a bit at the end for nicely browned bits. I’d always used a whole egg in stuffed shell filling previously, and I think the 2 egg yolks worked well.

dimmerswitch

*Shells can be made & stuffed then cooled & put on a baking sheet or other flat tray in freezer & when frozen stored in zip loc bag until ready to use them - then put in dish with sauce to bake per recipe. *Made as written & also with blanched chopped chard in filling. *Sauce is simple & tasty - we increase by 50%. *Spare par-cooked & unstuffed shells can be cooled & frozen to use - we discovered they were easy to handle just barely thawed to fill then & bake.

Change up

I like to do half ricotta and half mascarpone and it adds some richness!

Jeff

I made the recipe exactly. I loved the sauce. My only criticism is that there wasn't enough of it - though I don't see anyone else commenting about it, so maybe I did something wrong. Next time I might make half again as much sauce and either add it to the pan or pass it around for people to add more.

jenny

I added half pound of Italian sausage to sauce. Accidentally grabbed whole San Marzano tomatoes at store instead of sauce, so I had to use food processor to puree them. Sauce turned out fabulous! I added Italian seasoning to the sauce and the cheese mixture.

Olive

Yum!!! I added 1 T of balsamic vinegar, and some red pepper flakes to the sauce. I also added fresh parsley and chopped spinach to the filling. Aluminum foil sometimes breaks down when it is in contact with tomato sauce. Since I don't want to risk having aluminum bits in my dish, I cover it with parchment paper first, then aluminum foil on top of that. It has the advantage of staying clean so that the foil can be reused. Win win!

Kathy

Looks wonderful but more like weekend, not weeknight cooking to me. Store bought sauce is not much of a shortcut since homemade is hardly any more effort. Mixing up cheese, boiling and stuffing shells after a long day is too much for an amateur like me.

JennyMc

I made this as directed for a special Valentines dinner and though it was time intensive, it was a labor of love! OMG so delicious. I don’t know where one can buy fresh ricotta but I have made this recipe from Epicurious many times for lasagna. It is so worth the extra effort and ups your ricotta game exponentially. These shells were the perfect excuse to make it again. https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fresh-homemade-ricotta-234282

cat

I never ever say this but there was too much cheese on top. Next time I’ll cut back. The filling is the best I’ve made for stuffed shells. I’ll make this dish again and again because it heats up beautifully and makes great leftovers. I used Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce but may try the one written next time.

Susan

The final step of putting the dish under the broiler is critical, I think. The tomato sauce caramelizes and gets sweet and adds a great deal of depth to the dish. I thought maybe I might need to add a touch of heat, via pepperoncini, to the filling, but it wasn't needed. There was plenty of depth of flavor without it.

Virginia

Delicious! I already had made marinara and bolognese and combined those for the sauce. I read someone’s suggestion to use 1/2 mascarpone so did that. I kept some and took some to friend whose husband is battling cancer. Big raves from my husband and my friend. I will be making this again.

RQ

Great recipe. I agree with other commenters that this is very easy if you make and freeze the stuffed shells separately.

Note

Add red pepper, basil and spinach

GemHallJan

I’m in Ireland, can someone please explain what tomato paste is? Here it’s the same as puree so I’m confused, can I use canned tomatoes or do I need to cook them down to make them more concentrated as in a paste?

browning chicken

i think you guys call it tomato puree or tomato concentrate — it’s in a much smaller can or jar from regular tomato products.

Karissa

Alex - Use three cloves of garlic instead of 1. Add 2 tbsp fresh oregano to ricotta mixture. Use the cheese blend I bought instead of mozzarella

DLM252

I had extra basil and parsley on hand so I minced and added some to the cheese stuffing - very yummy. I also highly recommend broiling for the last 5 mins

orlando bloom

Just delicious. There are ways to fancy this up/ but great recipe.

Mary Ann

I assembled each component of this dish the day before with the exception of the shells. I followed Ina Garten's method of making lasagna where she puts the uncooked pasta in very hot water, adding just a cup or so of boiling water. I soaked them for 15 minutes, stuffed them, refrigerated them, then baked them covered for 20 minutes, removed cover for 25 minutes more. The pasta was tender, cheesy and really delicious but could feed an army. Cut in half next time.

debbie

Use one whole egg instead of two yolks.

Boben0204

You MUST double the sauce recipe ( as many recommended!) for adequate sauce! Puréed 2 28 oz cans of whole San Marzino tomatoes and did not dilute with pasta water when pouring over the filled shells. I used 1 1/2 lbs of ricotta , added chopped fresh spinach and minced grilled mushrooms and had enough filling for 33 jumbo shells!! WONDERFUL!!

patricia

Double recipe

Could Be Better

Bland. I like my other recipe with spinach, more garlic, etc

Kat

Delish, easy and great for a winter night. Next time, I’ll spice up the filling a bit. Maybe add hot pepper flakes. It will be fun to play with a variety of fillings — puréed butternut squash? Mushrooms and ricotta.

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