The Best Stuffed Shells Recipe

🧂 Ingredients

• 12 ounce box of jumbo conchiglie rigate
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 peeled small diced yellow onion
• 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
• 8 ounces loose Italian sausage
• 8 ounces ground beef 85/15
• 5 ounces roughly chopped baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 pound small diced fresh mozzarella
• 16 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 ½ cups grated parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 pomodoro sauce recipe
• 1 bechamel sauce recipe
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• 1 Preheat the oven to 425°.
• 2 Boil the conchiglie pasta until al dente in a large pot of boiling salted water,
  which takes about 8-9 minutes while gently stirring. Remove the noodles from the
  water, chill in an ice bath and then spread out on a sheet tray lined with
  parchment paper and set to the side.
• 3 Add the olive oil to a large rondeau pot over medium heat and cook the onions
  until lightly browned, which takes about 10 minutes. Next add in the garlic and
  cook for 1 minute.
• 4 Add in the Italian sausage and ground beef and cook until lightly browned and
  cooked through. Make sure to cut it down into small pieces.
• 5 Mix in the baby spinach just until wilted and then transfer the mixture to a
  large plate and slightly spread everything out and chill in the refrigerator for
  about 30 minutes.
• 6 Once cool transfer to a large bowl along with the basil, ½ the amount of small
  diced mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup of parmesan cheese, large egg, and salt and
  pepper, and mix until completely combined.
• 7 Using a small spoon or a piping bag stuffed with the meat and cheese filling,
  stuff each shell until they are completely full. I was able to get 28 stuffed
  shells.
• 8 Evenly pour the pomodoro sauce into the bottom of a 13×9 casserole dish until it
  is coated.
• 9 Next, randomly bour ¾ of the bechamel sauce on top of the tomato sauce. See
  Video.
• 10 Line up as many stuffed shells as possible over the sauces. You may need to cook
  some in a separate dish if they all do not fit.
• 11 Sprinkle on remaining small diced mozzarella and ½ cup of grated parmesan all
  over the top and bake at 425° for 25-30 minutes or until browned on top.
• 12 Garnish with optional chopped parsley or basil.

Nutrition Info