Easy Stuffed Shells Recipe With Meat All Recipes

This Easy Stuffed Shells Recipe with meat sauce is perfect for so many occasions – weekend entertaining, Sunday Dinner and it's even simple enough for weeknight dinners!

Easy Stuffed Shells

I'm all about easy and delicious dinner recipes, so I am excited to share our very favorite stuffed shells with sausage today! The whole family loves this tasty dinner recipe that will quickly become a favorite in your home.

Be sure to try my Easy Lasagna Recipe too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.

What You'll Need

pasta sauce
ground sausage
dry Shells
Ricotta Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
mozzarella cheese
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Garlic Salt
fresh basil

How To Make Stuffed Shells

Cook the meat sauce. Brown sausage in large skillet over medium heat until browned and crumbled. Add sausage to the remaining pasta sauce stirring to combine.

Cook shells according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside while you prepare the ricotta.

Mix cheese filling. Place Ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, salt, pepper and garlic salt into a large bowl, stirring to combine.

adding meat sauce to pasta shells in a baking dish

stuffed shells in a baking dish with parmesan

Assemble pasta dish. Scoop about 2 tablespoons in each cooked shell and place side by side into the baking dish. You can place seam side down or up. I place mine down. Top with a few tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese then spoon meat sauce over each shell. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Make sure to line your pasta shells nice and close to one another. Since this dish is just a single layer you want to be able to fit as much as possible in your pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until hot and melted.

Do I Arrange My Shells Seam Side Up or Down?

Honestly, you can do either. I like to place my stuffed shells seam side down so that I top the top with more shredded mozzarella. It's great either way. Arrange them how you'd like!

So much cheese deliciousness!

How To Serve Stuffed Shells

There are so many ways to enjoy a good baked pasta dish. I like to serve stuffed shells with garlic toast and a side salad. Easy, simpler dinner perfection!

How To Store and Reheat Leftovers

You can store any leftover shells in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To reheat simply scoop your desired amount onto a plate and then reheat in the microwave. The amount of time depends upon how much you are trying to heat up. I recommend reheating this dish single servings at a time and starting with about 1 min 30 seconds in the microwave. Then give the pasta a little stir and test the shells that were in the center of the dish to see if they have reheated. I usually need to heat for another minute or so after testing.

baking dish with stuffed shells