• Recipes Index
  • About
  • Contact

Real Life Dinner

Recipes your real life family will love!

  • Dinners
  • Desserts
  • Seasonal
  • Slow Cooker / Instant Pot
  • Quick and Easy
  • $10 Dinners
  • Maria’s Favs
Home
  • Recipes Index
    • Dinners
    • Desserts
    • Seasonal
    • Slow Cooker / Instant Pot
    • Quick and Easy
    • $10 Dinners
    • Maria’s Favs
  • About
  • Contact

January 28, 2014 7 Comments

Amazing Stuffed Shells



 

Three stuffed shells with a garden salad on a blue dinner plate. A fork head is placed diagonally into a stuffed shell.

(This recipe was originally posted on The Mother Huddle and has been updated with new photos 12/2024.)

I am still thinking about the Amazing Stuffed Shells I made for dinner last Thursday night. I didn’t even wait until I could get a better picture….that is how crucial I feel it is that you make these ASAP! If you are a fan of “stuffed shells,” try these Pierogi Stuffed Shells next.

Just make sure you invite me to dinner when you make them…..no, really, I’m serious!A 9x13 glass baking dish of stuffed shells.

More Italian Favorites

  • Easy Baked Tortellini Casserole
  • Amazing Manicotti Recipe
  • Minestrone Soup
  • Sausage and Zucchini Lasagna Roll-ups
  • Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
  • Pesto Parmesan Chicken

These are amazing. I could eat them everyday. It works out perfectly to double the batch of Amazing Spaghetti Sauce and use the leftovers to make these a day or two later.A glass 9x13 baking dish filled with stuffed shells with a black serving spoon scooping out some shells from the corner.

Tips for Making Amazing Stuffed Shells

  • Make sure to add salt to the water when you are cooking the jumbo shells.
  • You can use cottage cheese or ricotta cheese for the filling, but I prefer ricotta.
  • Make a double batch of this Amazing Spaghetti Sauce, and use one batch in this recipe.

A blue dinner plate with a green salad and three stuffed jumbo shells.

Chef’s Tools for Making Stuffed Shells

  • 9×13 Baking Dish
  • Cheese Grater
  • Measuring Cups
  • Large Pot
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Serving Spatula

Serve Stuffed Shells with...

simple focaccia bread{Copycat} Macaroni Grill Rosemary BreadBaked garlic parmesan breadsticks on a large baking sheet with a silicone mat.The Best Garlic Parmesan BreadsticksHow to Make Perfect Artisan Bread {Step by Step Instructions and Pictures}

5.0 from 4 reviews
Amazing Stuffed Shells {TMH}
 
Print
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
60 mins
Total time
1 hour 30 mins
 
The flavors going on in this recipe will literally knock your socks off. You will think you are at a five star Italian restaurant. Absolutely Delicious!
Author: Maria
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 4-5 cups Spaghetti Sauce or your favorite marinara sauce
  • 24 Jumbo shells pasta
  • 1 (16 ounce) cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp dry parsley flakes
  • 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
  1. Add uncooked jumbo shells to boiling, salted water and boil for 10 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. While pasta is boiling, prepare filling by mixing together the cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese), the egg, Parmesan cheese, sugar and parsley flakes. Mix until thoroughly combined.
  4. Next, lightly spray the bottom of a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and spread approx. 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the sprayed pan.
  5. When noodles are done cooking, drain them and immediately start filling each noodle with a spoonful of the cheese mixture. (Remember, you need to fill 24 shells, so don’t stuff them too full.)
  6. Place the stuffed shells in the 9x13 pan in three rows of 8.
  7. Next, pour the remainder of the sauce evenly over the stuffed shells.
  8. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
  9. Remove foil and sprinkle with 2 cups of Mozzarella cheese. Return to oven (uncovered) for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is nice and bubbly.
  10. Allow shells to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
  11. Enjoy!
3.5.3251

If you love Stuffed Shells, you will love these...

Roasted red pepper lasagna in a dark blue rectangle Polish pottery baking dish.Roasted Red Pepper LasagnaA white Polish pottery bowl with a blue upside down "Y" and a blue circles pattern filled with authentic Italian tomato sauce with fresh basil leaves on top.Authentic Italian Tomato SauceA 9x13 Polish potter dish of Authentic Eggplant Parmesan with a few basil leaves on top in the middle.Authentic Eggplant Parmesan

Two-photo Pinterest picture with the text of the title in the middle, separating the two photos.

(This recipe was originally posted on The Mother Huddle and has been updated with new photos 12/2024.)

Casseroles, Cooking Method, Dinners, Family Favorite Recipes, Ingredients, Italian, Main Categories, Mozzarella, Pasta, Recipes, Spaghetti Sauce
amazing stuffed shells, Italian stuffed shells, stuffed shells, stuffed shells recipe, the best stuffed shells, the best stuffed shells recipe
7 Comments

Like it? Share it!

Yum

Subscribe & never miss another recipe!

Sign up above and receive delicious family-friendly recipes directly in your email inbox!

7 Comments

  1. Jackie

    January 30, 2016 at 1:25 am

    Hello! Planning on making a few of your recipes, but for this stuffed shell recipe do you have an exact recipe for your spaghetti sauce? I didn’t find a link. Thanks!

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      February 16, 2016 at 8:36 pm

      Yes, and it is fantastic! Here you go: https://reallifedinner.com/amazing-spaghetti-sauce/

      reply to this comment
  2. Dave Springer.ger

    January 14, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    Yummy

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      February 28, 2019 at 10:39 pm

      Thanks, glad you liked it.

      reply to this comment
  3. Mayra

    June 17, 2019 at 6:41 am

    Maria, thank you for posting this recipe and the spaghetti sauce recipe. Wow! I’ve never had better stuffed shells! I like stuffed shells, but am not such a huge fan of them. In fact, it’s been quite a while since I last made them. But my husband wanted me to make them for Father’s Day. So I found your recipe. This is by far the best, EVER! Now, I am a fan of stuffed shells. (I even sneaked one this morning before breakfast–right out of the fridge, cold. Ohhhh, so delish, delish!). This is not a 5 star recipe, it’s a 10!

    reply to this comment
  4. Goeno

    May 10, 2021 at 2:23 pm

    marin

    reply to this comment
  5. Natasha D.

    August 26, 2023 at 4:19 pm

    FAVORITE
    We love these stuffed shells! So delicious and easy to make!

    reply to this comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

Welcome friends!

Hi, I'm Maria. A mom of five and a total foodie. My superpower is taking ordinary recipes and making them DELICIOUS. Your family will LOVE these meals! Come cook with me, I promise it will be amazing! Get started here or search my archives below.


When you start your Amazon shopping here, I receive a small percentage of the sale. Thank you for supporting Real Life Dinner.

Housekeeping

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Meet Maria

Hi, I'm a professional recipe developer, with a degree in teaching and a minor in nutrition. I love helping busy families, like mine, "eat good" despite their crazy schedules...join the fun! Start here

TEST

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER DELICIOUS FAMILY-FRIENDLY RECIPE

The Best of the Season

Classic-Broccoli-Salad-RecipeFresh-Strawberry-Jam-Recipe-made-with-sure-jell-less-sugar-recipe---Mediterranean-cous-cous-salad-recipe-with-chickenAmazing Strawberry Cheesecake Pastry Bites. Only four ingredients and Soooo Delicious! side bar-Old-bay-potato-salad

Recent Posts

  • Broccoli Slaw Salad
  • Easy No-Egg Banana Bread
  • Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil
  • How to Make Easy Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent
  • Chocolate Zucchini Bread
  • Stuffed Zucchini Soup
  • Oven Baked Dutch Oven Potatoes
  • Simple yet “Fancy” Christmas Eve Dinner Ideas for Busy Families

Copyright © 2025 Real Life Dinner  •  All Rights Reserved  •  Privacy Policy  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs