Super Easy Cheesy Ricotta Stuffed Shells

I couldn't believe how easy and delicious these stuffed shells were! There's no par-boiling of pasta involved. Instead, a ricotta filling is piped into uncooked pasta shells--right out of the box. The tomato sauce is super simple, and cooks the pasta shells to perfection. This is a perfect meatless meal, that has variation possibilities-- like cooked ground meat. Either way, this recipe is going to be on our regular rotation. It's genius!

Course main

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Cheesy Stuffed Shells, Pasta

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 1

Cooling Time 25

Total Time 2 25

Servings

Calories 456kcal

Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
6 cloves garlic minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can tomato puree 28-ounce (I use Pomi brand strained tomatoes)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon sugar

For the Filling:

10 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese 1¼ cups
4 ounces Fontina cheese (1 cup) shredded
2 ounces Pecorino-Romano Cheese 1 cup; grated
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt

Shells:

25 jumbo pasta shells
8 ounces Fontina Cheese shredded; (2 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped or chiffonade

Instructions

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:

Shred the fontina on the large holes of a box grater.
Be sure to use only open, unbroken shells. We developed this recipe using Barilla Jumbo Shells and were able to find at least 25 open shells in each 1-pound box we used. Pipe each shell only about three-quarters full on your first pass, and then divide the remaining filling evenly among the shells.

For the sauce:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering.
Add onion, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in tomato puree, water, and sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until flavors have melded, about 5 minutes. (Cooled sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

For the filling:

Stir all ingredients in bowl until thoroughly combined. Transfer filling to pastry bag or large zipper-lock bag (if using zipper-lock bag, cut 1 inch off 1 corner of bag).

For the shells:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
Place shells open side up on counter. Pipe filling into shells until each is about three-quarters full. Divide remaining filling evenly among shells.
Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
Transfer shells, open side up, to prepared dish. Pour remaining sauce evenly over shells to completely cover.
Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and set on rimmed baking sheet.
Bake until shells are tender and sauce is boiling rapidly, about 45 minutes.
Remove dish from oven and discard foil; sprinkle fontina over top. Bake, uncovered, until fontina is lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Let shells cool for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with basil. Serve.

Notes

Recipe source: Cook's Country December / January 2019 issue

Nutrition