Three Cheese Stuffed Shells
There are two kinds of recipes that I need on a regular basis. There are the “big batch leftover meals” and the “make it and it’s gone meals.”
My husband always brings his lunch to work, so I constantly need to make meals that can produce a large quantity that lasts for days. As much as I love to sear some salmon or a steak for dinner, those types of dishes are typically best eaten right after they’re cooked, and they may not scale well. So I always supplement those dinner recipes with big pans of food that will stock the fridge.
These Three Cheese Stuffed Shells are a good example of the big batch leftover meals I love. I think this dish tastes even better the next day, and microwaves beautifully!
Start by mixing together your filling, which consists of whole milk ricotta, shredded mozzarella, grated parmigiano reggiano, eggs, fresh basil, and some salt and pepper:
Before I go on with the recipe, I will say that the kind of ricotta you use here is SO important. In my experience, the mainstream ricottas that have stabilizer ingredients like Carageenan, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, and Locust Bean Gum typically taste terrible and don’t hold up well with cooking. The gums are there to keep the moisture from separating out on the shelf, but often when cooked in the oven, these stabilized ricottas separate and you get pools of liquid and grainy cheese. When purchasing ricotta, I look to see that the ingredients are simple: dairy, enzymes, salt.
Sometimes I even make my own ricotta if I have extra time.
Parboil some jumbo shells, then spoon your filling into each shell:
Nestle the shells snuggly in a pan with tomato sauce on the bottom:
Then pour more sauce on top, and top it with torn pieces of fresh mozzarella, and freshly grated parmesan cheese:
Bake in the oven until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted:
Then, I love to drizzle with a really good extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil. Enjoy!
More favorite big batch meals:
Tex-Mex Chicken Casserole
Buffalo Chicken Fetuccine
Turkey Chili
Chicken Pot Pie with Parker House Roll Crust from Baked Bree
Slow Cooker Meatballs and Marinara by Savory Simple
Three Cheese Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
- 12 oz package jumbo shells
- 1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese
- 32 oz tub whole milk ricotta*
- 1/4 pound parmesan cheese, grated**
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
- salt and pepper
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups prepared tomato sauce (I make mine, but you could buy it too)
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Bring a big pot of water to a boil, and add a few large pinches of salt. The water should taste salty, like the ocean. Drop in the jumbo shells and cook for 2 minutes less than the package states (I cooked mine for 10 minutes instead of 12). Drain and rinse with cool water.
- To make the filling, start by shredding about 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese (the rest will be used to scatter on top of the dish). Combine the mozzarella with the ricotta, parmesan, and basil, and stir well. Season this mixture to taste with salt and pepper, then add in the eggs. Beat this mixture for a minute or two until it has a light, whipped texture.
- Grab an 8×12 baking dish, as well as an 8×8. Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of each. Take your shells and place a spoonful of cheese filling into each shell, and place it into the pan, with the open side facing downward. Line the shells up snugly as you fill all of the shells, then top each pan with 1 more cup of sauce. Dot the top with torn hunks of mozzarella cheese, and if desired, add a little more grated parmesan on top. Cover each pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted. To serve, you may garnish with fresh basil or drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
*Please see the notes in the post above where I talk about purchasing ricotta for this recipe.
**Sometimes I swap in a shredded 4-cheese mix for the parmesan when I don’t want to spend the time grating my own. then cut down the mozzarella by half. You want two cups of shredded cheese in the shells, plus a 1/2 lb of torn mozzarella chunks to dot the top.
I should not have looked at this post while I was hungry. Gorgeous!
Glad to have started receiving your recipes again. Hope you are feeling much better!
Lisa
This looks so yummy, will need to make this real soon…glad you’re feeling better and able to do your post…..have a wonderful day…..
I am also glad to see you back up and running, so to speak. I really hope you are feeling much better.
I have not done much with rocitta cheese and appreaciate your information about it.
Again, please know I am thinking of your health and well being.
So glad that you’re back. How are you feeling??
My husband takes his lunch to work every day too, so I’m in the same boat as you – I need meals with lots of leftovers. This one looks great!
You won my heart on this one. I usually add sausage to my shell stuffing mix but I’m so eager to try your recipe! I like meals that can last more than one meal but it rarely happens around here.
OOooh those sound awesome! Anything with three cheeses has to be great. ๐ love your photos, they are very pretty and informative. ๐
Such a classic, done beautifully. Glad to see you’re cooking and ‘up and running’! : )
Joanne, thanks for the tip on the ricotta! I love ricotta so am purchasing it all the time! totally looking at the label next time . . love this!!! looks so good and hope you are recovering well! See you in Sept!
This looks beyond amazing!
This looks so creamy, cheesy delicious! I also make dinner with enough left over for at least 1 lunch for my husband to take to work. A meatless meal that both my vegetarian and carnivore will enjoy is great!
I made some lasagna this weekend on Sunday. The recipes comes from my family and has been passed down thru the years. We can’t go to a family party without someone making the family recipe. It tastes good, but it is time for a change at our home, and I can’t wait to make this one.
Gorgeous! Homemade filling is always the best, they look wonderful!
From the ingredients, I can tell this is a great recipe. I have to ask, where did you find such nice looking Basil?
Hi Janet, I have a little window plant! It’s small, but the fresh picked basil is so much better than the store-bought stuff.
I just love your tips for taking a delicious meal from good to amazing, like ricotta and stabilizers. For me, this is absolutely a YOLO meal, and with homemade ricotta and your recipe, I imagine one to die for! Looking forward to a luscious weekend!
Oh my cheesy goodness!!! I am saving this recipe for dinner tomorrow night!! Good to know about the type of ricotta!
I do not bake pasta very well…just ask my polite little family who poked through chewy and tasteless shells I tried to make this past Christmas Eve… However, I plan to redeem myself with your recipe! Feeling pumped!!
Hi Mary, I think with a dish like cheese stuffed shells, if you have a really good quality tomato sauce and use good cheese, then most of the “flavor” work is done. Hope that helps and your family enjoys it!