This baked stuffed shells recipe is a comfort food classic that combines ground beef, marinara sauce, and three types of cheese. The ultimate stuffed shells, perfectly browned and beyond delicious.
Cook the pasta in boiling water for about 1 minute less than the package suggests. Drain and run cool water over the shells. (to keep the shells from sticking together, I added about 1 tablespoon olive oil to the water, and stirred them gently often.)
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, generously add salt and pepper and sauté until softened - about 4 - 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
Add the beef and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks. When the beef is almost cooked through, sprinkle the Italian herbs over it and stir in about 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce, then remove from heat.
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and egg - mix together well, then mix into the beef mixture.
Grease a 9" x13" baking dish and spread the remaining sauce evenly in the bottom. Spoon the filling carefully into each shell and arrange them on the sauce, then sprinkle with additional mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes, or until heated through.
Recipe Notes
Use a piping bag or a zip lock bag to fill the jumbo shells. It is possible to spoon the mixture into the pasta shells without difficulty, but if you have more than 40 shells to fill, I recommend pouring the mixture into a zip lock bag, cut off the end, and stuff the pasta shells to save time.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pasta water to stop them from sticking together, and stir the pot every minute so that the pasta shells don't stick to the bottom of the pot.
The jumbo shells only need partially boiling due to them cooking longer in the oven, so make sure you don't overcook them. The pasta should be crunchy and not cooked after the boiling process.
Depending on the size of your baking dish, you may end up with leftover pasta sauce. If you have remaining sauce, save it for other dinner recipes like spaghetti Bolognese or other pasta dishes.