These ground turkey filled shells are one of my all-time favorite dishes! Huge pasta shells loaded with ground turkey and cheese, then topped with tomato sauce and, yes, more cheese.
Serve with rosemary sea salt dinner rolls or delectable cheddar bay biscuits!
The greatest thing about filled shells (apart from how crazy delicious they are) is that with only 20 minutes of prep work, you can serve a party or stock up on leftovers to save time throughout the week!
Contents
Stuffed shell recipe ingredients
- Jumbo pasta shells: The star of the show! Jumbo shells are large and concave, and perfect for filling with deliciousness. You’ll boil them to al dente before stuffing and baking them.
- Ground turkey: You’re going to combine this meat with the rest of the ingredients to fill each shell, but this can easily be substituted for ground beef, ground pork, chicken sausage, Italian sausage, shredded chicken, or your favorite meat substitute. Or you can swap it for spinach!
- Spaghetti sauce: To make things easy, I call for a jar of your favorite spaghetti/marinara sauce – but your favorite homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is more than welcome! You’ll want 24 ounces worth.
- Garlic: I call for one clove of garlic, but if you’re like me and believe the limit of too much garlic doesn’t exist, feel free to use (much) more 😉
- Egg: The egg is going to get lightly beaten and used to help all the ingredients adhere together and provide moisture.
- Parsley: Make sure you grab flat-leaf parsley and not curly-leaf parsley. In my opinion, flat-leaf parsley has a more pleasant flavor – I find curly to be a tad bitter.
- Ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese: We’re doing a mix of three cheeses for this mixture much like you’d find in lasagna.I also enjoy adding some Asiago cheese, or swapping the parmesan for it.
How to make stuffed shells
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and spray an 9×12″ baking dish with nonstick spray – set aside.
- Cover the bottom of the baking dish with half the spaghetti sauce (12 ounces’ worth). Set aside.
- While the oven is warming up, cook pasta al dente according to the directions on the box (typically around 9 minutes). Once cooked, drain and set aside to cool.
- In a large pan, cook ground turkey until browned, stirring frequently. Add garlic and stir for a minute or two until fragrant. Remove from heat.
Step 5: Lightly beat one egg in a medium basin. Combine the cooked ground turkey, ricotta cheese, half of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and parsley in a mixing bowl. If desired, season with salt and pepper and stir thoroughly.
Step 6: Stuff each shell with the ground turkey mixture using a big spoon. It might be a little tough depending on how curly your noodles are, but it’s well worth it! Place each shell in the glass baking dish as you fill them. Put them close together so they don’t fall over.
Step 7: Drizzle the remaining 12 ounces of spaghetti sauce over the shells, then top with the remaining half of the mozzarella cheese. 20-25 minutes in the oven (or until the cheese is bubbling on the top).
Step 8: Serve right now with garlic bread or cheesy biscuits and enjoy!
Substitutions and variations
- Feel free to substitute the ground turkey for ground beef, ground pork, Italian sausage, or shredded chicken. You could also swap in your favorite meat substitute. Or you can remove the meat altogether and add spinach instead! Not gonna lie, sometimes I like the vegetarian way even better.
- If you don’t have garlic cloves, you can substitute any of the below:
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- You can use reduced fat ricotta or 2% mozzarella to help cut down on the calorie count a little.
- You can also add Asiago cheese, or substitute the parmesan cheese with it.
- Want to add a little spice? Add some red pepper flakes to the ground turkey mixture!
How to store stuffed shells
Wrap securely with plastic wrap or keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
How to reheat stuffed shells
You’ll reheat them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil this time.
Can you freeze stuffed shells?
You certainly can! When you’ve completed all of the preparation and assembly in your baking dish, wrap it securely in plastic wrap and foil and store it in the freezer.
Place the dish in the fridge the night before to defrost (or the morning of). Let it to come to room temperature for approximately 30 minutes before baking according to the recipe directions.
Serving suggestions
- Rosemary Sea Salt Dinner Rolls
- Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Rosemary Sea Salt Dinner Rolls
FAQs
Wrap securely with plastic wrap or keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
You’ll reheat them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil this time.
You certainly can! When you’ve completed all of the preparation and assembly in your baking dish, wrap it securely in plastic wrap and foil and store it in the freezer. Place the dish in the fridge the night before to defrost (or the morning of). Let it to come to room temperature for approximately 30 minutes before baking according to the recipe directions.
Ground Turkey Stuffed Shells
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Description
Ingredients
- 124 ouncejar spaghetti sauce, choose your favorite brand, or use homemade
- 16jumbo pasta shells
- 1poundlean ground turkey
- 1clovegarlic, minced
- 1large egg
- ¼cupparsley, chopped
- 8ouncesricotta cheese, or reduced fat ricotta cheese
- 8ouncesshredded mozzarella cheese, divided (or shredded 2% mozzarella cheese)
- ½cupparmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 350°F and spray an 9×12″ baking dish with nonstick spray – set aside.
-
Cover the bottom of the baking dish with half the spaghetti sauce (12 ounces’ worth). Set aside.1 24 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
-
While the oven is warming up, cook pasta al dente according to the directions on the box (typically around 9 minutes). Once cooked, drain and set aside to cool.16 jumbo pasta shells
-
In a large pan, cook ground turkey until browned, stirring frequently. Add garlic and stir for a minute or two until fragrant. Remove from heat.Note: If you don’t have garlic cloves, you can substitute: 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic,1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt.1 pound lean ground turkey, 1 clove garlic
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In a medium bowl, lightly beat one egg. Add the cooked ground turkey, ricotta cheese, half the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Add a little salt and pepper if you’d like, and mix well.1 large egg, 1/4 cup parsley, 8 ounces ricotta cheese, 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, Salt and pepper
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Using a large spoon, stuff each shell with the ground turkey mixture. It can be kind of tricky, depending on how “curly” your noodles are, but I promise it’s worth it! I usually spoon mixture up under one of the curves and then fill the rest – it seems to be the easiest.
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As you’re stuffing the shells, place each shell in the glass baking dish. Place them closely together so they don’t tip over.
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Pour the remaining 12 ounces spaghetti sauce over the shells, then cover in the remaining half of mozzarella cheese.1 24 ounce jar spaghetti sauce, 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
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Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes (or until the cheese is bubbling on the top).
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Serve immediately with a side of garlic bread or cheesy biscuits and enjoy!
Notes
- Feel free to substitute the ground turkey for ground beef, ground pork, Italian sausage, or shredded chicken. You could also swap in your favorite meat substitute. Or you can remove the meat altogether and add spinach instead! Not gonna lie, sometimes I like the vegetarian way even better.
- If you don’t have garlic cloves, you can substitute any of the below:
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- You can use reduced fat ricotta or 2% mozzarella to help cut down on the calorie count a little.
- You can also add Asiago cheese, or substitute the parmesan cheese with it.
- Want to add a little spice? Add some red pepper flakes to the ground turkey mixture!
- Storage: Cover your baking dish tightly with plastic wrap or put in an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Reheat: You’ll reheat them the same way you initially baked them – in the oven at 350°F for 20 minutes or until heated through. But this time, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Freezing: After you’ve done all the prep and assembly in your baking dish, cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and foil and place in the freezer. To thaw, put the dish in the fridge the night before (or the morning of). Then let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes, and then bake according to the recipe instructions.