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These Easy Four Cheese Stuffed Shells feature jumbo shells swathed in a creamy white sauce that’s packed with fresh herbs and topped with lots of golden cheese. What better recipe could there be for an easy, comforting weeknight dinner?
Round out your meal with this hearty grilled chicken Cobb salad and this rum soaked coconut pecan cake.
Introduction
Craving cheesy comfort food? These four cheese stuffed shells are a meatless, flavor-packed pasta dish perfect for weeknight dinners. Jumbo shells are filled with a rich blend of ricotta, mozzarella, mascarpone, and goat cheese, then baked in a creamy sauce with fresh herbs until golden and bubbly. Serve with a crisp green salad, garlic bread, and extra parmesan for the ultimate cozy meal that cheese lovers of all ages will devour.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Cooking the shells in salted water: pre-seasons the noodles avoiding the need for lots of added salt later in the recipe. Follow the package directions for ‘al dente.’
- Using high-quality ingredients: makes this easy recipe taste extraordinary. Go for the block of cheese and grate it fresh rather than pre-shredded bags.
- The use of mascarpone cheese, an ingredient like cream cheese, adds unmatched richness to the filling.
- Fresh herbs: add balance, brightness, and earthiness as they bake in the cheesy filling providing an additional flavor profile to the fully baked dish.
- Keeping it simple: makes this a recipe that will become a family favorite and on permanent rotation in your kitchen.
Ingredients
Here’s the key ingredients that you’ll need for this mouthwatering dinner! If you’re like me, I recommend doubling (or tripling!) the recipe as I have done here, because these giant, four cheese stuffed shells are twice as tasty for leftovers!
- Giant Pasta Shells: also sold as conchiglioni; adding 2 tablespoons of sea salt to the water once it comes to a boil is enough to perfectly season each cooked shell. Follow the package directions for ‘al dente.’
- Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese: the mother of Italian cheeses with its mild taste and creamy texture.
- Goat Cheese: also sold as fromage de chèvre; choose from different styles of chèvre, from fresh and soft to aged and hard. I am using a soft herbed variety but some of the tangier hard ages chèvres can be deliciously creative!
- Mascarpone: Italian fresh cheese similar in texture to cream cheese, but far richer and slightly sweet.
- Low-Moisture Mozzarella: shred your own; it melts more evenly, doesn’t contain cellulose or nearly the number of preservatives as pre-shredded, and it tastes better. If you want to use fresh mozzarella, top the shells with slices during the final 10 minutes of the bake.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Garlic: Gently sauté lots of fresh minced garlic in olive oil for a minute or two so it remains pungent, then add it to the ricotta mixture.
- Spinach: Wilt fresh spinach or thaw frozen spinach, then thoroughly squeeze moisture from the leaves using a clean dish towel and wring tightly. Finely chop the spinach and add to the ricotta mixture.
- Sundried tomatoes: drained, finely chopped; add to the ricotta mixture.
- Italian sausage: cooked, crumbled, drained; add to the ricotta mixture.
- Ground beef or bison: cooked, crumbled, drained; add to the ricotta mixture.
- Substitute feta: in lieu of the goat cheese if desired.
- Your favorite creamy alfredo sauce: substitute in lieu of the bechamel.
How to Make Four Cheese Stuffed Shells
- Cook the conchiglioni (jumbo shells) in salted boiling water until they are al dente; follow the package instructions. Do not cook past al dente, or they will tear. Drain them well and set them aside.
- Over very low heat, combine the whole milk and half and half in a saucepan. Give it a little stir and let it warm up slowly until you are ready to make the bechamel. If you see it steaming, lower the heat.
- Make the cheese and herb filling by stirring the ricotta with the mascarpone, goat, and mozzarella cheeses. Add two large eggs and plenty of Kosher salt and pepper. Lastly, mix in the fresh chopped herbs. Set aside.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Adjust the heat so as not to burn the milk solids in the bottom of the saucepan. Allow the foam to mostly disappear. Brown the milk solids to the butter smells nutty and is golden brown.
- Add the flour all at once to the browned butter and stir to incorporate. Turn the heat back up to medium to cook out the raw flour smell and taste, about 3 to 4 minutes. At this point, you should have a smooth paste, and should detect a nutty aroma.
- Adjust the heat to medium-high and gradually add the warm milk mixture, stirring constantly until smooth. Boil gently until thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove it from the heat and season with Kosher salt and fresh nutmeg.
- Add 3/4 to 1 cup of the bechamel to the baking dish and thin it down with a splash or two of water. Fill each shell with the cheese and herb mixture and them arrange in a single layer on top of the sauce in the roaster or baking dish, filling-side-up.
- Drizzle the remaining bechamel over the shells, and sprinkle with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and the sauce is bubbling. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes to brown the top. Let the shells stand for 5 minutes, then garnish with chopped herbs. Serve with grated parmesan and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you should boil the pasta shells in salted water until they are al dente according to the package instructions. They will tear when you stuff them if they are overcooked or mushy. The shells will continue to cook when they go into the oven.
If you cook the shells past al dente, they will tear as you fill them. The pasta may also end up mushy, since it continues to cook as the stuffed shells bake. Boil only until al dente according to the package directions.
For jumbo shells (conchiglioni), a good rule of thumb is about 2 ounces of dry pasta, or 6 stuffed shells, per adult serving. This recipe makes 24 shells total, which serves 4 people. If you’re serving children or those with lighter appetites, you can adjust the portion size accordingly. And don’t worry about leftovers; these shells reheat beautifully, and my family says they taste even better the next day!
Yes, you can! Fill the cooked shells and place them in a single layer in an airtight container and refrigerate them up to 1 day in advance. When ready to bake, arrange according to the recipe card directions. Bake and watch them disappear!
Store fully baked leftover shells in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Remove from refrigeration 30 minutes before reheating. Warm in a small casserole dish in a 350°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.
Freeze fully assembled but unbaked shells in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost in refrigerator overnight. Pick up with directions for the bechamel sauce and baking where you left off in the recipe card.
Serving Four Cheese Stuffed Shells
These four cheese stuffed shells taste amazing fresh out of the oven with a garnish of grated parmesan or pecorino Romano! Enjoy them with some garlic bread (or this indulgent stuffed spinach feta cheese bread), or a sliced and buttered baguette. A green salad, like Jamie Oliver’s mothership salad or this curly endive salad with candied pecans, is a lovely balance to the richness of this pasta dish. For a hearty meat addition to your meal, serve this with sausages in mushroom sauce or meatballs in marinara sauce to feed a small army!
Expert Tips
- Thin the bechamel sauce with water and spread on the bottom of the baking dish. The pasta will absorb the moisture and be fork tender when baked.
- The pasta shells will finish cooking in the sauce. Cook according to the package directions for al dente; the remaining starch in the pasta will help the shells hold together once fully baked.
- I strongly recommend using fresh nutmeg to achieve a delicious level of intensity in the bechamel.
- Want to keep these stuffed shells warm? Wrap the fully baked dish with aluminum foil to prevent the shells from drying out.
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Easy Four Cheese Stuffed Shells
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Shells
- 24 jumbo pasta shells,
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
For the Ricotta Filling
- 30 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup low moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, basil, and/or oregano, chopped
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
For the Bechamel Sauce
- 2 cups half and half
- 2 cups whole milk
- 5 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
- fresh rosemary leaves
- kosher salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
For Serving (Optional)
- grated parmesan cheese
- fresh mozzarella, melt on top in final 10 minutes of baking
- grated pecorino Romano cheese
- fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
Cooking the Shells
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add the salt and stir to dissolve. Add the jumbo shells and cook until al dente according to the package instructions. Do not overcook them, or they will tear and get mushy later. Drain well, toss them gently with the oil to prevent sticking, and set them aside.
Making the Filling
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or spray a roasting pan with oil or butter.
- Stir together the ricotta, mascarpone, goat, and mozzarella cheeses in a large bowl. Add the eggs, then season to taste with kosher salt and pepper and mix in the fresh chopped herbs. (Add any optional extra ingredients to the filling now if you're doing a variation.) Set aside.
Making the Bechamel Sauce
- Combine the whole milk and half and half in a saucepan and place it over low heat to gently warm up.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan, adjusting the temperature so the butter does not melt too fast. After the butter is done foaming, the milk solids will begin to brown. (It is crucial to not rush this process, as the milk solids can burn, so turn the temperature down if necessary.) The butter is browned when it has a nutty aroma and it is golden brown.
- Add the flour to the browned butter and stir to incorporate. Turn the heat back up to medium to cook out the raw flour smell and taste, about 3-4 minutes. The roux should have a nutty aroma as well.
- Adjust heat to medium-high, then add the warm milk one cup at a time, whisking constantly. Continue to whisk as you bring the mixture to a low boil. Reduce heat slightly and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. The consistency of the bechamel will thicken as it cooks.
- Remove bechamel from heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of fresh nutmeg. If you do not have fresh, add 1/2 teaspoon of dry. Set aside.
Assembling the Stuffed Shells
- Add 3/4 to 1 cup of the bechamel into the prepared baking dish. If you feel it's too thick, thin the sauce in a separate bowl first by whisking in 1/2 cup of water. The moisture from this bottom layer of sauce will finish cooking the pasta making them fork tender once fully baked.
- Stuff each shell with filling. Arrange them in a single layer on top of the sauce in the baking dish, filling side up. Drizzle the remaining bechamel over the arranged shells. Sprinkle rosemary leaves on top and dust with a pinch each of kosher salt and pepper.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until shells are golden and sauce is bubbling. Broil it for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Allow the shells to stand to 5 minutes. The filling will be hot!
- Sprinkle with additional chopped herbs if desired before serving. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side and enjoy right away!
Notes
- Want to keep these stuffed shells warm? Wrap the fully baked dish with aluminum foil to prevent the shells from drying out.
- Make Ahead: Store stuffed, unbaked shells in an airtight container until ready to top with bechamel and bake, up to 1 day.
- Leftovers: Place in airtight container; refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: Warm in foil-covered casserole dish at 350°F for 20 minutes, or until heated. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to reheating.
- To Freeze: Assemble stuffed shells only and freeze up to 3 months. Defrost in refrigerator overnight. Begin directions for the bechamel sauce and baking instructions in the recipe card. Do not freeze the bechamel.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Well, this passed the kid test, the husband test, and my mother-in-law raved…! Five stars!
Alyson, glad to hear it! X – Jenny
This was very good and very rich.
B, yes – VERY RICH. It’s why I recommend thinning the sauce out some with water. You could also use broth. This is a cheese lovers PARADISE DISH! Thank you for circling back to leave a comment 🙂 Jenny