My family loves pasta in any form and pasta shells are a big favorite! This dish is easy to make and feeds a crowd. The recipe makes two 9X11 pans. When I make it I often serve one for dinner and freeze one for later. It’s also an excellent dish to take to a potluck dinner. While I usually make this dish with spinach it also tastes great if you use swiss chard instead. The crunch of the swiss chard stems adds a nice texture to the dish. Don’t let the amount of cheese scare you; while it is a rich dish it does make 40 large shells and I find 3 shells is a nice serving size. Add a nice green salad and you have a delicious meal.
5-Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells
1 pound Italian sausage bulk or casings removed
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz baby spinach
8 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 Egg
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 ½ cups cottage cheese
Salt and pepper to taste.
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
40 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and cooled.
2 jars pasta sauce, your favorite.
Brown sausage meat and beef. Mix in onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Drain fat off if necessary. Add in spinach until wilted. In a large bowl mix meat mixture with spinach, egg, half of the mozzarella, all other cheeses and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture into pasta shells. Put a thin layer of tomato sauce at the bottom of the pan then add stuffed shells in single layer. Pour pasta sauce over shells until nicely covered with sauce. Cover pan with tin foil. Bake in a 350 oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Return to oven for 5 minutes.This makes a very large batch. I usually make two 9 x 11 pans and cook one for dinner that night and freeze one for later. When I am ready to serve the frozen dinner I thaw in the refrigerator overnight then follow the same baking instructions. Feeds approximately 10 – 12 people.
- 1 pound Italian sausage bulk or casings removed
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz baby spinach
- 8 oz cream cheese, cubed
- 1 Egg
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ cups cottage cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 40 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and cooled.
- 2 jars pasta sauce, your favorite.
- Brown sausage meat and beef. Mix in onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Drain fat off if necessary. Add in spinach until wilted.In a large bowl mix meat mixture with spinach, egg, half of the mozzarella, all other cheeses and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture into pasta shells. Put a thin layer of tomato sauce at the bottom of the pan then add stuffed shells in single layer. Pour pasta sauce over shells until nicely covered with sauce. Cover pan with tin foil. Bake in a 350 oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Return to oven for 5 minutes.This makes a very large batch. I usually make two 9 x 11 pans and cook one for dinner that night and freeze one for later. When I am ready to serve the frozen dinner I thaw in the refrigerator overnight then follow the same baking instructions.
That looks great. I have had this dish before. Some different things in your recipe, that I think will give it more flavour. Thanks
My mother in law makes these… but I like your recipe better than hers. Going to try this out on my Hubs one day.
Looks delish!!
This looks very yummy, and I like the idea of making a big batch and freezing for another day.
I would love this, my dh would not. He is not a cheese eater. I’ll have to make it for my son and keep a little for myself.
My family loves shells too. I will have to try this, and serve it all up in place of the more traditional ones we serve. This looks soo yummy, and a bit lighter than our version!
I love the addition of the baby spinach. My family loves pasta too and this would be a big here. I love the idea of freezing a batch for a quick meal on a busy night!
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmy! Me and my twin are the biggest fan of pasta! Thanks for sharing! :))
Yum yum yum!! With the weather finally cooling down I can actually think about using my oven again!!
Yum, yum, yum!! I love anything with cheese on it. Im always looking for new things to serve. thanks!
Yum! Love the addition of spinach and love that it’s freezer friendly.
Oh that looks nice – I do love a bit of pasta from time to time 🙂 x
I love pasta..yummy!! A perfect recipe for everyone to change their taste 🙂
Oh ya, my kids love anything with pasta, I will try these stuffed shells out, and find a low carb way to eat this as well!
Oh how I could come dig right in for dinner tonight!! These look lovely.
I think these look delicious and seem like something my family would eat. I am going to make them as soon as it cools down outside also. We have had over 100 degree days here for awhile and I have been doing most of my cooking on the grill.
These look delicious. What a great recipe for when you are cooking for a friend in need since it makes enough to feed their family and yours! Thanks for sharing.
I make a similar recipe but haven’t tried it with cream cheese. I bet that really kicks things up a notch. I am going to pin this for later. I can’t wait to try your recipe.
OMG I have to make this. We love making stuffed shells. I’m am so going to pin this so I don’t forget.
This sounds so good!
I am going to pin this too!!!
FIVE kinds of cheese! Looks like a great option for when I make some freeze-ahead, bake-later dishes for my son and his roommate! The pictures are soooo appetizing!
Patty, that looks wonderful. I love stuffed shells and want to give your recipe a try..looks easy and delish!
Yummy, Patty! Somehow I imagine serving this with football on TV and fall in the air. I love your recipes – they are always easy to follow (even for a non-chef like me) and appeal to most everyone. Thanks for sharing again.
Wonderful recipe! I love stuffed shells, this is an easy one too. Must pin this right away!
These look so amazing! I wish I had time to make stuffed pasta these days!
My daughter loves pasta, so I will try these.
This looks delicious! This would definitely be a big hit in my family, as we love any kind of Italian/pasta dish!
These look delicious! Will have try soon.
This is going in my to-do family meal list! Sounds delicious xx
yummy. yummy. yummy. i think i’m going to go buy some spinach
Yum! That really makes me hungry. Thanks for the recipe, will surely try this.
love these I have not made stuffed shells forever, you can probably freeze them for quick meals too. Love for you to share them on friday food frenzy today http://www.stayingclosetohome.com/showcase-food-recipes-friday-food-frenzy-96.html
Stuffed shells are a favorite of my family’s, and this recipe sounds delicious!
wow, these look very easy to make and very ‘freezable’ thank you
Maria,
Thanks for the invite…I did go over and share.
Looks Yummy
always up for trying something new
This sounds deelish!
These look so yummy and simple to make too
I love this recipe. It looks not only nutritious it also seemed like a really easy recipe to make. Plus, anything with cheese is great!
Looks SO good! We just made a stuffed shell recipe but it had mushrooms and a few other things I didn’t like, so I left them out, and while it was good, it was lacking. It needed a little something extra. This looks PERFECT. Thanks <3
These look amazing! They sound like the perfect comfort dish to come home to on a chilly fall evening. Thank you for sharing!
This looks sooo good and doesnt look too hard. I have all the ingredients accept the cottage cheese, so this is what I am going to make tomorrow night for dinner. Cant wait.
This looks delicious! And while it make make a bit too much for us, it’s good to know that it’s freezable. Having extras all assembled in the freezer would be so helpful for those busy nights.
Looks nice enough to serve at a party. Can I come to dinner?
Oh yum! I love this recipe. You make it look easy. I can’t wait to try it. I’m picking up the shells next time I go to the grocery store.
Sounds delicious! And I like the idea of cook once, serve twice!
Ack! I have everything to make this…actually, I planned to double it to give to my son, too. But, someone bought every single box of jumbo shells from my usual store. :(. I will have to wait a few more days. 🙁
This recipe caught my eye. I haven’t made stuffed shells for a long time & I am so glad I saw this. Now that the weather is getting cooler I have gotta’ make this again.
this sounds and looks so good! i have never made stuffed shells with cheddar but it sounds good.
Awesome! I’d like to see you write a cookbook someday too, Pie! 🙂
these look really good. such a bummer the fiance wont eat anything with ricotta in them.
These look so good! I am going to have to pin this for next dinner we fix!
these look delicous! i’m always looking for new things to try!
Your recipe looks delicious! My hubby does not care for spinach, but I just may be able to sneak it in!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I haven’t made stuffed shells in probably about a year. I normally just stuff them with a cheese mixture but these sound sooo yummy. I will definitely be trying these this winter.
Looks delicious!!! I have yet to find a recipe for Stuffed Shells that I love, but this one with Spinach looks amazing! I actually love spinach with anythign Italian…. I have had a veggie style lasagna before that was incredible!!! Thanks for the recipe and I will leave a post once I make this to tell you all about it!
Glad I looked in recipes. love it .and pinned it too gave site url for recipe thanks for sharing . 😉
I’ve done this recipe over and over again; one of my fiance’s favorites. Have you tried switching out the ground beef for andouille? It’s 10 times better
Sounds like a great substitution Heather! Do you used andouille and the Italian sausage or just straight andouille?
The best recipes are ones you make your own! 😉
That sounds really good. I can eat pasta anytime. It’s one of those meals where you can add pretty much whatever you like without messing it up.
Loving this recipe! Never tried it with the spinach. I may just make these for the holiday. My kids love pasta dishes. Thank you!
Ooohh this sounds delicious, made me hungry. I will save this Recipe and make it for Dinner.
Thanks for the Post, Picture, and the Recipe, YUMMY!
Thanks. I loved stuffed shells. You can pretty much add whatever you like with pasta.
Sounds like an easy dinner. I would make it with either Boca/Morningstar Crumbles or ground seitan…But I am a vegetarian and to quote Jules “my girlfriend’s a vegetarian, which, pretty much makes me a vegetarian.” LOL…my husband loves that line. He loves me so he has given up a lot of things for me including veal, goat, sheep and lamb.
Holy crap, thanks very much for posting this! It is going to aid me when I order Shells & Cheese at the grocery store! Very Marvelous!
This looks really delicious. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us.
This is exactly what I need. I’m having outpatient surgery next week and need meals that can be put in the oven that I can make ahead!
Wow, this looks really good! I need to try this recipe out soon, I know my family would love it too