Stuffed Shells Recipe Without Ricotta

Reviews (86)

Most helpful positive review

I'm the author of this recipe, and since submitting it I've started adding fresh spinach that I've run through the food processor into the meat/cheese mixture. (Had to sneak those veggies in for the picky kids...and I may have told them it was parsley and basil. LOL) It's completely not necessary to add the spinach, but it does add in some nutrition. I hope you enjoy! Read More

Most helpful critical review

Olive oil, vs vegg oil, is a no brainer in any Mediterranean type meal. Better flavor and a healthier fat type makes it an easy substitution. Some garlic, cloves best, is always a knee jurk for these type meals as well. Read More

89 Ratings

5 star values: 65
4 star values: 18
3 star values: 5
2 star values: 1
1 star values: 0

I was looking for a recipe without ricotta cheese to make for my Dad. I doubled the recipe and used 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 Italian sausage. Instead of shredded mozzarella cheese I used the fresh soft mozzarella balls. They are too soft to shred so I diced them. I put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan before putting the filled shells in. I put a cube of diced mozzarella in each shell before filling with meat mixture. These came out really good. Thanks for the recipe:) Read More

This is a fabulous recipe. This first time made it, I followed the recipe just as written including the spinach. Turned out great. The second time my wife wanted to experiment a little, so we mixed ricotta cheese with a smaller portion of mozzarella cheese in the sausage. Used a dash of cayenne pepper to give it a little kick and added a little garlic power. Wow, this was perfect for us. My daughter's mother-in-law is Italian and makes shells every Christmas when we visit. Everyone thinks hers are the best. I guarantee these shells will give her a run for the money. I could eat this everyday. Read More

Fabulous! We could not believe the incredible flavors! We get mild sausage from a local Italian deli and no salt organic marinara and herbs pasta sauce from Walnut Acres at our local grocery store. A new favorite. Making it for a special dinner soon. Read More

This was a easy recipe, but next time I would double the meat recipe. Maybe I put to much in so ran out and still had noodles to fill. My husband loved it because it did not have ricotta cheese. Oh one more thing I used a cookie scooper to fill the noodles it works great. . Read More

It was "Ok." If you use Sweet or Hot Italian Sausage and a bottle of Pasta Sauce - you don't need to add all the extra seasonings. Marinara doesn't have Italian seasoning in it and regular sausage doesn't have Italian seasonings in it - therefore why use them only to add Italian seasoning? Mix pasta sauce in with the ground sausage 5 min. b/4 the sausage is fully cooked, so it doesn't dry out in the oven. If you spoon it into the shells while still hot, then add cheese, you only need to put it into the oven with "no-foil" for about 15 min (depending on y our stove) or until the cheese is melted. This is a meal that you can put together fast, so it is great for weeknight meals. Read More

Made it a couple of weeks ago because my husband doesn't like cheese stuffed pasta...wasn't expecting much because of the limited ingredients. It was amazing gave us a ton of leftovers which we managed to eat within a few days! I'm making it again today thanks for the great recipe! Read More

The best one yet. For my big Brothers birthday. Read More

My family loved this recipe. I made it as instructed and it turned out great. Read More