This hearty and easy stuffed shells with ground beef recipe is the perfect one-pan meal that the whole family will love! Plus, it can be made ahead and frozen, so you have a delicious, make ahead meal ready for those busy nights when you don’t have time to cook.

An overhead shot of a white rectangular baking dish filled baked stuffed pasta shells topped with marinara sauce and melted shredded cheese. A silver serving spoon is scooping a shell out of the bottom left corner of the dish.

5 star review

“This recipe came out amazing!!! My kids also loved it and my youngest is very picky and he loved it!! I will be making this more thank you!!”

– Samantha
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Say Hello to My Famous Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef!

If you need to feed a crowd or make a dish the whole family will like, these Italian stuffed shells with meat and cheese are exactly what you need!  My family loves any stuffed pasta recipe, so for this version I wanted to create a hearty, protein-packed, one dish meal that could be easily frozen and feed a crowd.

Stuffed jumbo pasta shells traditionally don’t contain meat, but I chose to add ground beef to make it heartier and add extra protein. And, at the same time, I wanted to lighten up the recipe, so I used lean ground beef (a staple for simple, flavor-packed recipes like my tortellini baked pasta), part-skim ricotta, and part-skim Italian cheese blend.

If you’ve never made stuffed shells before, the process may sound complicated at first, but trust me, these cheesy stuffed shells with ground beef are a cinch to assemble, and best of all can be made ahead for busy nights!

Welcome to My Kitchen! Let’s Make Meat Stuffed Shells

Jump to Recipe Instructions
Overhead shot of containers with the following ingredients: ground beef, oil, chopped onions, pasta shells, salt, minced garlic cloves, marinara sauce, ricotta cheese, spinach, Italian cheese blend, and parmesan cheese.
Gather ingredients and boil the pasta shells.
An overhead shot of a skillet with sauteed chopped onions.
Saute the onion until translucent and add garlic.
An overhead shot of a skilled with browned ground beef and sauteed onions.
Add ground beef and salt and saute until cooked through.
An overhead shot of a skillet with ground beef marinara sauce.
Add marinara sauce.
A overhead shot of a glass mixing bowl with ricotta cheese, an egg, chopped spinach, shredded cheese, and salt.
Combine the egg, spinach, ricotta, parmesan cheese, and salt.
An overhead shot of a white rectangular baking dish filled with pasta shells stuffed with a cheese and spinach mixture over marinara sauce.
Stuff cooked pasta shells with the ricotta-spinach mixture and place them on top of half of the marinara sauce.
An overhead shot of a white rectangular baking dish filled with pasta shells stuffed with a cheese and spinach mixture with marinara sauce poured over.
Top the stuffed shells with the remaining marinara sauce.
An overhead shot of a white rectangular baking dish filled a layer of stuffed pasta shells topped with marinara sauce and shredded cheese.
Top with shredded mozzarella and parmesan.
An overhead shot of a white rectangular baking dish filled a layer of baked stuffed pasta shells topped with marinara sauce and melted shredded cheese.
Bake and serve.

Testing Notes & My Tips For the Best Stuffed Shells

  • Number of Shells: Note that while I used 27 shells when testing this recipe, the exact number of shells you use may vary. Just make sure to use an entire 12 ounce package of jumbo shells. Depending on where you live, jumbo shells can sometimes be difficult to find, but you can order them online, and I’ve personally found them online and in stores at Target, Kroger, Safeway, and Amazon.
  • Meat Sauce: Or, if you happen to have some extra crock pot spaghetti sauce, you can use that in place of the ground meat and marinara sauce in this recipe.
  • Make Ahead: For the jumbo shell filling, mix together the ricotta, egg, frozen spinach, salt, and some of the parmesan and Italian cheese blend. To assemble, cover the bottom of a baking dish with half of the marinara meat mixture, fill the shells with the ricotta mixture (I just use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture into the shells), and add to the pan, top with more sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. At this point, you can bake right away or freeze unbaked for a future meal.
An overhead shot of a corner of a white rectangular baking dish filled a layer of baked stuffed pasta shells topped with marinara sauce and melted shredded cheese. A metal spoon is scooping some of the pasta shells out.

Tip: Use the Right Size Pasta Shells

Pasta shells come in 3 different sizes, and to make this recipe work be sure to use jumbo pasta shells (also called conchiglioni in Italian), not large or medium shells.

An overhead shot of a white rectangular baking dish filled a layer of baked stuffed pasta shells topped with marinara sauce and melted shredded cheese.

Key Ingredients & Substitutions

  • Pasta: You will need a 12 ounce package of jumbo shells (also called conchiglioni) for this recipe. The number of shells you use may vary, but just use the entire 12 ounce package.
  • Garlic: I really prefer freshly pressed or finely minced garlic for the best flavor on this one!
  • Ground beef: I used lean ground beef in this recipe to keep it lighter, but you can use any ground beef you like. I’ve also tested it with ground turkey instead of beef and it works, too.
  • Marinara sauce: I love using homemade marinara sauce in this recipe for extra flavor, but any good quality store bought marinara will work.
  • Ricotta cheese: I used part-skim ricotta cheese to keep this dish lighter, but you can use full-fat if you want.
  • Italian cheese blend: I used part-skim Italian cheese blend in this recipe and really love the flavor it offers, but you could replace it with part-skim mozzarella cheese.
  • Parmesan cheese: Try to use freshly grated parmesan if you can!
  • Frozen spinach: Frozen spinach that is thawed and squeezed well works best in this recipe. If you only have fresh spinach, saute first and squeeze out excess liquid.
An overhead shot of a white rectangular baking dish filled baked stuffed pasta shells topped with marinara sauce and melted shredded cheese. A silver serving spoon is scooping a shell out of the bottom left corner of the dish.
4.99 stars (64 ratings)

Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef

Developed and tested by A woman with long blonde hair, smiling, holds and pours a bottle of oil in a modern kitchen setting.Robyn Conley Downs
Servings: 9 (3 stuffed shells with ground beef sauce)
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
This hearty and easy stuffed shells with ground beef recipe is the perfect make ahead meal that the whole family will love!
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Ingredients

  • 27 jumbo pasta shells
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 28 ounces marinara sauce
  • 1 (15-oz) container part skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 (16-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well
  • 2 cups part skim shredded Italian cheese blend (or shredded mozzarella), divided 
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese, divided

Optional Topping

  • Chopped fresh parsley

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Cook shells in a large pot of salted water for 2-3 minutes shy of package directions (just under al dente). Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
  • While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then saute the onion along with ¼ teaspoon of salt until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring frequently.
  • Add the ground beef and ¼ teaspoon salt. Saute until browned and cooked through, breaking into small pieces, about 5-7 minutes. Drain any excess oil, if desired.
  • Add the marinara sauce, stir to combine, then remove from heat.
  • In a large bowl mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, 1 cup Italian cheese blend, ¼ cup parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon salt, stirring to combine.
  • Once the shells are cooked and cooled, fill each shell (about 2 heaping tablespoons) with the ricotta-spinach mixture.
  • Add half the beef marinara sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish, spreading to cover.
  • Arrange the shells in the baking dish, then top with remaining beef marinara sauce and remaining 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan.
  • Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes.
  • Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.

Notes

  • Use Good Sauce: I love using my easy marinara sauce in this recipe (which can also be made ahead of time), however if you don’t have any on hand or time to make it, make sure to choose a good quality store bought marinara.
  • No Jumbo Shells? If you want to make this recipe, but don’t have jumbo shells, I highly recommend trying my classic baked ziti, which can be made with any shape pasta, including small shells.
Course: dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 3 stuffed shells with beef sauce, Calories: 439kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 34g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 896mg, Potassium: 2401mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 63482IU, Vitamin C: 37mg, Calcium: 986mg, Iron: 13mg
Nutrition disclaimer
Did you make this recipe?If you do, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me at @realfoodwholelife so I can see!

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