Stuffed Shells With Sausage! (2024)

This easy Italian Sausage Stuffed Shells recipe is down home Italian comfort food. Hearty and thick, this recipe combines creamy ricotta, melty cheeses, Spinach and Italian sausage for a family favorite Italian dinner! Includes tips and a how-to video!

Stuffed Shells with Meat is one of my specialties. I make this recipe often –for everyday purposes, as a freezer standby and gatherings that need an easy but elegant recipe to feed a crowd!

What You Will Need

Here is an overview of the ingredients you will need to make the stuffed pasta shells.

Sweet Italian Sausage. I use sweet Italian sausage, but feel free to swap it out for “hot” instead or mix with ground beef. I only seem to find the ones with casings so just remove the casings before cooking.

Ricotta Cheese. You need about 4 cups. I use the larger containers at my grocery store, which are 32oz. I have also substituted small curd, full fat cottage cheese.

Jumbo Shells. The one issue with these shells is they can break in the package easily, so look for a box with the most intact shells.

Spaghetti Sauce. This recipe utilizes store-bought sauce, but feel free to make your own. My personal favorite is Ragu Chunky Garden because it is a sweeter sauce with loads of flavorful veggies. However, your personal favorite is always the best choice!

Spinach. I have always used fresh spinach for this recipe. I think you can use frozen spinach just as well, but make sure to thaw and remove any excess water. I would use about 5-oz of frozen spinach for this recipe thawed to room temperature.

Mozzarella. I use part-skim shredded mozzarella.

Parmesan. I’mallabout shredding cheese off a block for cost reasons, but it works to use pre-shredded.

Powdered Garlic. This one is important. Powdered garlic just works better than fresh in this recipe. I talk more about how much garlic to use under “Tips” but add enough powdered garlic in the filling until you think you have put a little too much.

How To Make Stuffed Pasta Shells

I love this recipe for how forgiving it is. Sometimes I pour the whole jar of sauce in right from the start, and sometimes I substitute different veggies or cheeses, and it is still wonderful. However, if you would like a step-by-step peak at my preparation, then here you go!

See Also

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1. Prepare the jumbo shells and sausage. The noodles should be *just* pliable. They should be bendable but still feel hard and not cooked through. The sausage should be completely cooked through and broken up well.
2. Mix up the filling. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 8oz of mozzarella, ½ cup of parmesan, eggs, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir in the spinach.

Pro Tip: With fresh spinach, the amount per cup can vary. I don’t pack the cups. In the photo above, I have included what a cup of spinach means to me when measuring. It’s loose but still full.

Layering the stuffed shells with meat is fairly straight forward. Layering half the marinara in the baking dish first prevents the shells sticking. Then stuff the shells and layer the rest of the marinara, sausage and cheeses on top. Cover with foil and bake until bubbly!

Baking Note: The amount of baking time will vary depending on how much you pack in the dish. It can take as long as 50 minutes if the casserole dish is completely packed (as pictured above), or 20-25 minutes if the shells aren’t stuffed in there. Heating the sauce on the stove before layers will reduce the cooking time.

Recipe Shortcuts

These sausage stuffed shells utilize several shortcuts to get it in the oven fast.

• Use pre-shredded cheeses like parmesan and mozzarella.
• Use store bought spaghetti sauce.
• Chop the spinach in a food processor. You only need a few seconds to get a very rough chop. I usually remove the stems, but it isn’t required.
• Heating the spaghetti sauce on the stove before layering will reduce the cooking time about 5-15 minutes.
• The thicker the casserole (i.e. the more you stuff the shells in the pan), the longer the baking time.

Stuffed Pasta Shells Recipe Tips

IMPORTANT! The amount of garlic will vary a bit – 4 teaspoon of powdered garlic may seem like a lot. I am not a huge fan of garlic, but the cheese filling mellows the garlic flavor with sausage stuffed shells. What works is adding garlic into the cheese filling – one a teaspoon at a time – until you think you have put a little too much. Even at 4 tsp, I wince my eyes and think “Whew! Garlic!” (not in a good way) I’m telling you to go overboard! Be fearless! It will be amazing!

This recipe often makes more than a 9×13 – I usually have a small 5×9 in addition. You can freeze this extra portion or bake separately for delicious leftovers. I have had boxes of jumbo shells with ⅓ of them broken and useless. If I cannot fit all the shells, I just toss the additional ingredients in a separate baking dish. You could make a vegetarian variety this way or freeze for later.

Substitute any veggies you like. Making stuffed shells without spinach is exactly the same recipe, so you can skip that if you prefer. I like to add a vegetable to the stuffed shells recipe. It helps the texture. Mushrooms or zucchini are also good options.

Serving and Storage

Serve:After these come out of the oven, I usually give them about 10 minutes, so they aren’t burning hot and to thicken up.

Store:Leftovers are amazing! This recipe is one of hubby’s favorites to pack for work. Small batches keep them fresher and easier to reheat in the microwave. The recipe is good for 4-5 days.

Reheat:This easy Stuff Shell recipe keeps and reheats amazingly both in the oven and in the microwave.

• OVEN: Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
• MICROWAVE: You can also reheat individual servings in the microwave by transferring to a microwave safe plate and microwaving for 90 seconds.I usually cut it up with a fork to evenly heat in the microwave without cold spots. Continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until heated through.

Freeze:I generally recommend freezing the extra sausage stuffed shells, just before baking. That way you can just pop it into the oven, although you will have to bake it for longer. I usually bake it covered for about 50-60 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is cooked through. In an airtight container, this recipe should last 3-4 months.

Recommended Tools

• Jumbo shell pasta: I am only linking to this because there are a few different types of shells. You want the biggest kind for this recipe.
• Jarred Pasta Sauce: Cuts down the prep time and this is my favorite store-bought sauce, but any marinara sauce will work.
• Heavy Bottom Baking Dish: This is my most used baking dish, keeps heat even and it has survived years of kitchen abuse.

More Easy Pasta Dinner Recipes

• Taco Stuffed Shells
• Bacon Mushroom Risotto
• Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
• Beef Cannelloni
• Beef Stroganoff

Frequently Asked Questions

Watch The Recipe Video

I have also taped myself preparing this recipe in the video below. The written instructions are in the recipe card further down the page.

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PS. If you make this recipe, leave a COMMENT AND A STAR RATING in the comments section at the bottom and be sure to take a photo and tag it #cravingcreativeon Instagram!I appreciate you for taking the time to read about me and my family recipes.