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Meatball Stuffed Shells

Cooked meatball stuffed shells in a white casserole dish with handles. A chunk of parmesan cheese, an antique cheese grater, a small wooden bowl with marinara sauce, fresh parsley, a head of garlic and a kitchen towel surround the dish of pasta.
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Meatball stuffed shells is a classic stuffed shell recipe with a twist! Jumbo pasta shells are filled with a ricotta cheese mixture, topped with marinara sauce and stuffed with Italian style meatballs.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 30 small frozen meatballs - thawed
  • 1 package jumbo pasta stuffing shells
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese - divided
  • 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese - divided
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce - divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Cook the pasta according to package instructions.  Drain and set aside.
  2. Make the ricotta cheese mixture.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried oregano, fresh parsley, salt and pepper.
  3. Using a spoon, spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce in an even layer on the bottom of your baking dish.
  4. Stuff the pasta shells.  Stuff each shell with about 1 teaspoon of the ricotta mixture and 1 thawed meatball.  Place each stuffed shell in the baking dish in even rows.  You will end up with 30 individual stuffed shells.
  5. After all the pasta shells are stuffed, top the shells with the remaining 1 cup marinara sauce.  Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese on top of the marinara sauce.
  6. Cover the dish of meatball stuffed shells with foil.  Bake in the oven, covered, for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melty.
  7. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Notes

  • If you are worried about your foil sticking to the cheese on top of the stuffed shells, lightly spray the underside of the foil with cooking spray.  This should prevent the foil from sticking.
  • Stuffed shells make for excellent leftovers!  Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
  • The nutrition information shown below is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.  It should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice. 

Nutrition

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