Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with a 4-cheese mixture and topped with a delicious italian sausage meat sauce. These Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage are out of this world. Loaded with flavor and are make-ahead and freezer friendly. This crowd pleaser is perfect to serve guests at a dinner party.
This hearty pasta dish has become one of my favorite pasta dishes, and I have a lot of favorites. It’s hard to beat jumbo shells stuffed with a ricotta, parmesan, romano and mozzarella mixture.
This 4-cheese mixture is SOOOO good. The italian sausage meat sauce on top is the icing on the cake. I also added a little spinach to the filling, to add extra nutrients. That makes these stuffed shells healthy, right?
This dish is absolutely delicious, and I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does. We love to serve it along with some delicious garlic bread.
Don’t be alarmed by the lengthy ingredient list. This recipe does come together pretty fast. The longest part of the recipe is making the meat sauce from scratch, which isn’t hard. The meat sauce provides so much savory flavor.
If you are wanting to make this dish even faster use your favorite marinara sauce. The italian sausage can also be omitted or replaced with ground beef or ground turkey.
How to Make Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage
- Boil the pasta. Boil the shells until al dente. Make sure to salt the water. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain and set aside.
- Make pasta sauce. While the shells are cooking, start the pasta sauce by placing a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the italian sausage and onions. Cook, crumbling up the meat as it cooks, until the meat is browned and cooked through. Add in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Next pour in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and 3/4 cup of reserved pasta water. Add in all of the seasonings. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes.
- Make filling. Sauté the spinach until wilted, add in the garlic and red pepper flakes, sauté for 30 seconds. Rough chop the spinach then add to a medium bowl. Combine the cheeses with the spinach, parsley, pepper, egg and heavy cream. Mix well.
- Assemble the stuffed shells. Spread 1/2 of the pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 dish, or large oven safe skillet. Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and place in the baking dish. Top with the remaining pasta sauce. Sprinkle over the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Bake. Place in a 375° F oven for 45 minutes.
- Serve. Garnish with parsley and serve. Enjoy!
Try Out One of These Delicious Recipes
Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 4 months.
How to Make Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage in Advance
- Fully assemble, let cool completely, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to cook, remove from the oven 30-45 minutes before cooking. Add an additional 10-15 minutes to the cooking time. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes to lightly brown the cheese.
- To freeze fully assemble, let cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight before cooking. Remove the plastic wrap, place foil back on and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes to lightly brown the cheese.
Handpicked Recipes
Follow Simply Scratch Made on Pinterest.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review below, I would love to hear how it turned out! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage
Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with a 4-cheese mixture and topped with a delicious italian sausage meat sauce. These Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage are out of this world.
Ingredients
Pasta Sauce
4-Cheese Filling
Instructions
-
Boil pasta (in salted water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain and set aside.
-
While the pasta is cooking start the filling and pasta sauce. In a large skillet over medium heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the spinach and sauté until wilted, about 2 minutes. Next add in the minced garlic (the 3 cloves for the filling) and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 30 seconds and remove from the pan. Place on a cutting board and roughly chop. Add to a medium sized bowl.
-
Into the bowl with the spinach, combine all of the romano cheese, 3/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and all of the ricotta cheese. Next mix in 2 tablespoons of parsley, pepper, egg and heavy cream. Mix until well combined.
-
In the same pan that you cooked the spinach in add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the italian sausage and onions. Cook, crumbling up the meat as it cooks, until the meat is browned and cooked through. Add in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
-
Next pour in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and 3/4 cup of reserved pasta water. Add in all of the seasonings (basil, oregano, pepper, salt). Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes. If the sauce is too thick add in the remaining reserved pasta water.
-
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Spread 1/2 of the pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 dish, or large oven safe skillet. Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and place in the baking dish. Top with the remaining pasta sauce, spreading evenly. Sprinkle over the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
-
Place in a 375° F oven for 45 minutes. If you want the top to be browned, bump up the heat a little and continue baking for a few more minutes until lightly browned. Garnish with parsley and serve. Enjoy!
Yum! These stuffed shells were so delicious! I’ve never made stuffed shells before and am now hooked! You were right, that cheese mixture, omg!!!
I am so glad you tried this recipe! It is one of my favorites!
Great recipe! I’ve had the leftovers for lunch twice!
Stuffed shells make the best leftovers! Thanks for the comment!
My family LOVES this recipe. I just made it for the second time and decided to double the recipe and put one in the freezer for a freezer meal. If anyone is wondering if this recipe is good, that should tell you how good it is!
Thank you so much!
Great recipe! I did not have Italian Sausage so I used ground beef and it turned out really good. Next time I will get Italian Sausage to make it.
Thanks for sharing your adaption. Glad to hear you liked it!!
I adore stuffed shells, but the sausage really took the flavor to a whole new level – SO good! I think I’ll be making them this way more often now!
Yes, the sausage does add so much flavor!
This was total comfort food. So much flavour too.
Thank you!
I’ve made stuffed shells plenty of times, but never with spinach and 4 different cheeses. It definitely leveled up the flavor! I really enjoyed this!
Thank you! I am glad to hear you liked the spinach and 4 cheese mixture in this recipe!
Made this for dinner last night and we loved it! Very hearty and filling – great recipe!
Thank you!
This pasta dish looks like the perfect comfort food dinner to me! 🙂 Can’t wait to make this for my family soon.
Tons of amazing flavor packed in this dish! Was also even better for lunch the next day! Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you! I love that this recipe makes a lot, because I always look forward to having some for lunch the next day!
I made homemade ricotta cheese over the weekend and it was to die for in this recipe. Making the sauce from scratch was definitely with the extra effort.
Oh, I bet your fresh ricotta was so good in this recipe! Thank you for your comment!
You can’t go wrong with four cheeses and pasta. Great recipe!
Thank you!