I realized the other night that it had been quite a while since I shared any recipes on Simply Stine. I recently made my Stuffed Shells recipe and thought this would be the perfect recipe to add to the site. It’s a meal that my family loves. I’ve made it for guests as well, and the pan is empty at the end of the meal every single time.
This is one of those recipes where you can easily prepare it and just not bake it and pop it in the oven when ready. It takes no time at all to prepare and I love this twist on the original stuffed shell recipes I see. I’m not a fan of Ricotta Cheese, so this one uses a mixture of feta, mozzarella, and parmesan. Essentially, you could use whatever cheese mixture you prefer.
If you’re looking for a really easy, but tasty meal to feed yourself or your family; this is a good one to prepare. I have a feeling that once it gets cooler outside, we’ll be making this a lot more because it’s so good!
STUFFED SHELLS RECIPE
Ingredients
- 4 CHICKEN BREASTS (CAN USE LESS IF MAKING SMALLER PAN)
- 1 PACKAGE FETA CHEESE I USE THE ONES WITH HERBS, BUT YOU CAN USE WHATEVER ONE YOU PREFER
- 1 CUP MOZZARELLA CHEESE I SPRINKLE ON TOP OF PASTA BEFORE IT BAKES
- 1 BOX LARGE SHELLS
- MARINARA SAUCE YOU NEED ENOUGH TO PUT ON BOTTOM OF PAN (JUST A BIT SO THEY DON'T STICK) AND ON TOP OF THE PASTA
- FRESH BASIL I SPRINKLE THIS IN THE MIXTURE AND ON TOP AFTER BAKING
Instructions
- BOIL THE PASTA (I KEEP MINE A BIT AL DENTE SINCE YOU'LL BE BAKING IT)
- I ROAST MY CHICKEN BREASTS AND SHRED (ADD TO YOUR MIXER WITH THE PADDLE ATTACHMENT FOR SUPER EASY SHREDDING) OR YOU CAN USE A ROTISSERIE CHICKEN FROM THE STORE AND SHRED THAT
- MIX SHREDDED CHICKEN, FETA, SOME PARMESAN AND BASIL TOGETHER. SET ASIDE
- DRAIN PASTA AND LET COOL SLIGHTLY
- POUR A BIT OF SAUCE ON BOTTOM OF PAN
- STUFF SHELLS WITH CHICKEN AND CHEESE MIXTURE. PLACE IN PAN
- ONCE ALL SHELLS HAVE BEEN FILLED, TOP WITH SAUCE, MOZZARELLA AND PARM
- BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES OR UNTIL CHEESE IS MELTED
- TOP WITH FRESH BASIL AND ENJOY!
This is the filling for the Stuffed Shells. I shredded the chicken using my mixer with the paddle attachment. If you’ve never tried that before, I highly suggest giving that a try! It’s a time saver.
I mix everything together and then fill the shells individually like the one shown below. Line them up in a pan and get ready to add the sauce on top.
Once the shells are stuffed with the filling, top with sauce (as much or as little as you’d like) and top with cheese if you’d like. I also added fresh basil from my garden that I had chopped on top after it baked.
Pop it in the oven until cheese is melted and you’re good to go!
Here’s the finished product. It’s such a good meal and really easy to prepare!
If you’re cooking for little ones and want to sneak in some vegetables, you could do that by making your own sauce or buying a sauce that has a low sugar (like I use) and that contains a variety of vegetables. Heck, you could probably sneak some spinach in there also!
I served the Stuffed Shells with a big salad full of veggies and also a side of Caprese Salad because my husband loves it. You could obviously add bread or whatever else you’d like. If you end up making this recipe, let me know what you thought of it.
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