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Classic stuffed shells got an Instant Pot makeover!
- No need to pre-cook the pasta means no dirtying extra pot.
- And instead of spooning the filling into the shells, put the filling into a piping bag (or a ziplock bag) and pipe into the shells. It’s so much faster that way.
Instant Pot Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided, (about 1lb)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 8 oz conchiglioni pasta/ jumbo pasta shells
- 2 cups water
- 24 oz pasta sauce
Instructions
- To brown the meat: set the Instant Pot to Sauté.
- When the display reads “HOT”, add ground beef, salt and seasonings and brown the meat, breaking it apart, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- To make the cheese filling: while meat is browning, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese and 3 cups of mozzarella cheese. Mix well and transfer the mixture in a piping bag with a round tip (or a ziplock bag with one corner cut).
- Fill the pasta shells with the cheese mixture.
- Once the meat is browned, drain, if needed, and spread it evenly in the bottom of the pan. (Note: deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of water if there is any bits and pieces are stuck to the pan.)
- To assemble: layer the filled pasta shells over the meat.
- Pour water and then pasta sauce over the pasta. Do NOT stir.
- Close the lid and make sure the valve is set to “sealing”.
- Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook/Manual for 8 minutes on high. (NOTE: It took 20-24 minutes for my IP to come to pressure.)
- Do quick release by carefully turning the valve to venting. And carefully open the lid.
- Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and close the lid. Let it sit for about 3 minutes and then open the lid. Stir gently and serve.
Notes
Video
Nutrition Information
Less than 1 hour to make these satisfying stuffed shells from start to finish. And it’ll actually take about 15 minutes tops of your time. The rest is just a waiting game!
Speedy tips for quickest stuffed shells:
- Multi-task! Start with browning the ground beef. And while the meat is cooking, which will take about 10 minutes, work on ricotta filling and pasta. But make sure to quickly stir meat a few times.
- Good quality pasta sauce. I love Rao’s Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce.
- No need to par-cook the pasta shells, which not only saves you time, but also one less pot to clean!
- Use a piping bag (or a ziplock bag with one corner cut) to fill the pasta shells with ricotta filling. It’s so much faster than spooning the filling into each shell.
You can’t wrong with classic ricotta cheese filling! It’s a classic for a reason. Simple, flavorful and oh-so-creamy!
Classic ricotta filling is simple and delicious!
And here are step by step photos to show you how to assemble the dish in an Instant Pot.
This recipe is tested in 6qt Instant Pot.
Final step: give it a good stir before serving! All the meat is on the bottom, so you want to gently stir from top to bottom and back to top. 🙂 Enjoy!
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This is so yummy! I made this with manicotti & the whole family enjoyed it. Next time, I will let it sit or saute without the lid at the end, since there was some excess liquid. Leftovers reheat very well, too!
That’s awesome, Megan. So glad you and your family loved it. Thank you SO much for your feedback!
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times and the family love it! Wonder if they can be made with manicotti shells and that’s all that was at the grocery store today 🤷🏻♀️
Hi, Michelle. Thank you for your feedback. So glad you tried and loved the recipe. Yes, you can use manicotti shells, but just make sure they’re set over meat. I may increase the cook time by 2-3 minutes just in case. Let us know how it works out, if you try it.
I made this last night and everybody from my five-year-old grandson to my gave it a thumbs up.. I made it just as written. Next time, I may add Italian sausage and a different sauce, as I just used roasted garlic and basil this time. I may try it with a vodka sauce next time. In fact, my grandson requested leftovers for lunch today.
Angie, so happy you and your family loved this recipe!!! Thank you so much for your feedback. Vodka sauce sounds like a great idea. Next time, I’ll try that as well!!
Love this recipe, quick and easy!!
Fantastic. So happy you love it. Thanks, Chrys!
I’m new to the instapot crew. Do I cook the shells prior to putting them in the instapot?
Hi, Amanda. No, no need to cook the pasta shells. Fill them and put them in Instant Pot raw. You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/YRXWapEZVjo
Got the burn message…moved it to the oven to bake and was delicious! I did deglaze the pot…don’t know what else to do. It was clearly the meat that burned….want to make it again, but what else can be done to prevent the burn message
Hi, Karen. Thank you for your feedback. The main culprit for “BURN” notice is usually something stuck to the bottom of the pan. So it’s important to deglaze the pot well and to make sure there was no browning whatsoever. Another thing is try not to let the pasta sauce reach the bottom of the pan, that’s why it’s important to pour the sauce last and not to stir it. Hope this helps, and you’ll try it again. Keep me posted, Karen.
I made this a month or two ago for the first time and it is one of my FAVORITE instant pot recipes!!!! My boyfriend and I love it and were able to eat on it for a couple of days. I highly recommend this recipe!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Yay, so happy you loved this recipe, Addy. Thank you for review!
I’ve made this recipe at least 5 times and my husband and I absolutely love it! I usually have enough of the cheese mixture to fill almost all the shells in the 16 oz box I bought. The last time I made it, I had three unfilled shells left over and I dropped one (whoops!). I throw all the shells I fill in the instant pot, and cook it using the same measurements/ingredients, and it comes out great! We end up eating it for a few meals during the week and don’t get sick of it!
Hi, Rebekah. I’m so happy you and your husband enjoy this meal as much as we do! It’s a regular in our family too! Last week, I made it again and filmed a quick video as well. Can’t wait to share it. Thank you SO much for your feedback!
This was sooo good! The only difference I made was omitting the Italian Seasoning (only because I didn’t have it in my panty), so instead I substituted ground pepper and a little extra salt. I was afraid it still had a little too much liquid even after cooking and stirring, let set for a little longer just on the “Keep Warm” feature, and the extra liquid seemed to have simmered out before putting the rest in containers. I’m glad it makes enough to store in the freezer if can’t be eaten all at once, especially if you are only eating for one! Will be recommending this recipe to my friends and coworkers!
Is the egg necessary for the filling. I’m allergic to eggs.
Hi, Hannah. I’ve made the filling without an egg, and it works just fine. You’ll need to add a little bit of water to thin out the filling. About 1/4 cup of water should be good. Let me know how you like it, if you make it.
This was the very 1st recipe I have done in my brand new insta pot and I absolutely loved it! As a new user I loved that you included how much time it took to brown the chuck and the time it took for your pot to pressurize. I followed the recipe to a tee and it was fabulous! This is also the 1st time that I am taking the time to comment on a recipe that I have used on pinterest. I really loved it, thank you!
Yay, welcome to Instant Pot fan club, Becky! 🙂 I’m so glad you loved your first Instant Pot meal and that my recipe directions were helpful! I really appreciate your feedback!
Made this tonight. It was very good. I have a Ninja Foodi so the only thing I did different was when it was done I air fried the cheese on top for 5 minutes. It was heavenly.
Yay, so glad you loved it. Thank you for your feedback.
Very good, next I’ll cook it for 9 min. Shells a little to firm. I used ground turkey.
Thank you for your feedback, Cheri!! So happy you loved it.
Thank you for this recipe. I’m late to the Instant Pot party but I am so glad I have arrived. I changed the recipe slightly. I added spinach to the stuffing (that’s the way my family normally eats them), used Italian sausage, and Alfredo sauce. It turned out perfect and way faster than the oven. My family was thrilled and it tasted delicious! Thank you again for sharing.
Hi, Jedonia! I’m so happy to read that you and your family loved this recipe. I love the spinach addition too! Thank you for sharing your feedback and your modifications.
My husband raves about this recipe to literally everyone– even claiming it’s better than his mom’s lasagna!! It has become a family favorite of ours, one we keep coming back to!! Thank you so much for such a delicious and easy and yummy dinner recipe! 🙂
Wow, this is quite the compliment, Grace. Thank you so much for sharing.
This recipe is absolutely amazing! I usually do not comment on recipes, but considering I have made this one at least 10 times now, I figured I should. Every time I make this it comes out perfect! My kids and husband all love it! I have an 8 quart IP and follow the directions exactly and never have a problem. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe that has now become a staple in our home!
That’s amazing, Tiffany!! So happy to hear that it has become your family’s staple!!! Thank you so much for your feedback!!!
I got a burn massage
Bummer! It’s really important to deglaze the pot really well after browning the meat.
This is so good! The only thing I need to tweak is the amount of liquid. I let it set for 5 min and it’s still a tad watery. But that ridn’t Stop my Hubble from getting seconds! LOL This one goes in the weeknight rotation. P.S. I broiled it a bit….just for good measure.
Hi, Lisa. So glad you and your family enjoyed this meal. I’m surprised you had too much liquid. Mine usually gets absorbed after stirring. Thank you for sharing your feedback!!
The first thing I ever made in my Instant Pot and it turned out excellent! The instructions were so clear and easy to follow, and the shells were delicious. The only change I made was cooking them 10 minutes instead of 8 because my boyfriend likes pasta a little more done and they were perfect. Will definitely be making again!
Welcome to Instant Pot world!!! So happy your first meal in IP was a success. And thank you for your feedback, Caitlin!
YUMM-O-LA!!!!! All I can say is that I will be making this one again! I followed the directions with just a few tweaks. I used half ground beef and half Italian sausage.
I bought a 15oz. container of shells and threw all but ten in. My shells were perfectly al dente, the sauce rich and creamy. FYI, you will loose 80% of your shell stuffing….but that’s also what helps the sauce be so rich and creamy. When you do bite into a shell that kept its yummy stuffing your eyes will roll up in yo head! Topped with fresh basil I searched this with with garlic bread and a simple Caesar salad. 😁
Yay, so glad you tried and loved the recipe. And thank you for your feedback and sharing your tweaks, Angela!
I’m a vegetarian so I didn’t use any meat so I didn’t think I would need to deglaze anything. I followed the recipe otherwise to the letter. Unfortunately I got the dreaded FOOD BURN message like the others. What can I do next time?
Hi, Shawn. Thank you for your feedback. It sounds like you put the shells directly in the pot? If so, the pasta tends to stick to the pot, which causes the burn notice. I’d suggest sautéing some vegetables and layer the pasta over them, like my vegetarian spaghetti.
I made this recipe with the exact same cooking instructions but added more seasonings to the cheese and used 2 lbs of meat. It turned out perfect!!! The only thing I didn’t like was by stirring it up some of the shells lost their filling but it still tastes great.
Hi, Holly! Happy you tried and liked the recipe! I appreciate your feedback and notes. Thank you for sharing!
I followed the recipe exactly as written. It was wonderful. Very tasty. The finished product was a little soupy for my taste but definitely edible. I can’t wait to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Rebecca. Thank you for your feedback!
Followed recipe exactly as written but in an 8 qt IP and everything turned out perfect. Excellent recipe for a fast weeknight meal. Roasted broccoli while IP came to pressure and cooked and the timing was perfect.
Fantastic, so happy you tried the recipe, Nicole. And thank you for your feedback!
We loved this recipe. Added 2 minutes to cooking time, total 10 minutes with 5 minute natural release which was perfect.
So glad to hear you loved it, Dora! Thank you for sharing your feedback and notes.