Table of Contents
You’ll love this Jumbo Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce Recipe
This stuffed shells with meat sauce recipe is a great comfort meal. With ooey gooey cheese in a tasty meat sauce.
- No need to pre-cook the pasta means no dirtying extra pots.
- 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.
Stuffed shells have never been SO EASY!!!
Stuffed Shells Instant Pot Ingredients
- Pasta – You’ll need conchiglioni pasta or jumbo pasta shells. These have enough space for the filling.
- Pasta sauce – A good quality pasta sauce. I love Rao’s Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce.
- Cheese – This recipe has 3 types of cheeses: mozzarella, ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese which gives it such a great taste.
- Ground beef – I like to use lean ground beef. But you can choose whichever ground beef type you prefer. The difference between the different types of ground beef is the fat content and where the meat comes from.
- 70/30 ground beef means 70% lean meat and 30% fat. Typically, this ground beef is made of brisket or shank. It’s ideal for juicy burgers and meatballs!
- 80/20 ground beef consists of 80% lean meat and 20% fat. It’s best for leaner burgers, meatloaves, and chili!
- 85/15 ground beef is made of 85% lean meat and 15% fat, which is considered as lean ground beef. It’s perfect for lasagna and spaghetti.
- 90/10 ground beef is extra lean ground beef made of 90% lean meat and 10% fat. It’s perfect for stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls and tacos.
Substitutions for Instant Pot Stuffed Shells
- Ground beef – You may substitute Italian sausage for ground beef. Instant flavor boost!
- Ricotta cheese – Cottage cheese can be used in place of ricotta cheese.
How to make Stuffed Pasta Shells with Meat
1. Make mixture and fill pasta shells:
- Combine the ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese and 3 cups of mozzarella cheese.
- Place the mixture into a piping bag with a round tip (or a zip lock bag with one corner cut). Fill the pasta shells with the mixture.
2. Brown meat and assemble
- Cook the ground beef on the sauté mode in your Instant Pot. If there is any excess water, drain and smooth the ground beef at the bottom of your Instant Pot. Add the first layer of filled pasta shells on top of the ground beef.
- Then, add all the remaining pasta shells in layers on top of that foundation layer.
- Add water and pasta sauce. DON’T be tempted to stir it!
- Secure the lid and set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook/Manual for 8 minutes on high. Once cooked, quick release the Instant Pot by turning the valve to venting. And carefully open the lid.
3. Add cheese and serve
- Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and close the lid. Let it sit so the cheese can melt for about 3 minutes.
- Final step: Open the lid and 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!
What do you eat with stuffed shells with meat sauce?
A nice bread like garlic bread or crusty French baguette or a simple salad.
Jumbo Pasta Shells Time-Saving Tips
- 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.
- 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.
Storing Stuffed Shells with Meat
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months.
How do you reheat frozen stuffed pasta shells?
Place the shells in an oven proof dish in the oven covered with aluminum foil. Bake at 450°F. Once they start sizzling, they are ready. You can also microwave them by adding extra sauce or a bit of water and cook them at medium heat for 1 to 1 ½ minutes.
Large Stuffed Shells Instant Pot FAQ
Yes, there should be a slight graininess to the texture.
Jumbo pasta shells are also called conchiglioni pasta.
It’s totally normal for the stuffed shell to be watery as soon as you open the lid. Simply set the Instant Pot to “saute” mode and let it cook for a few minutes, stirring. It’ll thicken up in just a few minutes.
Not quite. Manicotti are tube-shaped pasta, and stuffed shells are made with large shell pasta. Both manicotti and stuffed shells can be filled with ricotta and meat mixture and topped with pasta sauce.
Some people use cottage cheese for stuffed shells instead of ricotta cheese.
There are about 35 jumbo shells in a 12oz box.
More Pasta Recipes
If you love pasta dishes as much as we do, check out our delicious pasta recipes!
Stuffed Shells (Instant Pot)
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 jumbo pasta shells (conchiglioni pasta)
- 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.
Video
Notes
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
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Reader's Reviews
Brandy says
I followed the instructions but doubled the sauce so that it would fully cover my shells. No burn error and it came out great! I would definitely make again.
Shinee says
Woohoo, so glad you tried and loved the recipe, Brandy!! Thank you for sharing your feedback!
Kay says
Do you think this would work with an Alfredo sauce instead of a marinara/tomato base sauce? My prefers Alfredo sauces over ones with a tomato base
Shinee says
Hi, Kay. So Instant Pot doesn’t like creamy sauces. Creamy sauces, like Alfredo, stick to the pot and don’t allow the pot to come to pressure and causing “BURN” notice.
Emily says
I absolutely love this recipe and so does my fam! They request it almost every week. I’ve never had any issues, follow the recipe to a T, which really isn’t like me. Haha. Tonight, however, I will be veering a bit and making this with regular pasta shells and not the big ones because my store didn’t have the big ones. Not sure how it will turn out… I may just layer the cheese on top of the pasta since they aren’t big enough to “stuff”.
Shinee says
Yay, I’m so happy to read your feedback, Emily! Thank you! And I hope your last version with regular shells worked out for you.
Mal says
I didn’t have a burn notice, but my family found it really salty. I would skip the additional tsp of salt. It definitely is not needed. I didn’t need to add water to deglaze but I did add a bit of water to the jar of sauce after I dumped it to get the rest from the sides. The shells cooked nicely and weren’t too hard or soft. However, the cheese I piped into the shells did come out a lot. It seems like all the work piping the cheese in was almost pointless since It didn’t stay in. It was okay but I probably wouldn’t make this again.
Shinee says
Thank you for your honest feedback, Mal.
Karen W. says
I have made the recipe 3 times because my husband is Italian and we love stuffed shells and I really wanted it to work! Everytime I have gotten the burn message and have had a huge mess and had to finish cooking in the oven. I have tried to tweak a little, but the cheese spills out and the meat and cheese combo burn…done using this recipe!
Shinee says
Hi, Karen. Bummer that it didn’t work out for you. And kuddos to you for trying 3 times! The top 2 tips for preventing the “BURN” notice in this recipe are:
1. to make sure to deglaze the pan well after browning the meat. Even the smallest spots with stuck meat could trigger “burn” notice.
2. to make sure to layer the ingredients properly and not mix anything. The browned meat should evenly cover the entire bottom of the pot. Then layer the stuffed shells, filling side up. Pour the sauce over the noodles and try not to let it drip down to the bottom. But the meat should be a good barrier to not let the sauce contact the bottom of the pot, which triggers the “burn” notice.
Hope this helps. You can also watch my video on how to prevent “burn” notice on Instant Pot in general.
Jessika says
What kind of Pasta sauce do you use
Shinee says
Hi, Jessika! I’m a huge fan of Rao’s pasta sauces. My favorites are their Tomato Basil Sauce and Marinara sauce. Hope this helps.
Kathy Merris says
We made this. Flavor was great.
Meat burned on bottom of pan.
No steam developed. We added more water and cooked again.
Would make again if cooking problem was solved.
Shinee says
Hi, Kathy. Thank you for your feedback. It sounds like you’ve gotten “burn” notice. It typically happens if the pot wasn’t deglazed well. If there were any brown bits from browning the meat, it could cause that. I made this video a little white ago on how to prevent that “burn” message in the future. Hope you’ll find it helpful.
Kym says
Also got burn notice multiple times during cooking process. Browned meat in separate pan so that wasn’t the issue. Will try adding water to bottom with meat, and adding additional water next time (pasta sauce might have been too thick).
Shinee says
Hi, Kym. Sorry to hear you had “burn” notice. I know it’s so annoying. I’ve made this video on how to prevent “burn” notice, hope you’ll find it helpful.
lindq says
how many people does this recipe serve?
Shinee says
Hi, Linda. This should feed about 8 people.
Amber says
Second time making and it turned out even better. This time when I added the water I poured it along the edge of the liner so it went to the bottom with the meat and not so much on top of the shells. Then I just dumped the pasta sauce over the shells. Perfect fast dinner that tastes like it took more effort. I used 8 qt ip.
Shinee says
Aww, so happy you enjoy this recipe, Amber!!! Thank you for sharing your feedback!
Dennis says
The shells could have cooked longer
Shinee says
Thanks for your feedback, Dennis!
Bryant says
Not sure how it tastes because it burned on the bottom. I couldn’t even get through the cooking process. I did nothing wrong and followed the directions completely. My suggestion would be to put sauce on the bottom and then layer the meat and pasta.
Shinee says
Hi, Bryant. Thanks for your feedback. But no, putting pasta sauce on the bottom is a sure way to cause burn notice. Thick sauces like pasta sauce scorch and trigger burn notice. I’m not sure what you mean by “I couldn’t even get through the cooking process.” Do you mean you got “burn” message before started the count down? If so, the most likely cause is that the pot wasn’t deglazed well after browning the meat. I made this video about “BURN” notice. Hope you’ll find it helpful.