3-Cheese Stuffed Shells in Homemade Marinara Sauce

by Nancy

These stuffed shells in homemade marinara sauce are simple to make and delicious comfort food at its best.

Stuffed Shells with Marinara in dish

It’s hard to believe that these stuffed shells would taste as good as they do because the recipe so simple to make.

These stuffed shells are cooked in an easy marinara sauce.

And no need to dirty another pan when making this delicious sauce because it’s made in the same casserole dish that the shells are baked in.

About the Cheese Filling

These shells are stuffed with filling made with Italian sausage, 3 types of cheese (ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan) along with chopped parsley and green onion.

The combination of the flavors in the filling, the shells that are cooked firmly (al-dente), and the marinara sauce tastes wonderful together.

Let’s check out the ingredients.

Pasta Shells – Jumbo pasta shells, water and salt

Marinara Sauce – Tomato sauce, water, granulated garlic, dried oregano leaves and ground black pepper

Filling – Cooked and crumbled Italian sausage, ricotta cheese, shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (or grated), shredded mozzarella cheese, chopped parsley and chopped green onion

Toppings – Shredded mozzarella cheese and fresh shredded Parmesan cheese (or grated)

Baking Dish – A 2-quart, 7-inch by 11-inch rectangular baking dish (about 1-1/2 inches deep)

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

For the Marinara Sauce:

To a casserole dish,

…add tomato sauce.

Fill the empty can of tomato sauce about half full with water and pour the water in with the tomato sauce (a great way to use up the tomato sauce that sticks to the inside of the can).

Next, to the tomato mixture add granulated garlic…

pepper…

…and oregano.

Stir the ingredients together,

and set aside.

For the Shells:

In a large saucepan, add water and bring it to a boil.

To the boiling water, add salt.

To the pot…

…add the shells and cook until the shells are al dente (firm) (according to package directions) (about 8 minutes).

Drain the shells and set aside (don’t rinse the shells).

TIP – Don’t rinse the pasta after cooking it. When pasta is rinsed, the starch is removed.

The starch on pasta helps to hold and absorb the sauce so it’s important to keep the starch on the pasta.

For the Filling:

In a medium size bowl, add the cooked and crumbled Italian sausage,

…ricotta cheese,

chopped green onion,

shredded Parmesan cheese,

shredded mozzarella cheese,

and chopped parsley.

Next,

…stir together.

Using a small spoon,

…fill each pasta shell with the filling.

Next, give the sauce one more stir.

and add the shells, filling side up to the baking dish in the sauce.

For the Topping:

Top the shells with the remaining shredded mozzarella,

and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Bake uncovered in a preheated oven (at 375 degrees F.) until the cheese topping is completely melted and the edges of the cheese are starting to turn slightly brown (which is about the same amount of time that the cheese and sausage filling heats up all the way through – 20 minutes).

Serve warm with a side salad and garlic bread…

…or just by itself.

Thank you so much for stopping by CCC!

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