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Pesto Cheese Stuffed Shells. Dinner = planned.
So I’ve been sitting here, on my kitchen floor, right up against the stove (because it’s so warm and cozy), staring at my computer screen for the last twenty minutes just kind of twiddling my thumbs about how to start this post and what exactly to chat with you all about. Sure, I want to tell you guys all about these delicious, cheese filled pasta shells, but it’s just been one of those long days and my brain feels fried. There’s also so much I have to share outside of this recipe that I am not even sure where to begin.
Basically what I am trying to say is that my thought process is all over the place. I have a ton to say, but I’m not sure how to write down the proper words to express my thoughts. Does that make any sense? Probably not, but you sort of get it, right?
Good news is that I’ve now gotten the hardest part about writing the day’s post done…I started it!
Whoop! Whoop!
Alright, so now that I explained where my head is at, I’m feeling like I can dive into the post for real and tell you guys about these cheese filled pasta shells!
Believe it or not, this is my first jumbo pasta shell recipe. For the longest time, I had two boxes of jumbo pasta shells sitting on my pantry shelves, but every time I’d go to use them, the long cut pasta (angel hair, spaghetti, bucatini) would stare me down, and somehow seem like a better fit for whatever recipe I was creating. To be fair, I am a long cut pasta person all the way. It’s just what I know and love. But, there is a time and place for shells…especially shells that are filled with cheese!
This past week I finally bit the bullet and decided to make stuffed shells. I got home from hiking one day and was just in the mood to create a baked pasta dish. When I saw the shells, I knew cheese filled shells were in my future. I had a ton of ricotta, fresh basil, and a pound of spicy Italian sausage in my fridge, so the recipe was pretty much set.
I made a quick ragu style sauce with the spicy sausage, then stirred together some homemade basil pesto with a container of ricotta, stuffed it all inside my jumbo pasta shells, and put it all together. Then into the oven it went (with a little more cheese on top…of course), and thirty minutes later, I had this yummy dinner ready to go.
And guys? It. Is. GOOD!
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Think of this dish kind of like a manicotti, but in shell form, and probably a little easier to make than manicotti too. For the sauce, I love using a spicy sausage to add flavor without having to cook the sauce all day long. I also use a little vodka in the sauce to give it an extra kick. Plus, I just love all vodka style Italian sauces.
The ricotta filling though? That’s the best part. If you guys haven’t noticed, I love basil pesto, so anytime I have extra basil on hand, I make pesto and then use the pesto in all kinds of recipes (hello to this lobster with polenta and pesto and this pesto pasta bolognese). It’s one of my favorite ingredients.
I stirred the pesto into the ricotta to add plenty of basil flavor. It’s seriously the best, and I love the pesto cheese combo with the spicy red sauce.
Perfect dinner to entertain with this holiday season. You can prepare the dish in advance, keep it fully assembled in the fridge, and then bake before serving. Love dishes like this for holiday entertaining…they make life so easy!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
PS. the red and green color combo? Yes, I did that on purpose, and yes, I love it…so festive!
Hey, do you mean 2 cans tomato with 28 ounce each? Can‘t imagine 56 ounce 🤔
Greetings from germany <3
Hi Linda,
Yes, that is correct:) So you will have a total of 56 ounces. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I made this for dinner tonight, I admit the pasta wasn’t cooked enough, but you really should have people drain the tomatoes, or at least resever the juice and add back in if needed. It was like soup, I don’t think I will be make this again.
Hey Bridget! Thank you so much! I appreciate the feedback! xT
I make this dish every year for Christmas Eve and it’s always a crowd favorite!! We look forward to it.
Thank you so so much Ariana! xT