Stuffed Ricotta Shells with Meat Sauce

Stuffed Ricotta Shells with Meat Sauce…I loved this, I mean seriously. I could have eaten this until I was so full I couldn’t eat anything else and then I’d still want more. There isn’t one thing I could pick out that I loved more than another. The filling inside the cooked shell was amazing. It was soft and light in your mouth. Sometimes when you stuff shells with ricotta it can be a little dry. Not so with this recipe. It was so soft and light it was almost fluffy.

The fresh basil in the filling almost gave it a sweet flavor. Not like there was sugar in it, it was different than that and it was delicious. The filling is wonderful, the meat sauce adds a layer of flavor all it’s own and then….there’s more cheese.

The recipe comes together fairly quickly. After you cook the shells and make the ricotta filling your going to use your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce and add ground beef to it. It’s really just a matter of assembling after that and baking. The only hard part is waiting for it to come out of the oven. But all those wonderful flavors together with melting cheese on top is definitely worth the 30 minute wait. Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce…ENJOY!

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5 from 2 votes

Stuffed Ricotta Shells with Meat Sauce

Ingredients

12 oz package Jumbo Shells, cooked according to package directions
30 ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
3 large basil leaves, chopped
16 ounces mozzarella, divided(half gets mixed in to the ricotta, half is sprinkled over top before baking.
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/4 Teaspoon pepper
two 24 ounce jars spagetti sauce

Instructions

Using a large skillet, brown the ground beef, drain the grease off and add two jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce, set aside.
In a large bowl mix the ricotta cheese, eggs, basil, half the shredded mozzarella and seasoning. Stir to combine well.
Ladle one cup of meat sauce onto the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of the cheese mixture into each cooked shell. LIne them up side by side on top of the spaghetti sauce in the pan. Ladle remaining sauce on top of the stuffed shells. Sprinkle the remaining (8 oz) shredded mozzarella on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly.

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