With a luxe blend of cheeses, extra seasoning in the filling, a simple homemade marinara sauce, and cooked-just-right pasta shells, these four cheese stuffed shells with mascarpone taste restaurant-quality and are a wonderful and holiday-worthy meatless entree. These are great to make ahead of time for easier entertaining.
A petty gripe I shared alongside my pasta al forno recipe is when baked pasta dishes all taste the same. Now, they usually all taste great! But there are only so many ways to differentiate the same mix of marinara, ricotta, Parmesan, beef and/or sausage, and Italian herbs, you know?
My special twist when making cheese stuffed shells? Add in an extra cheese. Underneath the melted mozzarella (cheese #1) and Parmesan (#2) topping, we have a ricotta (#3) and Mascarpone (#4) filling that truly takes these shells over the top.
That might not sound like a big change, but wow, let me tell you! Mixing Mascarpone into the ricotta filling transforms a basic-but delicious recipe component into an ultra-flavorful, restaurant-quality meal. I won't make cheese stuffed shells any other way.
What Makes Mascarpone Special?
Mascarpone is a rich, spreadable cheese made from heavy cream that leans a teeny bit sweet. While it has a different flavor, its texture is not unlike cream cheese. It's commonly seen in Italian desserts like tiramisu and some cannoli fillings (I love it in my cannoli icebox cake) but it works just as well to add an indulgent, creamy element to savory dishes.
Mascarpone adds an X-factor to this filling that takes cheese stuffed shells from "That's a ricotta filling" to "Ooh what's in that filling? I can't quite place it but that's REALLY good". That's the best way I can describe it!
Recipe Ingredients
There are four main components to these luxe cheese stuffed shells: marinara sauce, cheese filling, pasta, and cheese topping. All of the specific measurements are included in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Marinara sauce: This is a very simple homemade version made of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, a little wine, olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and dried herbs.
- Cheese filling: Ricotta is a classic for stuffed shells, but combining it with a container of Mascarpone adds a luxe, restaurant-like flavor that really sets these four cheese stuffed shells apart. Parmesan, fresh parsley and basil, an egg (for binding and extra moisture), and a host of dried herbs result in an extra-flavorful filling. Whole milk ricotta is generally recommended, but a high-quality part-skim, like BelGioioso part-skim, works great, too.
- Pasta: Roughly 25 jumbo pasta shells fit in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, which will be most of, but not all, a 12-ounce package. Make sure to use jumbo-sized shells and not just large. This shape is known as conchiglie in Italian, or "sea shells" (conchiglioni for the biggest size).
- Cheese topping: More shredded Parmesan and shredded mozzarella. Shredding a wedge/block of cheese versus buying pre-shredded results in a bolder flavor (Parmesan) and creamier melt (mozzarella).
Sauce Shortcut
One time-saving shortcut is to use jarred marinara sauce (or previously cooked, frozen, and thawed Sunday sauce). That way you can jump right into setting up the water to boil the pasta shells and mixing the ricotta and mascarpone filling.
I weighed this homemade sauce after a 30 minute simmer and it had reduced to between 24-28 ounces, just the right amount for using your favorite jarred marinara.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Prepare the sauce if making it homemade. This will simmer for 30 minutes while you get going on the other recipe steps.
- Step 2: Add all cheese filling ingredients to a bowl: ricotta, Mascarpone, egg, Parmesan, parsley, basil, and dried seasonings.
- Step 3: Stir the filling well until all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed.
- Step 4: Par-boil the pasta shells and turn them out onto a sheet pan to cool for several minutes, until safe to handle.
- Step 5: Add the marinara sauce in a single layer
- Step 6: Cover with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Step 7: Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes, or until bubbly hot throughout and the cheese topping has melted. Remove the foil and, provided that your baking dish is broiler-safe, broil briefly just until some pockets of cheese turn golden-brown.
Tips and Tricks
- Boil more shells than you'll need. Even with parboiling the pasta some shells may crack. I like to cook 3-4 extra to cover any extra that are needed. That said, cracked or slightly broken ones can be used - no one will know underneath all that cheese!
- Don't overcook the shells. Since stuffed shells are baked after the pasta is boiled, you want to boil them for less time than you would if you were serving regular pasta. Some packaging instructions will tell you the adjusted timing for this use (mine was 9 minutes), but if the jumbo shells you're using doesn't, a good rule of thumb is to boil for 3 minutes less than the al dente time.
- Choose carefully if substituting jarred marinara. My forever PSA: there's a wide discrepancy in jarred marinara sauce brands. Some are really subpar in flavor, so make sure to use one that you like. Some brands I'll purchase (check for sales!): Rao's, Michael's of Brooklyn, the jarred Mutti marinara, Victoria, and Mezzetta.
- Cover with foil while baking. This helps trap steam in the baking dish and prevents the pasta from drying out during its 30+ minute bake time.
- Choose vegetarian ingredients, if desired. As written, these are meatless stuffed shells. However Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, and other hard Italian cheeses are widely not considered vegetarian given they are traditionally produced with animal rennet. Ricotta, Mascarpone, and mozzarella are usually all vegetarian. If you'd like to ensure this recipe is vegetarian, choose a brand of Parmesan that states it's made with microbial- or vegetable-based enzymes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Prepare the sauce, par-boil and stuff the shells, and cover with shredded cheese in the pan. Cover the baking dish snugly with foil and refrigerate up to overnight. When ready to cook, remove the dish from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature while the oven comes up to temperature. Cook covered, adding an extra 10-15 minutes to the bake time (or more, as needed). Make sure your baking dish will be okay with a fairly quick temperature flux from refrigerator to pre-heated oven.
Yes, cheese stuffed shells can be frozen assembled/before baking for up to 3 months. A foil pan makes this easy. Thaw frozen stuffed shells fully in the fridge before baking, discard any non-oven safe lid and cover with aluminum foil, then add an extra 10-15 minutes of bake time (more as needed) until fully heated.
I'd say either 3 or 4 meatless stuffed shells per person. Count on 3 shells per person if you're serving them alongside other components of a meal and your crowd doesn't typically have giant appetites. Go with 4 stuffed shells if your crowd is comprised of big eaters (like me and my family). With these counts, this recipe will serve 6-8 people.
A nice salad (like a pear and Gorgonzola salad or kale caprese salad) and/or and a substantial vegetable side dish (think roasted broccoli or cauliflower, escarole and beans, etc.) make hearty side dishes that round out a meal of jumbo stuffed shells. If counting on 3 shells per person, I would for sure add on the vegetable side dish to ensure everyone has a full meal.
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Four Cheese Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce (can replace with your favorite 24- to 28-ounce jarred sauce)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Half of a large onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- Big pinch of kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup dry red or white wine or water
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
Cheese Filling
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese high-quality part-skim or whole milk
- 8 ounces Mascarpone
- 1 large egg beaten separately
- ¾ cup finely-shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
- 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 3 Tablespoons finely-chopped fresh basil
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Pasta
- 25-30 jumbo pasta shells (about 8 ounces, dry)
- Salt for salting the water
Topping
- 1 ¼ cups shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup finely-shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
Instructions
Marinara Sauce
- Add olive oil to a large sauté pan set over medium heat. Once heated, add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds before seasoning with a big pinch of kosher salt.
- Add tomato paste to the pan and use a wooden spoon to mash it around. Cook for 3-4 minutes to caramelize the flavors, then deglaze the pan by pouring in the wine (or water). Use the wooden spoon to scrape up any stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pan and stir them into the sauce.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the dried oregano and basil. Give everything a big stir and adjust the heat to a simmer. Partially cover the pan with a lid to prevent splattering, but leave as big of a crack as possible so steam can escape and the sauce thickens. Let it simmer as you prepare the rest of the dish, with an aim to simmer this sauce for 25 minutes, 30 maximum before removing the pan from the heat. Stir it periodically.
Cheese Filling
- Add ricotta (blot away any pooled moisture but straining is not necessary), Mascarpone, beaten egg, ¾ cup shredded Parmesan, fresh parsley, fresh basil, oregano, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, black pepper, thyme, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder. Stir everything until evenly combined.
Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it generously, then boil the jumbo pasta shells for 9 minutes, or the package-listed time for use in recipes in which the shells will be baked after being boiled if it differs. The brand I use calls out 9 minutes for baked stuffed shells, with a 12 minute time if serving them after just boiling.
- Drain the water and turn out the shells onto a large parchment paper-lined rimmed sheet pan so they can cool enough to comfortably handle. This will take several minutes. At this time arrange an oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 375°F.
Assembly
- Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, then pour all of the marinara sauce into the bottom. Spread it around evenly.
- Stuff each jumbo shell compactly with the cheese filling, right up to the top. Nestle the filled shells into the marinara sauce in the pan next to one another on an angle. I can usually fit around 25 shells in my dish, but your amount may differ slightly.
- Once all of the shells are stuffed and in the dish, evenly sprinkle the shredded mozzarella and ½ cup Parmesan over top.
- Spray one side of a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray, then cover the dish with the greased side down to prevent the cheese from sticking. Bake the stuffed shells covered for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Remove the foil and briefly broil until pockets of the cheese turn golden-brown (make sure your baking dish is broil-safe). Serve with fresh herbs like parsley or basil over top.
Notes
- Boil extra shells - Some inevitably will crack and break during the par-boil. I like to cook 3-4 extra to cover any extra that are needed.
- Jarred marinara shortcut - If using 24-28 ounces of jarred marinara, make sure you like the kind you're using as flavor and quality can really vary.
- Don't skip the foil while baking - Covering the dish helps trap in steam and moisture and prevents the pasta from drying out during the bake time.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
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