Stuffed shells are a dinnertime classic, and I’ve taken my version to the next level with this super easy Sausage Stuffed Shells recipe! A rich Italian sausage sauce is spiked with red pepper and lemon before being spooned into tender shells with a creamy filling, and baked under a thick blanket of golden, bubbling cheese! What could be better?!
Looking for more easy pasta recipes? You HAVE to try my Tuscan Sausage Pasta, Best Easy Lasagna, Creamy Red Pepper Pasta, Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta and my go-to Easy Cheese Tortellini Pasta!
Why This Recipe Works
It really delivers on flavor: As well as the delicious flavor of Italian sausage, you’re enhancing your favorite jar of marinara sauce with onion, garlic and crushed red pepper for the ultimate sausage sauce for these stuffed shells.
It’s inspired by a classic Italian sausage sauce: The additions of grated lemon zest and a splash of milk to tenderize the sausage often found in classic sauces makes these meat stuffed shells just that little bit more special.
You can adapt them to suit what you have to hand: The sauce will work just as well with ground beef, and you can use creme fraiche, mascarpone or ricotta alongside the sauce inside the shells, so you don’t have to open a new pot of dairy just to make this!
Ingredients
- Olive oil: To fry off the onion, sausage and aromatics.
- Brown or white onion: Chopped, for depth of flavor.
- Salt: To balance the nice savory flavors in this baked pasta dish.
- Italian sausage: Choose a plain one or something flavored with herbs.
- Crushed garlic: For an extra layer of flavor.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: To add a touch of warmth.
- Marinara sauce: To make a rich tomato sauce.
- Cracked black pepper: To taste.
- Milk: To make the sauce richer and the sausage more tender.
- Lemon zest: This adds a lovely brightness and lifts the tomato sauce.
- Giant pasta shells: Perfect for stuffing!
- Creme fraiche: To add creaminess without being too rich. If you can’t find it mascarpone or ricotta would be a good substitute here.
- Shredded mozzarella: For a nice cheesy top!
- Shredded basil: To finish.
Here’s How To Make It
Step by Step Instructions
- Cook the onion: Heat the oil over a medium high heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Once it is shimmering, add the onion with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes, or until soft and slightly golden. (photo 1)
- Cook the sausage: Add the sausage, breaking it up with the back of your spoon. Cook until browned. (photos 2-3)
- Add the aromatics: Stir in the crushed garlic and red pepper flakes, cooking for a further few minutes until the garlic is aromatic. (photo 4)
- Simmer the sauce: Stir in the marinara sauce, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to medium low, season well with black pepper, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. (photos 5-6)
- Finish the sauce: Stir in the milk and the lemon zest, and simmer for a further 10 minutes. (photos 7-8)
- Cook the pasta: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F and cook the pasta shells as per the packets instructions in a pan of boiling, salted water. You want them to be just tender, but still with a good amount of bite. Drain and set aside. (not pictured)
- Season: Check to see if you want to add any more salt or pepper to the sauce before assembling the shells. (not pictured)
- Stuff the shells: Spoon a generous amount of the sauce into the bottom of a large oven dish or shallow casserole. Then, to assemble the shells, spoon a little creme fraiche or ricotta into each one, topping up with sauce, then nestling join side up in the pan. (photos 9-10)
- Add the cheese: Spoon over any remaining sauce, and scatter over the shredded cheese. (photo 11)
- Bake: Bake for 20-25 minutes until the sauce is bubbling, and the cheese is melty and golden. (not pictured)
- Rest before serving: Rest for 5 minutes before sprinkling over the shredded basil and serving. (photo 12)
Expert Tips
- Use the right sauce. If you live outside the US and a good jarred marinara sauce is not available, substitute a standard 680ml bottle of passata instead.
- Cook extra shells. Some are guaranteed to tear or stick to the bottom of the pan so cook a few extra if there is some left in the pack to make sure you have enough to stuff.
- Make it ahead. You can assemble the pasta up to the night before you want to serve it, baking it right from the refrigerator, just adding an extra 5 minutes of baking time. You can also make the sauce up to 3 days in advance, or store it in the freezer for up to 3 months – it also works as a regular pasta sauce!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Choose a nice fat shape like ziti or rigatoni, and layer the creme fraiche with the pasta in the pan before topping with the cheese.
A couple of handfuls of fresh spinach stirred into the sauce would be great if you’ve got a bag that needs using up.
More Easy Sausage Recipes To Try
- Easy Creamy Tuscan Sausage Pasta Recipe
- Easy Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Sausage
- Simple Chicken and Sausage Pasta
- Easy Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
- Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Sausage and Vegetables
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown onion - chopped
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 ½ tsp crushed garlic
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- cracked black pepper
- ½ cup milk
- 1 lemon - zest only
- 8 oz giant pasta shells - approx. 28
- 1 cup creme fraiche - or mascarpone or ricotta cheese
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
- ¼ cup shredded basil
Instructions
- Heat the oil over a medium high heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Once it is shimmering, add the onion with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes, or until soft and slightly golden.
- Add the sausage, breaking it up with the back of your spoon. Cook until browned.Stir in the crushed garlic and red pepper flakes, cooking for a further few minutes until the garlic is aromatic.
- Stir in the marinara sauce, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to medium low, season well with black pepper, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and the lemon zest, and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F and cook the pasta shells as per the packets instructions in a pan of boiling, salted water. You want them to be just tender, but still with a good amount of bite. Drain and set aside.
- Check to see if you want to add any more salt or pepper to the sauce before assembling the shells.
- Spoon a generous amount of the sauce into the bottom of a large oven dish or shallow casserole. Then, to assemble the shells, spoon a little creme fraiche into each one, topping up with sauce, then nestling join side up in the pan.
- Spoon over any remaining sauce, and scatter over the shredded cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the sauce is bubbling, and the cheese is melty and golden.
- Rest for 5 minutes before sprinkling over the shredded basil and serving.
WOW! That looks so good!!
This pasta looks sensational. I’m always on the lookout for great ways to use pasta and this recipe looks like a winner!
How do you usually cook the broccoli before?
You can steam it (in the microwave) or boil it until tender.
Looks delicious! What Alfredo sauce do you use?
Hi Jesica! When I don’t make my own, I always grab Bertolli brand – I love it!
Newman’s Own alfredo sauce is very good, especially the one with garlic.
Not fair. You get a 30-minute total time by cooking broccoli and pasta ahead of time.
Not fair?
Yes. Not fair. You get the 15-minute cooking time (and thus the 30-minute total time) by arbitrarily eliminating the cooking of the broccoli and the pasta from the cooking time of this recipe. This saying it is a 30-minute recipe when it isn’t.
From dictionary.com
not fair; not conforming to approved standards, as of justice, honesty, or ethics.
So I stand by my comment. Arbitrarily eliminating half the cooking time (pasta and broccoli) and listing this recipe 15 minutes for cooking time is Not honest. Not ethical. Not fair.
I’m pretty sure she didn’t put that to be mean. It did say 15 min prep time once the broccoli was cooked.. and depending on how you decide to cook the broccoli it only adds a couple minutes.
I didn’t say it was to be mean, but it was less than true.
Because it’s not just the broccoli, but also the pasta. If it takes 10 minutes for the water to boil, and 10 minutes to cook the pasta, then this 30-minute meal takes 50 minutes.
If we eliminate most of the cooking time from other recipes, wouldn’t a lot more recipes be “30 minutes or less”? It should be the same rules for all recipes. and I just think that if you say the 30 minutes includes cooking time, it should include the cooking time.
BOOOOOOO. Did you make it? Was it good? Or did you run out of time before your rotten kids got home because you spent too much time arguing about prep time.