We’ve been eating a whole lot of chicken, fish, and veggies at our house lately. When my 7 year old son asked what was for dinner last night and I told him grilled chicken and broccoli, he about started crying. I wanted to join him. I realized we needed a little break from the same old and started browsing the Internet.
Last time I was in a major dinner rut I stumbled upon this Taco Pasta and heard nothing but praises at the dinner table. It was then that I decided the marriage of Mexican and Italian needed to happen again. Stuffed shells with a Mexican twist? Bingo. I love these Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells…but these Mexican Stuffed Shells are WAY easier and better for a busy day.
These were just what I was hoping they would be.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 16 jumbo pasta shells
- 1 1/2 cups salsa
- 1 cup taco sauce
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 cup Monterrey jack cheese
- 3 green onions
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a pan brown the ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Stir together and mix well. Set aside and cool completely.
- While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to package directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board or baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.
- Pour salsa on bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Evenly cover shells with taco sauce. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes with the foil removed. Top with green onions or olives if desired. Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.
Notes
Source: The Way to His Heart
Oh my gosh this sounds delicious. I absolutely love Mexican food and this has a nice spin to it. I might just have to try these
Oooo, if you like this recipe, you MUST try enchilada stuffed shells. I found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens about a year ago and it is easily my top 3 favorite recipes. I puree the peppers and onions…just an FYI.
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pasta/chicken-enchilada-pasta/
I love the Chicken and Spinach stuffed shells. They are a repeat meal in our home.
I’m going to have to try these too.
Mommy Sauri~
http://casadesauri.blogspot.com
OH. MY! I absolutely cannot wait to make this!! YUUUUM!
Ohhh Yum-town!! This looks perfectly fabulous!
~Megan
Holy amazingness! I am totally making this TONIGHT!!! Thanks for the recipe!
I just showed this to my nearly 10yo and he said MOM you have to make that! It looks AWESOME!!!
He’s my little mexican food lover so this is totally up his alley! I can’t wait to try it this weekend!!!!
Must try these!
I’ve used this recipe in the past and it’s always a hit!
To add a little crunch, I throw some crushed up tortilla chips on top of the shells, with shredded cheese in the last 10 minutes.
Yum!!
What a great idea! I am going to do that when I make this. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks. It’s on my Favorite Recipes Pin Board…can’t wait to make these for the kiddos.
Annemarie
Oh yum! This has my family’s name all over it!
sounds fantastic. All we’ve been eating lately is mexican food partly because it’s what has sounded good to my pregnant self…my husband finally said, “No more.” So I’m trying to cook more “American,” as he put it. But I will pin this to use in a few months.
What a great, unique recipe! Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad I found your blog! Your blog’s name drew me in and these shells sealed the deal.
What salsa do you use? I cant wait to make this!
Ashley, I just used pace picante but use your favorite.
I just made these for dinner tonight. They are SO GOOD! My 3 year old kept asking for more!
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
Oh great! Pace is my usual go to salsa, thanks
what a good idea! I love mexican and italian together
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These sound amazing, I’m definitely bookmarking these for future reference!
xx
Was going to make these, turns out my tiny little local grocery store does not believe in stuffing shells – no jumbo shells, no manicotti, nor any other such pasta. So Mexican Pasta it had to be. Thanks for sharing!
I make these almost weekly and love them! Want to know what takes them to the next level? Crumbled tortilla chips on the top before baking. O YUM!
I have absolutely nothing else to say apart from the fact that i HAVE to try this. Looks amazing!
http://teenytastytriumphs.blogspot.co.uk/
This recipe was absolutely delicious and was super easy. Thanks!
This looks like a dinner my family will LOVE! What a great combination with things I usually have handy.
mmm this looks so good.. I must make it soon
Making this tonight! Used Santa Fe cooking cream cheese instead of regular. Cant wait to eat!
I made these and my family loved them! Thanks for the recipe, it’s sure so become a family favorite.
I made this recipe this week and my husband LOVED IT. I’m already thinking about making it again, haha
@Jill,
Yay! Score! My husband loved them too.
Delicious! These are better than taco night!
These look fantastic and easy to make. Will definately be trying them soon!
Do you think you could bake these off the night before and re-heat / top with cheese the next day? I want to make these for a pot luck, but I can’t assemble at work.
-Melissa
@Mookyshine,
Totally! They are very forgiving. They definitely reheat well!
Can you make ahead and freeze? If so, at what point do you freeze? How do you reheat?
@carolinepsu,
I would definitely freeze them right after you stuff the shells. When ready to eat bake as directed in original directions.
Thanks! I’m making this recipe for a new mom and freezer-friendly meals are preferred
I made these for dinner tonight and they were SO yummy. My grocery store didn’t have shells so I stuffed them in Manicotti tubes and they worked out great. I have yet to make a recipe of yours that I don’t like!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
These looked so yummy I had to mention them in my post today about traditional stuffed shells and different variations you can make! To go see the post in my blog it can be seen here:
Last Night’s Dinner: Stuffed Shells
Tried these tonight…awesome!! My 9yo son, being a creature of habit insisted that I put his filling in a tortilla. Ah well, everyone else loved them. My husband had FIVE!! I also used shredded chicken instead and only had shredded cheddar cheese. I will definitely make these again. Oh and I’ve never, ever in my life eaten any type of stuffed shells. It’s just something my mom never made and I never did either. Glad I decided to try these. Due to my lack of experience making any type of stuffed pasta, I was a little clumsy and my kitchen is a wreck! But that’s okay…practice makes perfect and as mentioned, it’s on my list of regular recipes. Thanks so much!!!!
Made this for dinner last night and everyone loved it. Definitely adding to our menu!!
We had “taco night” once a week in our house and I seem to be the only person who gets sick of it. This recipe is a nice change of pace! One week, I over-made taco beef, stuck it in the freezer, and then just thawed it out while the shells were cooking so I could make these. These were a HUGE hit! Thank you for giving me a respite from traditional tacos!
Can these be frozen? They look wonderful
@Anonymous,
I think they would freeze wonderfully but I haven’t tried it. I been able to freeze other stuffed shells than bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes so I would do the same with these.
I’m on my second round of making this recipe and what I found the first time was that 1 lb of meat even adding in minced vegetables or about 1/2-3/4C total (onion, celery, red pepper, jalapeno, etc) that 20 jumbo shells was too many or there was insufficient meat. Bad ratio of pasta to filling.
You can make 20 shells but plan on filling 15 leaving a few for the broken ones. I packed the 15 shells in an 8×8 pan. It made for a better ratio of the thick pasta to meat.
I’m thinking next time to try refried beans either 1/2 and 1/2 with cream cheese or instead of but it’s definitely a bit much on the cream cheese.
Hint too, if you make it and don’t care as much for it as you thought come back to it the next day or so because it definitely improves with time that way.
mMGWnF I appreciate you sharing this article.Thanks Again. Really Cool.
I am going to make this one too! When I first clicked on the recipe, I was expecting something different. I was pleasantly surprised. Thanks for posting!
I finally made this tonight, and it’s definitely a keeper!! We loved this recipe!
Oh, and the leftovers are just as amazing as the first time!
My friends and I made this recipe the other night and it was SO delicious! I’m inviting other friends over tonight to make it! Last time we didn’t make enough and all wanted more, so this time I’ll be sure to buy more shells! It’s great served with black beans and rice on the side. Thanks so much for sharing!
I love this. I make a double batch for potlucks and always have a request for it when they come up.
I used Ground Turkey (93%Lean•7%fat), Fat Free Cheddar, Fat Free Sour Cream, Fat Free Cream Cheese, a little of Reduced fat Mexican Cheese. I added low sodium black beans and corn mixed with the turkey. I served it over a bed of spinach. So yummy.
YUMMY