This is a recipe for Cheese and Pork Stuffed Jumbo Shells. Jumbo Pasta shells make a wonderful pocket for ground pork, ricotta and cottage cheese. A wonderful Italian comfort food casserole. Feeds a crowd, can be prepared in advance, great for the next time you’re having guests for dinner.
A declaration from the Ranch. This is, in fact, our new favorite pasta casserole. We loved it so much that I found myself feeling anxious while waiting to tell you about it.
Stuffed Jumbo Shells!
How long has it been since you’ve cooked with those big graceful shells? Aren’t they fun? They’re easy to cook. Easy to stuff. And they eagerly wrap and cradle your favorite ingredients to bake into bliss. They’re a great thing to make when you’re feeding a crowd…well, because they make everyone happy. And the best part is that you can stuff them with so many different ingredients, so you never get bored.
It’s a comfort-demanding time of year, it’s a casserole-demanding time of year, and it’s an oven-demanding time of year. So give this one a try while you’re still sporting your fleece lined slippers.
This recipe comes from Food and Wine Magazine. Jumbo pasta shells filled with a mixture ground pork, cheese, and panko. Covered with your favorite marinara and mozzarella … drop the mic killer. I changed it up a bit by combining ricotta and cottage cheese, as opposed to just ricotta …because that’s how we like our lasagna. I also added Italian spices and fennel seed to the marinara.
Recipe for Cheese and Pork Stuffed Jumbo Shells
I hope you give this stuffed jumbo shells recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a stuffed jumbo pasta shells recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
Related Recipes
And if you’re looking for big bold Italian Pasta meals you won’t want to miss this one for Bucatini Pasta with Short Ribs and Capers. And don’t miss my Pasta Category for even more recipes.
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Pork and Cheese Stuffed Jumbo Shells
Ingredients
- 12 ounces jumbo pasta shells
- 1 1/4 pounds ground pork lightly browned and grease drained
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 3/4 cup panko
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- 5 cups prepared marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1/2 pound fresh lightly salted mozzarella torn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°. 
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the shells until they are al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a baking sheet to cool slightly.
- In a fry pan, lightly brown the ground pork and drain.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the pork, ricotta, cottage cheese, panko, garlic, egg, Parmigiano, the 1/2 cup of parsley, 1/4 cup of the cream, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper; mix well.
- In a medium bowl, mix the marinara sauce with the remaining 1/4 cup of cream, the italian spices and fennel seed,, Spoon half of the sauce into a 9-by-13-inch casserole baking dish or lasagna pan. Stuff each shell with a heaping tablespoon of the filling and nestle in the sauce. Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells and scatter the mozzarella on top.
- Cover the baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer, until bubbling and 
the pork is cooked through. Let stand for 10 minutes, then garnish with parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Pork and Cheese Stuffed Jumbo Shells …They’re what’s for Dinner.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Looked and sounded great. I added chopped fresh spinach to the meat/cheese mix (just because) and made my own simple marinara. We all LOVE it. Stuffed shells are a switch up for us. A welcomed one. Thanks!!
Hi M. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know about the recipe. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s a popular one around our house. Make it a delicious day! 🙂
Those look really, really delicious. However, I’m scared that I’m going to make them and eat all of them myself because they’re going to be so good.
Exactly! These are the type of recipes that I just can’t put that fork down. 🙂
How about — yes! I grew up eating stuffed shells very similar (albeit not as fancy or delicious) as these. You’ve inspired me … and made me hungry, once again. Hope all is well on The Ranch.
Dang! I forgot about stuffed shells! I like them because you can eat 2 and not feel like you have overloaded! Yum!
This pasta dish sounds wonderful, love how you added cottage cheese to the mix. And the way you describe the shells makes me want to run out and pick up a box, great meal Lea Ann.
You know, I bought jumbo shells to make a recipe I saw a while ago and they are still in the pantry! I have some frozen, cooked pork shoulder in the freezer and am thinking about using some of it in this recipe instead. Delicious!
Jumbo shells are the best! I want to bake a pan of stuffed shells for dinner now. This is excellent comfort food.
You’re killing me. These look amazing and “Yes” it has been a LONG time since I made shells.