• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to recipes navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Contact

Brooklyn Farm Girl

Cooking And Gardening in NYC

PopularStewed Tomatoes
let's be friends
join my free recipe club!
  • New? Start Here
  • recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Desserts
      • Dinner
      • Drinks
      • Side Dishes
      • Snacks
    • Type
      • 30 Minute Meals
      • Breads
      • Brownies & Bars
      • Cakes
      • Casseroles
      • Cheesy
      • Cookies
      • Dips
      • Donuts
      • Holidays
      • Kid Friendly
      • Mac and Cheese
      • Muffins
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Potluck
      • Salads
      • Smoothies
      • Sneaky Vegetables
      • Soups
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
    • Meat
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Turkey
    • Method
      • Baked
      • Canning
      • Drying & Storing
      • Freezing
      • Instant Pot
      • Roasted
      • Slow Cooker
      • Stovetop
    • Season
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Fall
      • Winter
  • Vegetable Index
  • Urban Gardening
    • Let’s Harvest
    • Tutorials
    • Seed Calendar
    • Compost in Brooklyn
  • About Me
    • About Pamela
    • Our Garden
    • Editorial Guidelines
  • Life & motherhood
    • Journal
    • Motherhood
    • Our Upstate Adventure
    • Cats, Cats, Cats
    • Crafts
  • Videos
  • PopularStewed Tomatoes
Home » Recipe Type » Pasta
5 from 1 review

Beef and Ricotta-Stuffed Jumbo Shells Casserole

50 minutes
garlicmushroomsoregano
By: Pamela Reed
Posted:11/8/23
Updated:5/27/25
Jump to Recipe

This is such an easy pasta casserole! My recipe for stuffed jumbo pasta shells is made with ground beef, button mushrooms, and ricotta cheese; it all bakes together under a blanket of jarred marinara and mozzarella cheese. Dinner is ready in less than 1 hour!

spatula lifting out stuffed shell from baking dish.

Beef and Ricotta Stuffed Shells for Dinner!

Stuffed Shells are the ultimate comfort food. I mean, what’s not to love about pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese, ground beef, and mushrooms, all covered in tomato sauce and melty mozzarella? Is your mouth watering yet?

I originally came up with this recipe as a way to cut back on how much ground beef we use—for both budget reasons and because we’re trying to eat a little less meat. Ground beef is expensive! This recipe only uses half a pound, making it stretch for multiple meals. (Use the other half to make potato ground beef casserole!)

My family loves these stuffed shells for dinner. Sometimes I make them ahead of time and just pop them in the oven when I get home from work—easy, no-fuss, and everyone’s happy. We usually serve them with Italian bread or Bread Machine Garlic Bread, plus a roasted veggie on the side. Roasted broccoli is our go-to.

pan filled with baked cheesy stuffed shells.

Best mushrooms for stuffed shells?

I recommend white button or crimini mushrooms for stuffed shells.  They both have a simple flavor that won’t overpower the other ingredients.

ricotta mushroom mixture inside stuffed shells.

How to Make Stuffed Shells

TIP for getting shells not to stick together: Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the water while boiling the shells. This prevents the shells from sticking to each other while cooking and after you drain them.

Cook shells in a large pot of salted water. Drain and set aside. Note: We are cooking the shells a little less time than the box says because we are going to bake them. This prevents them from going too soft once baked.

stuffed shells drained and cooked.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Add mushrooms with ground beef and keep cooking until mushrooms are soft. The mushrooms will release liquid while cooking, so drain off any extra liquid or fat.

ground beef and mushrooms cooked together in skillet.

Add ricotta, eggs, minced garlic and oregano into the skillet and mix to fully combine.

ricotta mixture for stuffed shells.

Grab a 9×13 baking dish and add 1 cup of marinara sauce to coat the bottom.

marinara sauce on bottom of baking dish.

Using a spoon, add about 2 teaspoons of the beef/mushroom/ricotta mixture into each shell.

stuffed shells filled with ricotta mixture.

Fill shells until all the mixture is gone. This will make about 35-40 shells, close to a full box.

baking dish filled with stuffed shells.

Pour remaining marinara sauce on top of the shells.

marinara sauce being poured on stuffed shells.

Now sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

shredded mozzarella cheese on top of stuffed shells.

Bake until cheese melts and lightly browns. Serve and enjoy these delicious stuffed shells!

baked stuffed shells being served.

How to Store Leftovers and Reheat

Leftover stuffed shells will last 3-4 days in an airtight container stored in the refrigerator. When ready to reheat you can bake covered with aluminum foil at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until heated, or throw in the microwave until warmed up.

Pin for later:

Cheesy Stuffed Shells with Ground Beef and Mushrooms recipe that my family always devours!  These hearty stuffed shells use chopped mushrooms instead of doubling the ground beef to sneak in extra nutrition and make them cheaper.   Ricotta and mozzarella are added into each shell to give them the classic homemade stuffed shells taste you love!
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
Free Recipe Club
5 from 1 review

Beef and Ricotta-Stuffed Jumbo Shells Casserole

Print
This is such an easy pasta casserole! My recipe for stuffed jumbo pasta shells is made with ground beef, button mushrooms, and ricotta cheese; it all bakes together under a blanket of jarred marinara and mozzarella cheese. Dinner is ready in less than 1 hour!
By: Pamela Reed
Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time 50 minutes minutes
serves 8

Ingredients

  • 12 ounce package jumbo pasta shells
  • 8 ounces ground beef
  • 8 ounces button mushrooms finely minced
  • 15 ounce container ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 24 ounce jar marinara sauce
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in shells, cooking for 9 minute (we’re cooking them a little less than box time since we’re baking them in the oven next). Drain shells. Tip: Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the water while boiling the shells. This prevents the shells from sticking to each other.
  • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until browned. Add mushrooms with ground beef and continue cooking until mushrooms are softened. During this time the mushrooms will release liquid. Once cooked, drain liquid and fat. Remove skillet from burner.
  • Add ricotta cheese, eggs, minced garlic, oregano and salt and pepper into the skillet, mixing to fully combine the ingredients together.
  • Add 1 cup of the marinara sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, stirring around to fully coat.
  • Using a spoon, add in about 2 teaspoons of ground beef/mushroom mixture into each shell. Place the shells in the baking dish.
  • Spread remaining tomato sauce over the shells. Sprinkle the shells with mozzarella cheese.
  • Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until cheese melts and lightly browns. Serve and enjoy!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Beef stuffed shells, Stuffed shells with ricotta and meat 
Did you make this?I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @BrooklynFarmGirl and don’t forget to leave a comment & rating below.

Similar Recipes

  • Classic Stuffed Peppers
  • Cheesy Taco Pasta Casserole with Ground Beef
  • Potato Hamburger Casserole (Ground Beef)
  • Unstuffed Bell Pepper Casserole with Ground Beef

Reader Interactions

join the free recipe club

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight To Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

5 from 1 vote

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

I love hearing from you! Submit your question or recipe review here. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this? Rate this recipe:





  1. Kim says

    November 10, 2023 at 7:33 pm

    Looks so good! Can’t wait to make this! Previously, I’ve heard to do something to the Ricotta Cheese. Is that necessary here? TIA! Love your site!!!

    Reply
  2. Jamie Light says

    November 8, 2023 at 6:05 pm

    I love this recipe. But, I have a small problem. My grown daughter despises Ricotta cheese. Can I use a different cheese in place of the Ricotta? I welcome any and all suggestions from you and your commentors.🤗🤗🤗

    Reply
    • Pamela Reed says

      November 9, 2023 at 9:17 am

      How does she feel about cottage cheese? That’s a great ricotta replacement! Or if she’s not into any creamy cheeses you could saute some veggies (onions, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, garlic) and then use to add to the stuffing mixture, along with some additional mozzarella. Hope this helps!!

      Reply
      • Jamie Light says

        November 9, 2023 at 5:31 pm

        Thank you so much for your help 😊

        Reply
  3. Betty J Schweitzer says

    November 8, 2023 at 2:40 pm

    Can leftovers be frozen

    Reply
    • Pamela Reed says

      November 8, 2023 at 2:48 pm

      Absolutely! I like to wrap in plastic wrap and then place in freezer bags. Then pop them in the freezer!

      Reply
      • Betty J Schweitzer says

        November 8, 2023 at 3:29 pm

        Thank you for such a quick response. I am adding this recipe to my monthly menu

        Reply
  4. Pamela says

    November 8, 2023 at 1:46 pm

    Can’t wait to try this…sounds delicious:):)

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

welcome!

Hi! I'm Pamela, an artist Mom who shares family recipes. My farm is a 1,000 sq ft apartment in NYC. Let's make dinner together.

Read More

join the free
recipe club!

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight to Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

TOP POSTS

Half Sour Pickles

The Best Stewed Tomatoes Ever

Unstuffed Bell Pepper Casserole with Ground Beef

Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

Recipe Index
Vegetable Index
Follow On Facebook
Follow On Instagram
Free Recipe Club

fresh this week view all

How to Store and Freeze Fresh Blueberries

Irish Potato Candy (Pennsylvania Dutch)

Classic Stuffed Peppers

Peanut Butter Protein Cookies

As Featured On
free recipe club!
Get weekly recipes, videos, and gardening tips to your inbox!
join the club!
EST. 2013
let's be friends
  • Recipe Index
  • Veggie Index
  • Urban Gardening
  • Web Stories
Back To Top
© 2025 - All Rights Reserved
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

join the recipe club!

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight to Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

69 shares

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.