Name: Sausage Stuffed Shells
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 22 jumbo pasta shells; 400 grams smoked sausage (diced, (14 oz)); 750 grams Ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese, (1½ lb), Shortcut); 1 egg; ½ teaspoon dried basil; ½ teaspoon dried oregano; 2 tablespoons dried parsley (or 2 cups fresh, chopped); 1½ cups Mozzarella Cheese (shredded, (6 oz / 170 g)); ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated); 2 cups spaghetti sauce (Shortcut)

Sausage Stuffed Shells

Adapted from a smoked sausage recipe book from 1986.

This was a new recipe for me to prepare as I have never used jumbo pasta shells. This is a simple recipe that is delicious! Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Total Time 55

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Equipment

Oven
Baking Pan (9x13 inch)

Ingredients

22 jumbo pasta shells
400 grams smoked sausage, diced, (14 oz)
750 grams Ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese, (1½ lb), Shortcut
1 egg
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried parsley, or 2 cups fresh, chopped
1½ cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, (6 oz / 170 g)
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups spaghetti sauce, Shortcut

Instructions

Heat a pot of salted water to boiling then add the pasta shells and cook until just tender. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, dice the sausage. Dicing the sausage probably takes the longest time. (The sausage I used was Hillshire Farms that weighed in at 14 oz / about 400 g. The photo shows the type of sausage used and the amount of diced sausage from one link.)
Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F) and get out a 9x13 baking pan.
Add the ricotta or cottage cheese to a mixing bowl, crack in the egg and mix together. Add the basil, oregano, and parsley and mix that in. Then add the Mozzarella and Parmesan and mix that in.
Now add the diced sausage to the cheese mixture and mix that in.
Add ¾ cup of the spaghetti sauce to the 9x13 baking dish and spread that evenly over the bottom (tilting and shaking the pan works great). Take a drained pasta shell and fill using about 1½ heaping teaspoons of the filling, place the filled shells in the pan.
Repeat filling the shells and placing in the dish in order. I could have easily put in 21 shells, 3 rows of 7, but miscounted and I had one break, so the lower left corner I just put the broken shell and excess filling. 22 shells are stated in the ingredients, this is to allow for one breaking during cooking, and if it does not, just go ahead and squeeze that one into one of the rows.
Take the remaining spaghetti sauce and pour that over the middle of the shells. Bake for 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place on the table in the pan and serve family style.
Spoon onto plates and enjoy with sides of your choice.