Makeover Easy Beef-Stuffed Shells

Name: Makeover Easy Beef-Stuffed Shells
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 10 servings.
Cuisine: Comfort Food Dinner Recipes, Comfort Food Recipes, Italian Dinners, Italian Recipes
Ingredients: 20 uncooked jumbo pasta shells; 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean); 1 large onion, chopped; 1 medium green pepper, chopped; 1-1/4 cups reduced-fat ricotta cheese; 1-1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Italian cheese blend, divided; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1/4 cup prepared pesto; 1 large egg, lightly beaten; 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained; 1 can (8 ounces) no-salt-added tomato sauce; 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Enjoy the convenience of this make-ahead dish or bake right away. Either way, it has half the saturated fat of the original recipe but is just as meaty. —Blair Lonergan, Rochelle, Virginia

Ingredients

20 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1-1/4 cups reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1-1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Italian cheese blend, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup prepared pesto
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 ounces) no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1 cup Italian cheese blend, Parmesan cheese, pesto, egg and half of the beef mixture.
In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Spread 3/4 cup into a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon cheese mixture into pasta shells; place in baking dish. Combine remaining beef mixture and tomato mixture; spoon over shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Nutrition Facts

2 stuffed shells: 295 calories, 12g fat (5g saturated fat), 70mg cholesterol, 436mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate (7g sugars, 2g fiber), 22g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1-1/2 starch, 1 fat.

Originally published as Easy Beefy Stuffed Shells in Healthy Cooking February/March 2012

Reviews

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Average Rating:

tweetygrl

Sep 9, 2014

I sprinkled a little bit of table salt on my plate because it came out a little bland in my opinion. Otherwise it was very tasty. Kinda messy to make, but it was my first time trying it. I will be smarter next time.
auburnsky

May 19, 2012

I found this recipe to be easy and delicious! I've made it twice now with rave reviews.
ahmom

Mar 24, 2012

This was really good but was missing something. Perhaps garlic.I think I'll caramelize the onions the next time.
birdie425

Mar 8, 2012

Delicious and easy and best of all, my 2 year old loves it! I use ground turkey instead of beef because I prefer it, and it turns out great!
lovestocook1949

Mar 8, 2012

This looks delicious. Do you think it would work with small shells mixed in like a baked casserole? My young grandson loves pasta but, I'm not sure about the big shells.
Voluptuosa

Feb 29, 2012

Sorry one more thing...I thought at first 20 shells wasnt really alot..There are 3 of us eating at the moment instead of 4... 20 were PLENTY with all the meat and stuffing in the recipe. :)
Voluptuosa

Feb 29, 2012

Both my kids gave me A plus on the dish and requested me to make copies for the cookbooks Im making them using 3 ring binders. As someone pointed out it dirtied up a few dishes, but was worth it! I clean as I go so everything rinsed and got put in the dishwasher. I uesd diced tomatoes that had mild green chilies in them, but you couldnt really tell. Will DEFINATLEY make again!!
Cathy Radmann

Feb 27, 2012

My family loved this recipe, although my son (9) doesn't like "chunky" tomatoes. So next time will use a no-sugar-no-salt tomatoe sauce instead of the diced tomatoes. Very flavorful!
msylvia923

Feb 15, 2012

It was a little time consuming, as most stuffed shells are to make, but was very delicious. I will definitely make this again.
KWhitehead

Feb 14, 2012

Delicious, but I don't know that I would classify it as easy. I have some other healthy stuffed shell recipes that are far easier. This dirtied up a number of pans and took quite a while to put together. I do think it was delicious enough to warrant all of the work...I just don't think it was easy. :)