Twenty-four jumbo shells, three and a half hours, and one slow cooker doing what an oven would otherwise do — with the meat sauce made on the hob first.
There are two temperatures in this recipe and they are not the same. The ground beef reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit in the skillet before it ever enters the cooker; the ricotta filling contains egg and reaches at least 165 in the finished dish.
Why This Recipe Works
- Boiling the shells five minutes short leaves room for them to finish in sauce over three hours.
- Browning the beef and building the sauce on the hob means nothing raw goes into a slow cooker.
- Half a cup of water loosens a jar of marinara enough to surround the shells.
- Egg in the ricotta sets the filling so it stays inside the shell rather than running out.
- Ten covered minutes at the end is enough to melt the last of the cheese without more cooking.
Ingredient Notes
- Jumbo pasta shells
- Twenty-four, boiled about five minutes short of the packet time. Underdone on purpose; three hours in sauce finishes them.
- Ricotta and egg
- Fifteen ounces of ricotta bound with one large egg. The egg is what sets the filling, and it is why the finished dish has a temperature to reach.
- Mozzarella and Parmesan, both divided
- A cup of mozzarella and a quarter cup of Parmesan go into the filling; the rest goes on top for the last ten minutes.
- Marinara and water
- One 24 oz jar with half a cup of water. The water is what lets the sauce move around and over the shells rather than sitting under them.
How to Make It
Shells, five minutes short
Boil shells about 5 minutes less than package directions; drain and cool enough to handle.
Meat sauce to 160F
Brown ground beef with onion until the meat reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit; add garlic for 30 seconds, then stir in marinara and water.
Mix the ricotta filling
Mix ricotta, egg, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Fill and arrange snugly
Spread meat sauce in the slow cooker. Fill shells with ricotta mixture and arrange snugly in a single layer or two shallow layers, spooning meat sauce around and over them.
LOW, two and a half to three hours
Cook on LOW 2 1/2 to 3 hours until pasta is tender and the filling is hot throughout.
Cheese, ten minutes, basil
Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan, cover 10 minutes to melt, then finish with basil.
Two Temperatures and Two Deliberate Undercooks
A slow cooker is a forgiving piece of equipment and this recipe still has four points that decide the result. Two of them are numbers, and two of them are things done on purpose that look like mistakes.
Step 1 - the shells
About 5 minutes LESS than the packet says.
24 jumbo shells then spend 2 1/2 to 3 hours in sauce. Boiled to the packet time here, they arrive at the table collapsed. Drained and cooled enough to handle, because a hot shell tears when it is filled.
Step 2 - the beef, before the cooker
160F in the skillet, with the onion, BEFORE any of it goes in.
160F is the USDA figure for ground beef. It is checked on the hob because a slow cooker brings food up to temperature slowly, and raw mince does not belong in that window. The garlic then gets 30 seconds and the 24 oz jar of marinara and 1/2 cup of water go in on top.
Step 5 - the filling
Hot throughout, and at least 165F.
15 oz of ricotta bound with 1 large egg is an egg dish sealed inside pasta. It is the slowest part of the pot to come up, and 165F is the standard for a casserole containing egg.
Step 6 - the last cheese
Added at the END, then covered for 10 minutes only.
1/2 cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan held back from the filling. Put in at the start they would be lost into the sauce over three hours; ten covered minutes melts them into the dusted top the finished dish shows, and then 1/3 cup of basil goes on off the heat.
Success Tips
- Cool the shells enough to handle before filling them; hot shells tear.
- Arrange them snugly rather than piled deep, so the sauce reaches all of them.
- Add the last of the cheese only at the end — ten covered minutes is all it needs.
Serving Ideas
Six servings from the white oval dish, the large stuffed shells in the chunky red meat sauce, dusted with Parmesan and finished with fresh basil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are there two temperatures?
They are for two different things. The ground beef is cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit before it goes into the cooker; the ricotta filling contains egg and reaches at least 165 in the finished dish.
Why undercook the shells?
They spend two and a half to three hours in sauce. Boiled to the packet time first, they would be soft long before the dish is ready.
How is this different from the spinach and ricotta stuffed shells?
This one is built on a beef meat sauce. That one is the spinach and ricotta version and carries no meat.
