Italian Sausage Stuffed Shells

Italian sausage stuffed shells are a make-ahead pasta bake that feeds a full table. Brown a pound of ground Italian sausage, fold it into ricotta with mozzarella, Parmesan and herbs, and spoon the filling into par-cooked jumbo shells. Bake them in marinara at 375 degrees, covered and then uncovered, until the cheese melts and the sauce bubbles at the edges, about 40 minutes.

The sausage does most of the seasoning. Italian sausage is usually flavored with garlic and fennel, and once it is browned it gives the mild cheese filling the savory backbone it needs. You need very little else.

At a glance: serves 6 to 8, about 30 shells. Prep 30 minutes, cook about 50 minutes, rest 10 minutes.

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PP Pork Italian Sausage, Ground

This recipe uses 1 lb ground Italian pork sausage, enough for a 9-by-13-inch pan of shells.

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Cooking for a full freezer instead? See the 1/8 beef share subscription.

Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, was asked what he wants people to think of when they hear the name Shipley Farms. He was talking about the farm, not about pasta, and this was his answer:

“I want people to think of Shipley Farms as, as a, as a great member of the community, as somebody in some place that they can enjoy and appreciate and feel welcome and feel connected.”

Gray Shipley

His answer was about welcome and connection, and few dishes carry that idea into a home kitchen better than a big pan of stuffed shells. It feeds eight, it holds well, it travels under foil, and it is the kind of thing people bring to a neighbor with a new baby or a family that has had a hard week. If you are making it for someone else, the make-ahead and freezing notes below are for you.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground Italian pork sausage
• 1 box (12 ounces) jumbo pasta shells
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt, for the pasta water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little for the shells
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 15 ounces whole-milk ricotta (about 2 cups)
• 2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella (8 ounces), divided
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (about 3 ounces), divided
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more to serve
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, for the filling
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups marinara sauce (one 32-ounce jar, or homemade)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the middle. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the 2 tablespoons of salt.
2. Cook the shells for 2 minutes less than the package says, stirring gently now and then so they do not stick; they finish cooking in the oven. Drain, rinse under cool water, and spread them open side down on a lightly oiled sheet pan so they do not stick together. A few will tear, and a 12-ounce box holds more than you need.
3. While the pasta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it into small crumbles, for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned with no pink remaining. Ground sausage is done at 160 degrees F. Stir in the garlic for the last minute, spoon off any excess fat, and let the sausage cool for 5 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, the egg, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Fold in the sausage.
5. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the marinara over the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
6. Fill each shell with a heaping 2 tablespoons of filling and set it in the dish, filling side up, in snug rows. You should get about 30.
7. Spoon the remaining marinara over and around the shells, then scatter the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the top.
8. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the cheese has melted, the sauce is bubbling at the edges and the center of the dish reads 165 degrees F. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then scatter with parsley and serve.

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How to make stuffed shells ahead

Assemble the whole dish through step 7, cover it tightly and refrigerate it until you are ready to bake, earlier the same day or the night before. Because it goes into the oven cold, add about 15 minutes to the covered bake, then uncover and finish as written. Check the center with an instant-read thermometer: it should read 165 degrees F, the FSIS figure for casseroles.

How to freeze stuffed shells

Stuffed shells freeze well. Assemble them in a foil or metal pan rather than glass, which can crack going from the freezer into a hot oven. Wrap the pan tightly in plastic and then foil, label it, and freeze. To bake, either thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and bake as for the make-ahead version, or bake it straight from frozen: keep the foil on and bake at 375 degrees for about 1 hour, then uncover and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, until bubbling and 165 degrees F in the center. Use it within a few months for the best texture.

For a smaller household, freeze filled shells on a parchment-lined sheet pan until firm, then pack them into freezer bags. Bake a few at a time in a small dish with sauce, covered, for 35 to 45 minutes from frozen.

Choosing the sausage

Ground Italian sausage is the easiest choice, since there are no casings to strip. Links work too: slit the casings, squeeze out the meat and brown it the same way. With hot Italian sausage, the cool ricotta filling is a good balance. Chorizo makes a smokier, spicier pan, and the comparison below explains how the two sausages differ.

Serving stuffed shells

Figure on four or five shells per person, with a green salad and garlic bread. For a dinner party, a pan of shells can be assembled in the morning and baked as guests arrive, which leaves you free for everything else. Leftovers reheat well, covered, in a 350-degree oven until hot through.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 160 degrees F as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground meats, and Italian sausage is ground meat. Crumbled sausage cooks through quickly; brown it fully, and if you are unsure, push a mound of crumbles together in the pan and check it with an instant-read thermometer. FSIS lists 165 degrees F for casseroles and for reheating leftovers, so check the center of the dish too. Wash your hands, board and utensils after handling the raw sausage, and refrigerate leftovers promptly. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.