Authentic Australian recipe that I inherited from my mother. Originally, these delectable bikkies (biscuits) were cooked with care and sent to our soldiers serving overseas in care packages. Since I am an Australian residing in Japan, I am aware that the substitutes are effective because I have had to apply them.
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
- 3 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
- 1 (16 ounce) package finely shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, plus more for garnish if desired
- 1 (24 ounce) jar prepared marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook shells in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet; place drained pasta on baking sheet to cool.
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- Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet. Cook and crumble sausage until it has lost its pink color and begins to brown. Remove from heat; drain off grease. Stir 1/2 of the shredded cheese and Italian seasoning into browned sausage.
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- Spoon sausage mixture into pasta shells (1 to 2 tablespoons per shell). Arrange stuffed shells in the prepared baking dish.
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- Pour marinara sauce evenly over the shells. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
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- Bake in the preheated oven until heated through and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake until browned, 5 to 10 more minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of Italian seasoning, if desired.
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- If you don’t like a lot of sauce, adjust the amount to suit your taste. You can use parsley flakes for garnish instead of Italian seasoning.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 578 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 57 g |
| Cholesterol | 60 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 1171 mg |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 25 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This recipe is fantastic! Have made this multiple times and last night I used the hints of adding spinach and extra sauce to the sausage mixture. My company loved it. I was able to stuff about 30 shells following the recipe. Also not a ricotta fan so this is a winner. One of my new favorites when I have guests!
I made it to the recipe. We really enjoyed it. Very simple to make.
Very good!
Delicious and easy.
This recipe was fabulous and quite easy to make, will definitely be making it again in the future.
It was fine with some important changes. I substituted EVOO for the vegetable oil. First because olive oil is much healthier, and second because… well, ITALIAN! Second, I wouldn’t use that dreadful Italian seasoning to cook for my dog, and do not allow it in my kitchen. I used fresh oregano, basil and garlic from my garden. My marina was also made from scratch, but only because I’m using up the last of my home canned sauces from last year. The results were quite good, but unlike the author, we missed the ricotta.
Thought this alternative to traditional stuffed shells was great. Followed the recipe ingredients exactly but since I stuffed the shells when they were hot, I baked them uncovered for 15 minutes. Turned out delicious and family asked me to add this to the dinner rotation.
Enjoy making with the family
Very Good, but somewhat bland. I will definitely make it again, though a little spicier. Very easy, but way too many shells.
I tweaked the recipe a bit adding 1/2 block of cream cheese to the sausage mixture also I doubled the sausage. It was a hit! Will make this again.
This recipe needs seasoned ricotta cheese then and homemade sauce not jar sauce sorry, then its a 5 star
I Lovr Everything With PASTA & CHEESE!
I only needed 1/2 box of the shells, had enough meat mixture to fill 23 shells. This was so easy to make and was packed full of flavor.
It’s an easy recipe and we loved it. Next time lm changing up the cheese.
Reduce the amount of cheese. Not using oil when browning the sausage would make it less greasy.
This is a wonderful recipe, especially for those of us not fond of Ricotta cheese stuffed shells! I doubled the recipe using one pound of sweet Italian sausage and one pound of hamburger. Added some garlic powder along with the Italian seasoning. Also mixed shredded Mozzarella and shredded Parmesan into the cooked meat. Stuffed the shells, topped with marinara and even more Mozzarella. Simply delicious!! Thanks for an awesome recipe idea!
Family ate it all! I did sauté a little bit of onion and garlic with the ground sausage but otherwise stuck with the recipe. Will try it with the spinach addition next time. Enjoyed it immensely.
My husband loved this . He is not a cheese fan , and of course I am the opposite, there is no such thing as too much cheese. This was a great compromise. I used sweet Italian sausage and 2 cans ( 15 oz each) of Sam’s Club tomato sauce ( this does have added spices ) . Great recipe . Thank you
You can’t go wrong with the basic ingredients of pizza. These stuffed shells were a hit with my kids. Every one of them asked for seconds! I am not a great cook; I have little experience since my husband is our main chef but I made these shells for dinner one night when extended family was coming in off the road. It was great to have the dish ready to go and I just put the shells in the oven when family arrived and we were ready to eat in 30 minutes. I used some of the recommendations on the recipes from others who had made it. I sauteed chopped onions and garlic in olive oil, added the Italian sausage and when it was almost fully cooked, I drained it and then cooked it a little more with 1/2 a jar of Bertolli Tomato Basil pasta sauce. When I took it off the heat, I gradually mixed in a cup of shredded Parmesean cheese and a 1/2 cup of shredded Mozarella and let it sit until I was ready to stuff the shells. I used two 12 ounce boxes of shells and had a few left over but was able to stuff them with the mixture of sausage and sauce using an iced tea spoon. I put the stuffed shells in two greased 9 x 13 glass dishes and covered them with 1 and 1/2 jars of the Tomato Basil pasta sauce and more shredded cheese, mostly Mozarella but some Parmesean. Then I baked them both at degrees for 30 minutes and they were ready to serve. Three shells was a good portion since we served them with a salad. And I had a whole second casserole dish full to put in the freezer! This recip
Super easy and really great tasting! I also made it with spinach added. It was so good and simple to make.
It was easy and quick! Oh did I mention it was delicious. Everyone enjoyed the dish.