Mangos and a generous amount of cardamom are used to make a silky smooth bread pudding. from a childhood friend who gave it to my mother.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 30 jumbo pasta shells
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground black pepper, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 ½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat; cook the pasta shells according to package directions for al dente, 9 to 11 minutes. Drain and run under cold water until cool enough to touch. Set aside.
- Season chicken breasts on both sides with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook until browned and a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the chicken breast registers 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 18 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove from heat and transfer chicken from skillet to a cutting board.
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- Shred chicken using 2 forks and set aside.
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- Stir together ricotta, 1 1/2 cup Italian blend cheese, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, chicken, and 2 tablespoons cream in a medium bowl. Set aside.
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- Combine 2 cups cream and butter in a deep, large skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in garlic, Italian seasoning, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook for 1 more minute.
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- Add 2 cups Parmesan cheese and whisk until melted. Set sauce aside.
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- Add 1 cup sauce to the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
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- Using a spoon, fill each of the jumbo shells generously with the chicken-ricotta mixture. Lay them seam side up in the baking dish.
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- Pour the remaining sauce all over the top of the jumbo shells. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Italian blend cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
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- Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with more parsley if desired and serve.
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Reviews
Delicious!
This was a very creamy and savory Italian style alternative that was a real hit for the family.
I made it for my mother she said it tasted awesome definitely going to make more
Delicious! Definitely super rich and salty. I only used 15-16 shells and still used up all the filling. Next time I will cook it longer that 25 minutes. The cheese was not 100% melted on the inside of the shells. Still yummy though! I love salt and am pretty liberal with the saltshaker on my own, but I’m still going to halve or omit the salt amount on this next time. All that shredded parmesan makes it salty enough already.
This is a wonderful alfredo sauce that I can see using for lots of different recipes. I did cut the butter back a bit and used half and half instead of the whipping cream and it was still delicious. It could be made with milk if you wanted to cut the calories even more. It’s definitely not “diet food”. I couldn’t find large pasta shells, so I ended up using manicotti noodles, split half way, but honestly I can see using this filling with lasagna noodles to make a casserole too. Or just serving over fettucine. Thanks for the keeper!
These are delicious! I made an error and baked the chicken with some garlic powder and salt and pepper instead of pan frying it. I don’t think this changed the outcome of the recipe though. The sauce is dreamy, and makes the dish. I was surprised at how quickly these came together. Everyone here really liked them.
This recipe was good. I would not use as much kosher salt next time, I thought it was a little too salty for my taste. It makes enough for 3-4 people.