Make-Ahead Stuffed Shells
By America's Test KitchenPublished on July 23, 2011
Time
2¾ hours, plus 8 hours thawing
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 garlic cloves, minced¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes ¼ cup red wine 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 2 tablespoons dried basil 2 teaspoons sugar ½ teaspoon saltStuffed Shells
Salt 1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells 3 cups ricotta cheese 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 2 garlic cloves, minced¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil 2 large eggs, lightly beatenBefore You Begin
Assembled shells may be frozen for up to 2 months. You need two 8-inch-square baking dishes (preferably microwave- safe) for this recipe. If you want to pull the baking dishes from the freezer individually, divide the tomato sauce and cheese into smaller containers.
Instructions
- For the sauce: Heat oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and vinegar and simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, basil, sugar, and salt and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- For the shells: Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and shells and cook until tender, 12 to 14 minutes. Drain and cool shells. Reserve 30 shells, discarding any that have broken.
- Combine ricotta, Parmesan, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, garlic, basil, eggs, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in bowl. Following photo at left, fill each shell with 2 tablespoons filling.
- To assemble: Divide 2 cups cooled marinara between two 8-inch-square baking dishes. Arrange half of filled shells, seam-side up, in each dish, then top each dish with 1 1/2 cups marinara. Wrap dishes with plastic and cover with foil. Transfer remaining sauce to airtight container and remaining mozzarella to zipper-lock freezer bag. Freeze shells, sauce, and cheese.
- When ready to serve: Defrost shells, sauce, and cheese in refrigerator for 8 hours or see note below). Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic from shells and replace foil. Bake until sauce is bubbling and shells are heated through, about 50 minutes. Remove foil and top shells with reserved sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is spotty brown, about 10 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve.
- Shells in a Hurry: To guarantee even cooking, the shells must be thawed before they are baked. This will take eight hours in the refrigerator. For quicker microwave defrosting, assemble the shells in Pyrex or ceramic baking dishes and defrost until the sauce has thawed and the shells have slightly softened. Bake as directed, reducing the initial baking time to 40 minutes.
Time
2¾ hours, plus 8 hours thawingYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup red wine
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Stuffed Shells
Salt
1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup red wine
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Stuffed Shells
Salt
1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup red wine
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Stuffed Shells
Salt
1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Being able to prepare a satisfying weeknight pasta dish recipe ahead of time is a lifesaver for any time-crunched cook. We wanted to freeze the shells in a stuffed shells recipe, but we didn’t want to lose flavor and texture during freezing, thawing, and heating. While developing our Make-Ahead Stuffed Shells recipe, we found that ricotta loses moisture when frozen and reheated, but adding extra fat and emulsifiers (two extra egg yolks) to the cheese stuffing helped it stay creamy. When the freezer washed out the flavor of our sauce, we simply upped the amount of garlic and added red pepper flakes. To bring more moisture to the sauce in our Make-Ahead Stuffed Shells recipe, we added some chicken broth. We froze the mozzarella topping separately and added it at the end of baking so it melted into a bubbling, golden crust.
Before You Begin
Assembled shells may be frozen for up to 2 months. You need two 8-inch-square baking dishes (preferably microwave- safe) for this recipe. If you want to pull the baking dishes from the freezer individually, divide the tomato sauce and cheese into smaller containers.
Instructions
- For the sauce: Heat oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and vinegar and simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, basil, sugar, and salt and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- For the shells: Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and shells and cook until tender, 12 to 14 minutes. Drain and cool shells. Reserve 30 shells, discarding any that have broken.
- Combine ricotta, Parmesan, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, garlic, basil, eggs, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in bowl. Following photo at left, fill each shell with 2 tablespoons filling.
- To assemble: Divide 2 cups cooled marinara between two 8-inch-square baking dishes. Arrange half of filled shells, seam-side up, in each dish, then top each dish with 1 1/2 cups marinara. Wrap dishes with plastic and cover with foil. Transfer remaining sauce to airtight container and remaining mozzarella to zipper-lock freezer bag. Freeze shells, sauce, and cheese.
- When ready to serve: Defrost shells, sauce, and cheese in refrigerator for 8 hours or see note below). Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic from shells and replace foil. Bake until sauce is bubbling and shells are heated through, about 50 minutes. Remove foil and top shells with reserved sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is spotty brown, about 10 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve.
- Shells in a Hurry: To guarantee even cooking, the shells must be thawed before they are baked. This will take eight hours in the refrigerator. For quicker microwave defrosting, assemble the shells in Pyrex or ceramic baking dishes and defrost until the sauce has thawed and the shells have slightly softened. Bake as directed, reducing the initial baking time to 40 minutes.
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