This easy, cheesy taco-stuffed shells recipe turns taco night into a fiesta!
Jumbo shells are stuffed with seasoned ground beef and veggies in a creamy sauce with melted cheese.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Cheesy, savory, and zesty with a hint of spice.
- Budget Tip: Add black beans or extra vegetables to stretch the meat mixture further.
- Prep Tip: Cook a couple of extra shells as they sometimes break when filling.
- Time-Saving Tip: Use store-bought taco seasoning and pre-shredded cheese for quick prep.
- Freezing: Stuffed taco shells can be assembled and frozen. Just thaw, add cheese, and bake.
Ingredient Tips For Taco Stuffed Shells
- Pasta: Jumbo pasta shells (AKA conchiglie) are in the pasta section at the supermarket or available here on Amazon.
- Meat: I use lean ground beef. You can replace it with ground turkey or chicken.
- Seasoning: A packet of taco seasoning makes prep quick—you can also use homemade taco seasoning.
- Vegetables: You can replace the diced tomatoes with Rotel to add a little heat. I love bell peppers and corn in this recipe—sneaking in extra veggies is a great way to stretch the meal.
- Cheese: Cream cheese makes the filling rich and creamy, while cheddar or a Mexican cheese blend is added on top.
Serving & Leftovers
Dress these taco stuffed shells with your favorite taco toppings for serving.
- Sliced olives, jalapenos, fresh cilantro, or sliced green onions.
- Set out bowls of sour cream, salsa, chopped cilantro, or tortilla chips so people can do their own topping.
- Store leftover taco stuffed shells in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, the air fryer, or the oven with a sprinkle of fresh cheese. Leftover taco meat filling can be used in taco lasagna or in taco soup.
- Freeze cooled leftovers for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat.
Did your family love these Taco Stuffed Shells? Leave us a rating and a comment below.
Taco Stuffed Shells
Jumbo pasta shells are stuffed with creamy, seasoned ground beef and topped with gooey melted cheese.
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion diced
- 14.5 ounces canned petite diced tomatoes with juices, low sodium, 1 can
- 1 medium bell pepper diced, red, yellow, or green
- ½ cup corn kernels thawed if frozen
- ½ cup water
- 1 ounce taco seasoning 1 packet
- 8 ounces cream cheese cubed
Other
- 24 jumbo shells uncooked
- 1½ cups salsa
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese and/or Monterey jack cheese
- sour cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook pasta shells al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Add tomatoes with juices, diced peppers, corn, ½ cup of water, and taco seasoning mix. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes or until the mixture is thickened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.
- Fill each pasta shell with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the ground beef mixture. Place into a 9×13-inch casserole dish.
- Top with salsa. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
To Make Ahead: Prepare up to step 5. Refrigerate or freeze overnight.
To Cook Frozen Shells: Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and proceed with baking as directed.
Leftovers: Store in the refrigerator for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to one month.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 621 | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 1292mg | Potassium: 741mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2410IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 303mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Casserole, Dinner, Pasta
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
More Tasty Taco Takes
Have been making this for YEARS now. We omit the bellpepper and add black beans, but those are literally the only changes we make. There are so many leftovers and it reheats very well.
Do you have to stuff shells, can you just mix all together?
I haven’t tried that Sheila, I’d love to hear how it works out for you!
made this for my wife tonight, she loved it and told me it was a keeper.. I guess I’ll be making it again..Thank you Holly..
Great recipe…used rotel tomatoes and two kinds of cheese. Definitely needs more salsa than the recipe called for. Also had filling left over so I made two small burritos!
Holly, I just discovered your website and love it. Tried the beef stew and it was amazing.
I would like to try this recipe but not a fan of cream cheese. What if I sub some cottage cheese, as I put it in my lasagna rather than ricotta? Thank you.
I haven’t tried this with cottage cheese but it does sound like a delicious idea! I do find that cottage cheese can sometimes release a little bit of water, I’d love to hear how it works in this recipe!
Hello Holly, question, will the use of a pipping bag be helpful filling the shells ?
It’s a little bit tricky with this one because the filling is kind of chunky—you could certainly try it but you’ll want to chop your veggies quite small and break up the meat as much as you can. Let us know how it goes!
Honestly, when I was in practice, I hardly did anything but be the “Grillmaster”!
Now, that I am retired, I have taken over the cooking, planning and shopping!
I have really enjoyed your recipes! They are practical, not too complicated,
and delicious! Thanks Dr Gil
I’m so glad you’ve loved the recipes Dr. Gil! Thank you for following along!
Very flavourful. Great on a chilly winter evening.
You list 1 onion in the ingredients list, but don’t include it in the instructions. I’m guessing it should be diced and cooked with the ground beef?
So glad you enjoyed them! Sorry for the confusion, yes it should be cooked with the beef.
Wonderful! So good on a cold winter’s evening. My filling and shells never come out even, but no worries. The leftover filling will likely disappear before I can cook more shells to go with it. My husband is not a big taco fan, but this he loves. Thank you.
Made this tonight as I had the beef and was looking for something to use it in. Well it was a definite hit! We all loved it! I used the hot taco seasoning to give it a little heat. Topped it with sour cream and guacamole and served with a salad. Will definitely make again!
Hi recipe looks interesting only problem is neither one of us is crazy about salsa. what would you suggest to use instead of that over the stuffed pasta shells.
It will change the flavor but you can pour pasta sauce over top instead.