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
This was delicious. I couldn’t find jumbo pasta shells anywhere in my town so I just made it into a taco bake. Saved some of the pasta water to thin out the sauce a little. It was so yummy!! Thank you.
Used Impossible Burger meat seasoned with salt and pepper while browning. Followed recipe exacting the rest of the way. Grandsons(teens) and hubby devoured it.
I am rather new to the home cooking world. Only for about one and a half years. My wife and I found Holly’s recipes, about three months ago, while looking for goulash to help comfort my wife while she was sick. We use a different recipe from Holly nearly every night for dinner. As long as you follow directions, it WILL turn out like her pictures. For this recipe, I could not find jumbo shells. I ended up turning it into what I’ll call a taco lasagna and used ground chicken. It turned out exceptionally well and will be even better tomorrow for lunch after all the flavors marry up overnight. In my opinion, if you’re brand new to cooking like me or have 40+ years cooking, like my wife, you can’t go wrong with Holly’s recipes.
Thank you so much David, your kind words made my whole week!
So glad you loved this, your ground chicken lasagna version sounds yummy!
I made these last night for Sunday dinner for our family of 6 people. I made two large casserole dishes full. There were no left overs. They were fairly easy to make and were delicious. For vegetables I diced two sweet peppers (remove the stems and seeds) and for diced tomatoes I used diced tomato with chili peppers.
I am planning on making these to take to a picnic . Any ideas for a slow cooker ?
We use this recipe to cook shells in the slow cooker. The cooking directions should work just fine for these taco stuff shells too.
Made this for dinner last night, I thought it would be a nice change to taco Tuesday and I was not disappointed, I followed the recipe exactly as shown, for our veggies I added green pepper and diced zucchini, the whole family seemed to like it, especially since ALL of their plates were clean.
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I like to give my dad frozen meals in single serving containers so he eats better. He doesn’t have an oven though, just a microwave. How well do the baked shells freeze and reheat?
Hi Courtney, that is so sweet of you. To make ahead, we usually prepare up to step 5 and freeze. Then you can reheat when ready to enjoy.
Looks delicious
When you say Top with salsa. What Salsa are you referring to? Marinara sauce?
Salsa like the kind you might serve with tacos or tortilla chips.
Please send me recipes
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I can’t wait to try these wonderful recipes
Thank you Nicole! I’m sure you’ll find many you’ll enjoy!
Can’t wait to create delicious meals!
This is such a good one Kristi! You will love it.
Awesome website
Thanks Naomie!
There is so reason for 2lbs of meat for this recipe. I used 1lb and still had some left over unless I’m not stuffing the shells correctly
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Alissa and letting us know that the recipe works with one pound too. I may just have stuffed them with a bit more filling than you.
What a great website!
Thanks Rhonda!
Can’t wait to make the taco salad.
Let us know how you enjoy it Melba!
I have made these and they are amazing!! I also make dinners once a week for other families and events and these have become the most requested meal lol absolutely awesome!!
We are so glad everyone is loving this recipe Talinda!
I made this for my husband over a month ago and it was really delicious! My family is coming over for dinner tomorrow and I am planning on making this for them. I hope they enjoy it as much as I did!
I’m so glad your family loved this Shannon!
It was very good.