Taco Stuffed Shells

Pin It


Do taco stuffed shells sound a little weird? Let me tell you they are amazing! A friend brought these to us as a meal after my son was born. Boy did they hit the spot; we love Mexican food, something about all this Mexican goodness stuffed into a shell was just divine. I made her promise to give me the recipe, and bugged her every time I saw here until I got it....I can be a pest that way....I still have the hand written copy in my recipe binder. She wrote in all capital letters and in pencil. The recipe is safely protected in a plastic sleeve. She did not include her name on the recipe and I am no longer in contact with her, it's been 8 years; I can't remember her name anymore.....but for some reason I think it starts with a J???

Welcome to Inspired Ginger! I have updated this recipe recently to try and help with some confusion I was getting in the comment section. I hope the photos make it simple and clear as to what you need to do in order to enjoy these  lovely little tasty morsels.....If you like it please come back and see what else I've got cooking! I've also added a printable; you'll see it at the bottom of the page; click the link and then scroll to the bottom where it says print. Hope that helps. Thanks for stopping by!

Here is what you'll need to make the basic recipe: ground turkey, taco seasoning, taco sauce, salsa, small package of cream cheese, and 1 box of jumbo pasta shells.

Here is the close up of the pasta shells, just in case you've never worked with them before. I'm sure there are many varieties, this is what they have in my store. What I'd really like to find is whole wheat pasta shells; if you find them let me know where!

Cook your shells in boiling salted water until they are tender.

Drain them.

Use tongs and lay them out to cool.

I like to use a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Be careful the shells will be hot. Let them cool until you are able to handle them.

In the meantime cook up your ground turkey in a skillet. when it is browned add the taco seasoning.

This is all the liquid from the ground turkey. I don't drain, I don't add water, I just let it be....

Next add the cubed up cream cheese. Let it melt down until it looks like....

This! I let it cool a little bit now. Because it's time to stuff the shells.....

Simply pick up one of the cooked shells and use a teaspoon to pick up some meat to put in the shell. Fill it as full as you like. Usually, by the time it's all said and done I have some shells left over....

Place the taco stuffed shells in your pan that has the taco sauce on the bottom. Line them up nice and tight.

Top them with your salsa and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Then remove the foil and sprinkle on your cheeses. You can see here I wasn't able to fit all my shells in one bowl....

Let them bake another 10 minutes or until the cheese is all melty and bubbly and oooey gooey looking. Then....

This is what it looks like fresh out of the oven. There is a little cream cheese added to the meat mixture which makes this dish creamy and luscious. Have fun with toppings of your choice, sour cream, olives, green onions, crushed chips, you name it!  It is not something I make very often but when I do pull it out we all love it.  Stuffed shells would be a lovely little something to have Christmas Eve, or New Years Eve, or Superbowl Sunday. It would also be a nice item to bring to a potluck.

Taco Stuffed Shells

Inspired by:  J

Note: This is a recipe you may want to double because as long as you're going to the effort of stuffing the shells you might as well double it and freeze half.....besides you will realize how amazingly delicious it is and you'll regret not doubling it...

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

1/4 cup taco seasoning, 1 envelope

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

12 Jumbo Pasta shells, cooked according to package instructions

1 cup salsa

1 cup taco sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Jack cheese

 

Optional Toppings:

1 1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

1 cup sour cream

3 green onions, chopped

sliced olives

guacamole

sliced avocados

tomatoes

In a skillet brown meat over medium heat. Add taco seasoning and mix to combine. Add cubed cream cheese, cover and simmer so cream cheese can melt. Remove from heat and cool.

Fill cooked shells with about 1-2 T. of meat mixture. In a 9x13 glass baking dish pour salsa to coat the bottom of dish. Place filled taco shells on top then add taco sauce. Cover and bake @ 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover, and sprinkle cheese on top, return to oven for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with sour cream, and toppings of your choice.

Enjoy!

Ginger

Click here for the printable.

P.S. I may try this with ground turkey next time just to see if it is equally delicious. I will let you know....Turkey is equally delish....that's how I always make them now!

P.P.S If you freeze shells stuffed, bake covered at 350 for one hour and then proceed with the rest...