Cara's Creamy Stuffed Shells Recipe

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Most Helpful Positive Review

Jul 18, 2006

I've now made this a couple of times and recommend the following changes: Scale the recipe (if necessary), triple the sauce, double the garlic, add some italian seasoning, melt Mozarella on top instead of the Romano. Delicious! I look forward to making this many, many more times.

—RogueOnion8

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Jan 03, 2012

Very unimpressive. A glorified (and much more expensive) version of Italian Style Hamburger Helper. Essentially a good meal, but be prepared to seriously tweak ingredients and amounts (specifically increase cream cheese, decrease meat and be creative with seasonings; even a novice in the kitchen would be able to come up with 25 ways to improve upon beef seasonings).

—GR0311

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198 Ratings

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Jan 15, 2006

These stuffed meat shells are so good! They are very creamy and full of flavor. The only thing that I added was about 1/2 box of chopped spinach to the mixture. (My husband isn't wild about cooked spinach, but what he doesn't know, won't hurt him LOL)! I have tried other stuffed meat shell recipes, and they just didn't taste right. This one is a keeper! I will definately make this again. Thanks!

—Joey's Mom

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Jun 12, 2006

I only used 1 & 1/2 lbs of meat. I added some chopped onions (probably about 1/2 cup, maybe more) to the hamburger mixture, omitted the egg & garlic salt & increased the minced garlic. After hamburger was cooked, I deglazed the pan w/ about a 1/2 cup or so of pinot grigio (it's what I had open) & quickly reduced it down by half. This helped add flavor & moisture to the mix. I added about half a pkg. of chopped, frozen but thawed spinach, as well as some basil, oregano & parmesan cheese when I added the cream cheese ( I decreased the cheese some per other reviews) & pasta sauce. I had some mixture leftover so I stuffed some manicotti shells & froze them. I topped the shells w/ mozzarella before baking & a little romano & fresh chopped parsley after baking. These were delicious! I thought the wine added a nice dimension to the dish. I'm eager to try it w/ some italian sausage w/ the hamburger...thanks Cara!

—IMVINTAGE

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Aug 26, 2006

Delicious! i used 1 lb ground turkey. the original recipe calls for 3 lbs meat, i think thats why other reviews state its too dry and i think 1 box of shells would NEVER be enough for 3 lbs of meat. i also added 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1 chopped onion and about 1TBS of italian seasoning while the meat was cooking. FYI~there is no need to cook the shells before stuffing. cooked pasta is a bit hard (for me) to handle. take the cooking time for the pasta (10 mins) and add it to the baking time (45 minutes total should do it)~cover with foil the first 30 minutes and top with cheese and bake uncovered 15 more and it is just GREAT!

—HBschoolgirl

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Aug 11, 2005

I just made this last night for myself and my husband, following the recipe exactly. This produces an enormous amount of food! However, the shells freeze and re-heat easily. It was definitely a hit. However, I felt like I needed more pasta sauce - maybe 2 jars instead of 1. The shells were not completely covered. This tastes delicious and was really easy to make.

—Cali

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Apr 13, 2006

I only used about 3/4 lb ground meat and about 1/2 box stove top stuffing mixed into the cooked meat mixture. That really put it over the edge and gave it great flavor! Needs more sauce too.

—Shenadoah

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Jun 17, 2005

This is a wonderful recipe! I added a few extra spices like sweet basil, oregano and a lot more garlic. My family LOVED the finished product and has requested it again in the same weeek. The cream cheese adds a creamy texture that makes it unique to most shell recipes.

—MEALPLANNINMOMMA

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Nutrition

Calories
698 kcal
35%

Carbohydrates
43 g
14%

Cholesterol
196 mg
65%

Fat
39 g
60%

Fiber
3.3 g
13%

Protein
41.4 g
83%

Sodium
1045 mg
42%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Cara's Creamy Stuffed Shells

Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 698
Calories from Fat: 351

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 39g 60 %
Saturated Fat 16.8g 84 %
Cholesterol 196mg 65 %
Sodium 1045mg 42 %
Potassium 740mg 21 %
Total Carbohydrates 43g 14 %
Dietary Fiber 3.3g 13 %
Protein 41.4g 83 %
** Sugars 7.8g
Vitamin A 17 %
Vitamin C 4 %
Calcium 19 %
Iron 55 %
** Thiamin 10 %
Niacin 157 %
Vitamin B6 35 %
Magnesium 24 %
Folate 72 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.