Taco Stuffed Shells made with jumbo pasta shells, salsa, cheese and taco meat are the perfect EASY meal that you can prepare ahead of time!
This recipe takes a classic Mexican Food recipe and re-imagines it as a Pasta favorite. It is also an XL take on my super popular Cheesy Taco Pasta! For another taco-pasta combo, try my Cheesy Taco Mac too.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Taco Stuffed Shells
With some taco seasoning, salsa and cheese, turn classic Stuffed Shells into a delicious Tex-Mex twist! This easy dinner has jumbo shells stuffed with a quickly cooked ground beef taco filling and then baked to get the cheese all melty. But even that stove-to-oven process happens in less than 45 minutes. It’s a delicious, fast dinner recipe you’ll want in your regular rotation plus they make a great make-ahead meal and potluck dish!
One of the best parts of tacos is all the tasty toppings and these shells can be loaded up too! I went with the classic taco toppings of sour cream, olives, and chopped green onions. If you’re feeling fancy, try a fresh Avocado Tomato Corn Salad or go with a simple Guacamole. I also like to put out whatever salsas I have in the fridge and let everyone pick which one they like best. However you top this taco pasta dish, I hope you love it as much as we do!
Step by Step Video
Ingredients
- Jumbo Shells: You want the shells that are 3-4 inches long so they hold all the filling. You need to cook them first because they won’t be in the oven long enough and there isn’t enough sauce to soften them fully.
- Salsa: A jar of your favorite mild or medium salsa is perfect. Using store bought salsa cuts down on the prep time and the flavors are still outstanding.
- Taco Seasoning: You can use Homemade Taco Seasoning if you have the ingredients on hand (or have some already mixed in the cupboard). Otherwise a packet of prepared mix works just as good.
- Ground Beef: I prefer an 85/15 blend because it doesn’t have as much fat but it still has enough to keep the meat juicy.
- Cheese: I used shredded cheddar cheese just like you would for tacos instead of the traditional ricotta and mozzarella blend. It is in the meat mixture and on top so these are extra cheesy.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 12 ounces jumbo pasta shells
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups jarred salsa , divided
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese , divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the pasta shells in a pot according to the directions on the box and drain.
- Add the ground beef to the pot and brown well.
- Drain the fat.
- Add the taco seasoning and water, stir and cook until water is gone.
- Stir in 1 cup salsa and ¾ cup cheese.
- Scoop into the jumbo pasta shells and top with the remaining salsa and cheese.
- Bake in a covered pan for 15 minutes.
Video
Nutrition
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Can this be made ahead?
Absolutely! You can make the filling a day ahead of time and then pop it into the pasta shells and bake. Or assemble the shells fully, minus the salsa and cheese topping, and cover the baking dish with plastic. Store it in the fridge for up to 2 days. When you are ready to bake, add the salsa and cheese then bake as usual, adding a few minutes to the bake time as needed. You could also make the shells in a freezer safe baking dish, wrap it up tight and freeze for 2-3 months. Then just bake it from frozen. So many options to make this recipe ahead!
How to Store
- Serve: Do not leave stuffed shells at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
- Store: In an airtight container, store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Sealed tightly, these stuffed shells will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months.
- Reheat: Reheat in the oven covered with foil at 350 until hot and bubbly, adding more salsa and cheese if needed.
Frequent Questions
I love using either Guapo’s Famous Fresh Pico de Gallo in this recipe but really you can use an store bought jarred salsa. I prefer a red salsa but it tastes great with green too! My only note would be to use a mild or medium salsa and then let everyone add their favorite hot sauce later so the actual dish isn’t too spicy.
If you prepped your shells in a glass or ceramic baking dish, you need to let it sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before baking. If you used a metal pan, you can bake it straight from the fridge, just add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
Variations
- Pepperoni Pizza: Make pizza stuffed shells by swapping out the salsa for marinara sauce and adding chopped up pepperoni to the meat mix. Use mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar. Easy as (pizza) pie!
- Ranch Chicken: Use ground chicken instead of beef and use half taco seasoning, plus 2 teaspoons of Dry Ranch Dressing Mix.
- Cheese: If you’re looking for an alternate to the shredded cheese or to mix things up a little you can absolutely make the taco stuffed shells with velveeta or nacho cheese as well. Even better, you could use nacho cheese in the meat and shredded cheddar on top for the ultimate cheesy taco stuffed shells.
- Salsa: You can also swap out the salsa in this recipe in a 1 to 1 ratio with my favorite Homemade QUICK Enchilada Sauce to make them more smoky and rich.
Related Recipes
More Tasty Twists on Stuffed Shells!
Photos used in a previous version of this post.
This recipe is great
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!!
My son request this a few time’s a month.
I am just seeing this tonight. I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.
So glad you and your son love the recipe!
I had tacos for lunch today & because my oldest son had unexpected company, he couldn’t join us for lunch. He’s 6ft5 260 lbs & a huge eater. Because he wasn’t able to come, I had a ton of leftovers. I was thinking of how good it’d be to use the extra taco meat in stuffed shells and that’s how I ran across your recipe.
I am going to modify it by using all of my leftovers including meat seasoned with taco seasoning, green chilies & onions, Mexican rice, black beans, homemade salsa. I also have leftover cheese dip that’s made with velveta cheese & rotel. I’ll mix all of that together, stuff the cooked shells, then cover with enchilada sauce and Mexican fiesta cheese. I’ll bake it until cheese is bubbly, then top it with lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream. I’m getting hungry already & am actually excited about cooking dinner tomorrow. The best part is that I’ll be using all of my leftovers, which means no waste & no prep. All I’ll have to do is cook the shells, stuff them & bake them! Can’t wait to try it. I think my family will love it.
That would be perfect!
I am trying these this evening and wondered, is it helpful to spread a bit of salsa in the bottom of the pan before baking, like you would when making lasagna? Also, do you cover with foil when baking? Thank you! Excited to try this!
You could definitely add salsa on the bottom before putting the shells in. I didn’t need to cover it because it’s only in there for a short time, but you can if you’d like. I hope you enjoy it!
Tried it tonight for the first time and it was banging… my boyfriend and son loved it and I will be definitely be making this again and also trying the cheesesteak version as well… yum!!!
Tried this recipe tonight with a few additions. I added cream cheese to the taco cheese and added diced onions to the pan when browning the hamburger.
It was amazing! The whole family loved it, so I will definitely be adding this recipe to my regular meal rotation.
Fantastic! Thanks for coming back to let me know.
Made this for the family and we loved it. So easy and so delicious ?
I made these stuffed taco shells. They were amazing. Very easy to do. This is definitely a keeper. I wouldn’t change a thing. Only next time I think I will cover with foil in oven.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Sooooooo good!!
I made this for a group of friends LAST YEAR..they still talk about it!
They want to do it again? easy recipe. You can knock it out quick. We do birthday dinners. Several have said “ i want the stuffed shell thing you made as my birthday dinner”
Can you freeze these? If so, how would that change the cooking time?
It might take an additional 30-40 minutes from frozen.
I don’t usually leave comments but my husband loved this recipe. I LOVE how you give variations with every recipe and often freezer instructions. You have become the website I look up first when trying new recipes and more and more of your recipes have found their way into our regular rotation!
Thanks, Tina. So glad you’re loving the site and the recipes.
It came out very good my husband loves it, definitely will be making again!
These are great we added some sour cream on top but will be mixing it next time !
Very messy ! Making into our cook book thank you
I really really like this. I eat a lot of veggies so we added a little red, yellow and orange pepper, red onion, garlic, a tiny bit of zucchini and celery, added a little pasta water and make 12 shells and still have leftover meat/veggies (which I’ll turn into a soup tomorrow for lunch). A great versatile recipe! Thanks!
So glad you enjoy it so much, Deanna.
The end result was good, the recipe needs to be corrected to say to pan fry ground beef in its own pan. The way it’s written is a little confusing. I added black beans to the mixture for a little more substance. Very tasty, will definitely make this again.
This is one of my favorite recipes! Can I freeze this meal?
Yes, cover tightly with plastic wrap and the foil to keep any moisture out and freeze for up to 3 months. So glad you love it so much.
Thank you so much! One more question, how do you cook it if you freeze it?
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for around 45 minutes.
So I was thinking if I were to make these into individual tins to cook for myself for meal prep. How many would I put in and how long in the oven at what temperature? Would the tins form dollar tree work ?
Yes, that would totally work. I would suggest placing the tin on a cookie sheet while in the oven. Sometimes the cheaper tins don’t hold up when trying to get them in and out of the oven. It might just save you from dropping it. Enjoy!
not crazy about it. shells were dry & not enough meat sauce for all the shells I didnt over fill them wont make it again
Sorry you didn’t like them. If you change your mind and try them again, feel free to add more sauce to your liking.
We add more salsa to ours once we make our plate and my son & daughter like it spicy so they use the hot salsa me & my daughter likes sour cream my son doesn’t so we add it to our plate . i like raw onion’s my kid’s don’t so i add that my plate. My granny once told me when i asked for a recipe that i should always try it once as is then make it my own meaning i know what i do and don’t like and how i like my food so if you made it dry know you’d like it with more sauce that was your mistake not the person posting the recipe.
I just want to say thank you for this recipe my family enjoyed so much will be in my list never did stuffed shell before and this ones OMG and delicious.
I’m so happy to hear that! Glad your family liked it and that you learned a new favorite pasta to make!
Is this a recipe that you could make and stuff the shells one day, and bake it the next?
Certainly!
Fantastic! easy to make and everyone raved how delicious it tasted.
Happy to hear that! This is a family favorite of ours. Thanks for the review.
Loved this recipe and really easy to make!
Really easy recipe and delicious! I added a little bit of cream cheese to make it bit more rich and savory. My husband loved it!!
Great suggestion, Bria. So glad it was a hit!
It was super good! I added lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream after it was done in the oven!!!
I’m definitely going to make this again!
Sounds delicious!
I just cooked these and when I tell you I love them. Will most definitely be cooking these again.
Literally just finished making this for the hubby and stepSon. Not as easy as everyone made it seem, however I am definitely not a cooker so maybe that’s my issue. Lots of hand work… all in the dish lol. I am vegetarian, so I substitute black beans for beef on mine… (made 2 separate pans) but still follow everything exactly. In the end came out amazing! Lovely dish! Yummy delicious! Will try again. Thank you for sharing 😉
Just finished making this! Very easy to make and extremely yummy! I used 3/4 of a yellow onion prior to cooking the meat and then used sour cream while eating the stuffed shells. While cooking, I was panicking thinking I did not have enough shells, I ended up having extra shells! Next goal, use chicken instead of beef! The cheesy taco stuffed shell is a good idea as an appetizer for a party since it makes so much and they are small.
*If anyone has tried chicken instead of beef, did you do anything different outside of the recipe? *
Thank you Sabrina! Just followed you on Instagram, cannot wait to find something new to try!
Chicken would be amazing! I have a Chicken Bacon Ranch Stuffed Shells recipe if you’d like to try that too.
This recipe is THE BOMB!!
I loved the taste of the salsa with the cheddar cheese. So when it was time to cover them in salsa, I made cheesy salsa instead and then put it on top of the stuffed shells and then sprinkled the remaining part of cheddar. Amazing!
So glad you love it!! You just made my night!
My entire family loves these taco stuffed pasta shells. Super quick and easy.
Delicious!
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
These were very good but I only ended up using about half of the box of shells and an 8×8 pan. Next time I’ll double the filling part and use a 9×13 pan. It was delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
I definitely became a Chef over night with this site. Omg best thing to happen to a girl when it comes to the kitchen!!
That’s so sweet of you to say! Thank you so much!
I made the cheesey taco bake and my boyfriend loved it ..so easy to make …were gonna put salad on top with sour cream …yum yum…
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it, Jane! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Yum Yum Yum! This was a hit?
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m a vegetarian, wanna try this with Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, black beans and mexi cheese
Sounds amazing!
I thought this was just ok, but husband really liked it. Added onions to ground. And a blob of sour cream to beef mixture.
Making this tonight! I don’t have salsa or diced tomatoes so I’m doing it EXTRA simple. Except tonight I am going to lightly drizzle Taco Bell Mild Sauce you buy from the store, Fire for the Mr., for a little kick over the taco seasoned meat and cheese. We like our spices!
Can’t wait to try it out tonight.
I hope you enjoyed it, April!
I made this tonight… I had high hope’s but my end product looked nothing like yours. I made it exactly but drained my meat as it appears you dont? I’m out on whether I’d make it again. ?
Oh, bummer. I’m not sure what else would’ve made it different besides draining the meat. If you want to troubleshoot, send me an email at contact @ dinnerthendessert .com
This was amazing! I made it using your homemade taco seasoning recipe to season the meat and instead of salsa, which I didn’t have, I added diced tomatoes to the meat mixture, then I made your homemade enchilada sauce (which is SO GOOD) and used it in place of salsa. I made enough for two 8×8 pans. One to freeze and one to eat! It was so full of flavor! Wish I could post a picture. So dang good! Thanks for the winner recipe!
Love that you were able to customize it! You can always post a picture to your instagram and use the hashtag #dinnerthendessert . So glad you enjoyed it!
Made these stuffed shells for dinner last night. They were a success! Everyone in the family loved them. They requested I make extras next time.
I’ve mad these before but I also melt a block of cream cheese into the beef mixture before stuffing the shells!
Looks Yummy!! cant wait to make it!! beside jarred salsa can I use any other brand of salsa?? also I seen someone mention pico salsa is it pico de gallo or a brand name pico salsa? will love to know!
You can use any type of salsa you’d like. 🙂 I haven’t tried it with pico de gallo yet. If you decide to try, I’d love to know what you think.
I used the Walmart brand (mild), girl, amazing taste for a few dimes.
My family loved this!!!!I made this dish on Saturday and they are already asking for an instant replay!Problem: I intend to double the recipe. There was only enough to stuff half of the shells.The ” save for later” that I poured over the entre dish was too skimpy too, so next time I plan to use two pounds of ground beef (grass fed) and two jars of the pico salsa that I used. That tasted so good!
Yay!!
These were surprisingly good. Much better than I expected from the listed ingredients. It’s a keeper for us and will be made frequently. Thank you, Sabrina.
So glad you enjoyed it Donna!
Fantastic !
This looks amazing. I’m going to give it a try. If you were to make this in advance would you freeze it? and if so how would you bake it to reheat. This looks like a great alternative to lasagna for new moms or those friends you want to help out in a hard time.
What a great idea! This one might be a bit trickier to make ahead and freeze but if I were doing it, I would make it up to step 6 and then freeze. When delivering it to someone, I would give them a bag of cheese and jar of salsa with instructions on how to finish. Tell them to pour the salsa over the frozen shells and bake for 25 minutes, then top with the cheese and bake an additional 5 min. Hopefully this makes sense.
I’m currently making this, only I am changing/adding some stuff to it. My family doesn’t care for salsa (I do!) so instead of adding salsa or tomato, I am making this with mild cheddar cheese with a velveeta cheese sauce to cover each of the shells. It looks simple enough to make, and I do believe this will be a hit at our home!
Sooo easy to make! Made me look like I actually knew what I was doing in the kitchen! I? made my test batch for me and my friend as written above. But I? wanted to cook this for my whole family and I have a large family so I doubled the Recipe. I ended up with extra shells with no stuffing. But it worked out because I didn’t have to use any torn shells. But I added 1/3 cup of sour cream in the meat the second time I cooked it. It made it a little more difficult to stuff the shells because it was a little more runny. But it tasted amazing!
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
This pasta looks perfect even for a Sunday dinner!
Thanks Catalina!
This is such a great dinner idea! And I love how easy this is to make too. 🙂
Oh my gosh, these have my mouth watering – I want a big serving right now!