Growing up, I was lucky enough to have a family that sat down together at dinner every night and enjoyed a home-cooked meal. When I moved out on my own, I naturally asked my mom for all of my favorite recipes, so I could recreate them for myself and have a little taste of home wherever I was.
What I hadn’t realized was that some of my all-time favorite family recipes are also some of the absolute easiest. Sure, half the time, there isn’t actually a written recipe to follow—my mom is the kind of person who just tosses whatever is left in the fridge into her chili, and it comes out delicious every time.
However, the recipes we do have written down pretty much all look the same: no measurements, no cook times, and no oven temperatures. So, it’s a good thing most of them are five ingredients or less.
My grandma’s three-ingredient pasta dinner of egg noodles, tomato soup, and bacon is a staple when I need something quick, easy, and cheap. However, there’s another family-favorite pasta dish that is perfect when you want a hearty, comforting meal: my aunt’s famous stuffed shells.
My Aunt’s Easy Stuffed Shells
Traditionally, stuffed shells aren’t all that hard to make. They might just take some time to prep and be a bit costly, thanks to all the cheese you have to use and grate by hand. However, my aunt’s secret ingredient will save you time and money.
Instead of the traditional filling of ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella, my aunt uses one cheese that boasts incredible flavor and becomes super melty in the center: Longhorn-style Colby.
Longhorn-style cheese is simply defined by its long, round shape. Other than the shape, the yellow Colby cheese has the same mild flavor and melting characteristics as any Colby.
Longhorn Colby is softer than Cheddar, so it grates really easily. Thanks to its meltiness, you’ll often find it in recipes for grilled cheese or mac and cheese. When used for stuffed pasta, it possesses a different flavor profile than the Italian cheese-stuffed shells you might be used to, but it’s famous in my family for how surprisingly delicious it is.
My aunt tops her stuffed shells with a meat sauce she almost definitely makes from scratch, but I like to use store-bought marinara sauce and some browned ground beef or Italian sausage to save time.
If you’re ready to try something new when it comes to stuffed shells, here’s my aunt’s easy recipe.
How to Make My Aunt’s 5-Ingredient Stuffed Shells
Bailey Fink
Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) package jumbo pasta shells1 pound Longhorn-style Colby cheese, grated1 large egg, beaten1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta shells in boiling water according to package instructions. Drain and place shells on a baking sheet to cool.While pasta is cooking, mix Longhorn-style Colby cheese and beaten egg together in a medium bowl until well combined.Combine marinara sauce and cooked ground beef in a separate bowl until well mixed.Stuff shells with cheese mixture and place in the prepared baking dish. Ladle meat sauce over the top.Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are bubbly and cheese has melted, 25 to 30 minutes.
Dining and Cooking