Creamy Beef and Shells
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A quick/easy ground beef recipe, this is a pasta dish that will be on your dinner table all week long! So creamy and so comforting!
Featured Comment
I cannot even begin to tell you how much of this pasta I ate on probably 13 different occasions.
Well, first, I should tell you that no plating of any kind was involved here.
Nope. This is clearly a straight-out-of-the-skillet type dinner. Just grab your fork and dig right in.
All that cream sauce. All that pasta, just collecting that creaminess. And the perfectly crumbled ground beef, again, soaking up every last drop of that creamy, heavenly goodness.
Ugh, I can’t even talk about this anymore because now I need to make this for dinner. Again. For the 14th time.
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Creamy Beef and Shells: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Ground pork or ground turkey can be used instead of ground beef.
Tomato sauce, in the US, is tomato puree typically cooked down for a thick, smooth consistency with a relatively sweet flavor. Passata is simply uncooked tomato purée. You can use passata in place of tomato sauce, but it is not a completely equal substitute.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop.
Creamy Beef and Shells
Ingredients
- 8 ounces medium pasta shells
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, about 1 1/2 cups
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat. Set aside.
- Add onion to the skillet, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and Italian seasoning until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in beef stock and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in pasta, beef and heavy cream until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cheese until melted, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Made this tonight using ground turkey and chicken broth. Followed directions and added peas at the end. Wife enjoyed it and we have leftovers. Yummy
I’ll make it again for family.
Have made this several times now. It doesn’t last long in the fridge!! A weekly go to!
Anyone making this – just go ahead and double the recipe. Everyone will want seconds. It’s a nice, comforting (and super easy) meal.
This recipe was quick, easy, and delicious!
I added peas to this and a little extra cream, it was delicious, kids devoured it!
Used a combo of ground beef, ground pork and It. sausage. No cheddar so used Parmasan and Mozzarella. Delicious!
Sounds amazing. Thanks for sharing, Joanne!
This is DELICIOUS! Could I make this in the crockpot?
Made tonight and it was delicious!! My kids enjoyed it as well and that’s the real struggle. We used penne pasta bc that’s what I had on hand. Could definitely leave the cheese and cream out for a lighter version bc it still taste delicious. I didn’t add the cheese to the dish. We left it as a garnish.
I just finished making this and it’s delicious! I made it all in one pot to save dishes and it turned out great. Used slightly more pasta than what it calls for so it would be a little thicker.
Sooooooo good.
I used marinara instead of pasta sauce
I added red pepper flakes
I made it in one pot
Did cheesey broccoli on the side
My gosh outstanding thank you!!!
This is a go to recipe for my family. My son asks for it on a regular basis! It’s super quick & easy & the flavors are delicious. Sometimes I add 1/2 tsp less italian seasoing, but that’s just my preference. Thanks for sharing this.
Made this tonight. It was delicious! I made a few changes, but just to accommodate my family. Every recipe I’ve made from here has been .
I made it for dinner, and everybody in my family loved it and I used beef bouillon 2 tps 2 cups of water and whole milk instead of heavy cream.
Any suggestions on how I should go about making it have less of a sharp tomato taste?
I’ve made it using pasta sauce & marinara sauce since thats what I had on hand and I think this would work for you to cut the tomato taste. Also you could also add more cream or cheese.
Pretty fire
This meal was so easy to make and it was so so so delicious and creamy. I added some sausage to it as well. I can’t wait to make it again
excellent! I made it for my lunch this week.
This is the most delicious and my kids ate it up! Definitely a keeper!!
Absolutely delicious!
Family favorite! Easy to make and reheats well! I added extra salt. I want to try it with pork Italian sausage or smoked turkey sausage.