Creamy Beef and Shells
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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
why i love this recipe
- All that cream sauce
- All that pasta, just collecting that creaminess
- The perfectly crumbled ground beef, again, soaking up every last drop of that creamy, heavenly goodness
- Made in 30-40 min, a true weeknight superhero
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. Ugh, I can’t even talk about this anymore because now I need to make this for dinner again for the 14th time.
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite meat. Ground beef, chicken or turkey will all work very well here.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Freeze as needed. Let cool completely; portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
what to serve with creamy beef and shells
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.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Just made this and it’s delicious! I followed the recipe to a “T” and while it was a little more soupy than I prefer, I simmered it until some of the liquid disappeared. I’ll definitely make it again!
Can I use red wine instead of beef broth for this recipe?
Totally delicious! Thank you for this great recipe. Will definitely make this again! I tripled the onion because I had some lying around, and added some butter and a tablespoon of sugar. Awesome recipe!
I followed the recipe without changing anything and it turned out great!
My picky 8 year old son ate a bowl and asked for seconds..he Steven scraped the plate with a spoon lol! It was delicious and I’ll definitely be adding it into my weekly food choices.
Thank you!
You are now my go-to site for recipes. Thank you. Rarely do I follow recipes to the letter and you have convinced me I should do.
Amazing, everything. Lockdown saviour.
Try this one! I used chicken breast instead of thighs. Everything else to a T.
FANTASTIC. A friend turned me on to this site, and I’ve been happy with every recipe I’ve tried so far.
https://damndelicious.net/2014/11/22/chicken-sun-dried-tomato-cream-sauce/
This was delish!! The only changes I made- I added sour cream, as I didn’t have any cream, and some chili peppers. It was loved by our whole family. In fact- I’m eating the leftovers right now for breakfast- and there wasn’t much left. This is a great family meal. Thank you for posting it!
Hi I am 12 and i made this it was so good i will definitely be making it again
This was okay. It was too bland for the adults and a little too “complex” for our picky eater. If we make it again, I would double the spices and add some red pepper flakes in with the garlic.
I have made this several times for my family, it is a big hit! Definitely comfort food. For us it is important to get the ratio of meat and pasta correct, so I have to be careful not to be heavy handed with the pasta. Also, the last time I made it I put about 8 ounces of finely chopped mushrooms in with the ground beef, after I drained/rinsed the ground beef, and no one suspected anything! I will definitely be doing that again!
This definitely looks like it would taste delicious, but I found it to be just… meh. I had a suspicion that 2 cloves of garlic and some Italian seasoning wouldn’t give this much flavor, but I decided to try it anyway. I should’ve followed my gut.
If I try this again, here is what I will most likely do:
1.) Omit the tomato sauce and use tomato paste instead.
2.) Sub sour cream in for the heavy cream.
3.) Use taco seasoning and smoked paprika instead of the Italian seasoning.
I am not saying that this recipe is bad. I personally just think it needs a little more oomph. But that’s the nice thing about this recipe; you can easily alter it!
My great grandmother has been making this since they were young. Called it Macaroni and tomatoes. I can tell you the correct recipe that has always left hundreds around us left with the savory taste that you cant let go of.
Super easy to make with simple ingredients. I used chicken broth instead of beef broth. I followed the recipe exactly and mine did not come out soupy at all and perfectly creamy. I would definitely make this again. To the people that had theirs come out soupy, I think it has to do more with your cooking not the recipe (sorry not sorry). Just make sure to reduce it and you will be good! Also I recommend a salad with it to add some lightness to the dish.
Forking Delicious! I used large elbow noodles because it’s what I had. It’s like an adult version of hamburger helper and I mean that with love. Site saved, can’t wait to try more of your recipes, thanks.
This recipe is very easy to follow and will now be in my regular rotation. It was creamy and delicious. I added a table spoon of red wine to the sauce
My 9 year old actually asks me to make this meal on a regular basis. We all love it. Nice depth of flavor and so easy to make too.
Love this! I’m going to mix some greens and mushrooms in next time, but it’s perfect as is.
This looks delicious, I’m saving this for those nights I don’t know what to make for dinner!
I made this with beyond meat (vegetarian dish), no sodium beef broth and no sodium tomato sauce…wow!! So delicious! This will be part of a rotation!
I made this recipe and it was delicious. I will definitely make again.
Absolutely delicious