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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Loved this recipe so much! I literally cannot wait to eat it again and so easy to make!!
I really enjoyed this recipe. I halved the recipe for my family of 4. We all enjoyed it, and I myself am very picky. Would make this again.
I made this recipe but I added some sun dried tomatoes, liquid smoke, about 6 garlic cloves, red crushed pepper, and used chickpea noodles. It was amazing and will be making again soon. Thank you for posting!
I made this 2 nights ago because I had all the ingredients and it ended up being my husband’s favorite meal in like forever!!
Delicious. Making it as gain as a meal to drop off to a family.
This is SO forgiving! I used what I had on hand (half & half and chicken broth) and it’s so good! We needed comfort food today and this hit the spot.
When you say this is damn delicious, you’re not lying! Made it for dinner last night using what I had: macaroni instead of shells, about 1/2lb of ground beef and milk instead of heavy cream. I also added canned chickpeas. Even though I goofed and forgot to add the cheese at the end this was freakin’ amazing! And so easy. What could be better. Because I used milk, I added some cornstarch and simmered about at least 15 minutes at the end right before serving and the sauce really thickened up. Can’t wait for leftovers tonight!
The entire family really enjoyed this dinner but felt it had too many onions. It reminded them of Hamburger Helper but way better and less sodium. Thank you for the recipe.
Family loved it! Everyone ate at least 2 helpings!
Under quarantine, so used mozzarella since that’s what was on hand. Very tasty. My sister made the same meal tonight and it was nice to know that even though miles apart, we had dinner together.
Amazing taste! So much better than the box stuff. I will definitely make this again.
I used a local cajun cheddar and also used ziti instead of shells- what I had in the fridge.
Turned out excellent, I also added more garlic than it called for, I may double the meat next time, otherwise the recipe is spot on.
Everything on your site lives up to its name! This was in deed, Damn Delicious! My 1 yr old and my very very picky 4 yr old loved it! Thanks!!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious. It reminds me of a homemade more gourmet style of the old school hamburger helper. My kids loved it and so did I. Plenty of food for a family. I will make this again.
made this for my daughter and her family, EVERYONE loved it, thats amazing with 5 kids! My daughter just called and asked me to fined that recipe ASAP! Definitely will be making this again….
Made this a couple weeks ago. It was delicious, and made enough to freeze for another meal. I worried about freezing, as some recipes that contain noodles don’t freeze well, however this recipe did just fine in the freezer. Tastes as good as it did the first time around!
Very simple dish to prepare. Taste factor for me was just ok. If I’m using that much cheese in a dish I’d like there taste factor to be amazing. I didn’t want to use cheddar; I felt it would be too overpowering so I subbed with Italian cheese and ended up with a wet Ziti tasting dish. I have to say the family really enjoyed it, but they don’t know 1 1/2cups cheese and 3/4 cup of cream went into it. Thanks tho.
Fabulous, this was my first attempt at Pasta. Recipe was spot on. Cant wait to try the leftovers.
Taste was fine, but way too much beef broth. I would add like 1/2-3/4 cup, it was basically a soup with 2 cups.
Did you reduce the sauce enough? That would be key.
It was, indeed, delicious. Although, it turned out quite soupy. I will definitely reduce the amount of liquid next time, or double the pasta. It is also delicious even without the cream and cheese, I’ll probably omit one of those next time as well.
Delicious! Very satisfying! Made with farfalle pasta and mild cheddar cheese because that was what I had. I also added 4oz of finely chopped mushrooms to the ground beef to add a little more “meat”. My family was none the wiser. Next time I’ll probably add the pasta last so that I can make myself my own pasta alternative dish. Thanks for a great recipe! It was exactly what I was looking for.
My boyfriend wanted Hamburger Helper, which I don’t eat, so i found this and it’s a hit with both of us! I added some cayenne pepper to it for an extra kick.
I made this today. Sautéed hamb, onion and garlic in my cast iron skillet with Italian seasonings. Added broth ( used 1 cup)and tomato sauce 8oz. Let simmer for 20-30 min. Didn’t have heavy cream so substituted 2/3 cups soy milk mixed with 1/3 c veg oil. Added flower to milk,oil mixture. Added to pan to thicken up mixture. Thickened up very well. Added pasta. I had rotini. And cheese. Very good. Will make again.
Made this tonight and tripled the recipe. I followed the liquid ratios as posted, but I did have to substitute some items due to the current shopping situation. Not sure why others are having too much liquid at the end. Perhaps they’re not reducing it long enough? I did have to reduce the liquid longer than the recommended time. I used whole milk instead of heavy cream, a swiss/gruyere blend instead of cheddar and a chunk of cream cheese to add some more fat/creaminess since I didn’t have heavy cream on hand. Recipe came out perfect despite the substitutes and I look forward to trying it again following the original recipe. Don’t be afraid to use what you have on hand, you really can’t go wrong with this.
Going to make this tonight. Can you make ahead and reheat or would that make the pasta mushy?
Yes, you can refrigerate and have leftovers. Was a bit soupy the first night (day before yesterday), but just right today.
Did you use tomato sauce, like the recipe says? Am thinking it’s a mistake and meant to be tomato soup, instead of sauce.