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!
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.
I made this tonight and honestly, I was a bit skeptical. I didn’t know how the beef broth, tomato sauce, cream and cheese would combine. But wow, was I wrong. This will be on our weekly rotation. So good!
This was absolutely amazing. Followed the recipe to a T (minus I didn’t have shells, used elbows) and it turned out great. It was a huge hit in the house. My kid even ate every last bite. Will definitely make again!
Made this recipe tonight – super tasty!!! Unfortunately there was way too much sauce! I wonder if I using the whole box of pasta it wouldn’t be so saucy (I followed the recipe/instructions to a T). Any suggestions? Definitely worth trying again with a few adjustments; hubby approved!
I had the same issue and realized it was because the roux didn’t come together properly from just adding the flour to the onion mixture. So I started a new roux in in the pasta pot with just some butter and flour and slowly whisked in the sauce and it thickened right up at that point! It worked out for the best anyways because that pot was bigger to mix in the beef and pasta. Turned out delicious!
Did you allow the sauce to reduce and thicken?
This is a delicious meal that the whole family will love! I am making it for the second time tonight and my family can not wait! Thank you for the recipe.
Pasta tasted good but there was way too much liquid in the pot. Not sure why since I followed all of the measurements?
Otherwise, flavour was good. If I were to make this again, I would use half of the tomato sauce and broth. Tasted like a creamy lasagna.
We didn’t have enough Cheddar so we did half cheddar half mozzarella and we doubled the recipe. It turned out kind of runny but thickened up after we started eating it we probably didn’t have it simmer long enough.
This looks really good and I want to make it, but I’m missing stock and heavy cream. What substitutions do you reccomend?
Beef brother or vegetable broth for the heavy cream try half and half instead or even whole milk
I like easy …. and this was easy! Just spiced it up a little with some sprinkle dried crushed red pepper flakes and doubled the garlic. I tend to like my food a spicy. Creamy is dreamy!!
I am not a chef. In fact I’m no where near being a chef. I am on my first year of college and have never cooked a meal by myself before. I made this tonight for my grandma who is very picky and usually only eats food that she cooks. I told her dinner was done and she came into the kitchen and tasted it and….SHE LOVED IT!! this recipe has made my grandma proud of me and I can’t thank you enough!
I put part pasta sauce part jalapeno/tomato sauce. Also did half parmesan/medium cheddar..all I had.. .OMG !! Never hesitate to tweak a recipe explore Mon Amie!
It’s a great recipe . I added a bit more flour and a little corn start haha as I prefer a thicker sauce . I ran out of cheddar so I used a mixed blend and it worked just fine ! I accidentally put too much oregano in mine …but other than that it was great
I made this not too long ago and added everything in together, instead of separate pans etc and I used jelly like beef stock cubes, this dinner was absolutely delicious and my whole family went for seconds. My boyfriend is begging me to make it again.
I had to make a few substitutions and it turned out great. I used Premio Italian sausage with the casing removed instead of the ground beef, cento marinara sauce in place of tomato sauce, I added sun dried tomatoes and omitted the cheddar cheese. This is a restaurant quality meal!
Could I make it without tomato sauce?
This was SO delicious and a lifesaver as I’m quickly running out of meal ideas while we’re quarantined! My whole family gobbled it up and my teenage son even thanked me for making it! Trust me, that is some high praise I had to make the following substitutions due to only being able to use what we had on hand, but it was super tasty nonetheless:
-used elbows instead of shells
-used chicken stock but added 1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce with it
-used 1/3 of a block of cream cheese plus 1/4 cup 2% milk instead of the heavy cream
Thank you for a fantastic recipe that I can add to the short list of meals my entire family loves!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT! I’m going to have to make the exact substitutions you made!
Thank you for this! I’m going to try these subs as well!
Bravo! Nice change from meatloaf, meatballs, burgers. Our new go to recipe for ground beef.
This was so good! Had to sub colby/monterey blend for the cheddar since I didn’t have any on hand and it was delicious! Will definitely make this again. So glad I found this recipe, it’s perfect for when you’re in the mood for some good comfort food. Thanks!