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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The picture on the recipe looked so yummy, I had to try it! The end left me wanting something…more texture, more zip. The flavor is reminiscent of spaghetti-os, not necessarily bad but not exciting either. I added extra salt and pepper and a tbs of Worchestershire sauce, and still was underwhelmed. It’s very cozy and kid friendly, but not quite A+ level for me.
Spaghettios it is NOT!!! That’s an absolute insult. It’s a cozy dish with a sauce you make. Not a jar of spaghetti sauce thrown in to noodles. It’s a great way to change it up during the week.
I make this frequently; it is delicious and is a fast weeknight meal. You can switch it up by adding fresh spinach or broccoli. I sometimes use Italian sausage. It’s a family favorite and really satisfies!
Made this for a second time. It will be in the normal rotation. Doesn’t last long in the house!!
We love hearing that!
Made this tonight. I doubled the recipe. It is fantastic! This is in my rotation!
Thanks Chungah!
I will be making it tonight and will use the one-pot method suggested by others.
Question! If we want to make a full box of pasta— should I double the entire recipe? Excited to make!
Yes! That’s what I did.
My absolute favorite dish! So delicious! I literally crave this pasta .
This was FANTASTIC! I don’t think I’ve made one recipe of yours that I didn’t like. I did use chickpea pasta, shallots and evaporated milk because that’s what I had in my pantry. Yum!!
Made this again tonight (subbing jarred marinara for tomato sauce) and I took another tip for cooking the pasta in the same pan. Delicious again!!! Chef’s kiss!
Delicious!! Made as written and will make again. Thanks!
I followed others suggestion of reducing the beef broth a bit. I maybe used 1 1/4 cups and in fact I used 1 1/4 cups of the pasta water with a heaping tsp of better than bullion. The flavor of this dish is a bit overwhelming with tomato puree, and I do love tomatoes, but it was too much for me. The recipe is pretty good (just adjust consistency to your liking) overall. Definitely give it a try to see if sends your taste buds soaring.
Thanks for the recipe, it was solid. I felt it needed more flavor though – personal preference. I doubled the recipe, then I used a little Worcestershire sauce, beef boullion granules & garlic salt. I also seasoned the meat. Added an extra cup of pasta and half cup less heavy cream. It was the perfect consistency, not soupy. We have a ton of leftovers
Can you use the Banza Pasta for a healthier version?
I used Banza and it was so good!!
I bought your book thinking this dish was in it. Do you have another book with the his dish included?
The dish is delicious, but overall the flavor is somewhat one dimensional.
I will definitely make this again but with a few alterations.
1. Crumbled sausage rather than ground meat. Possibly hot sausage, but I also like sweet.
2. Maybe a cheese with more depth. Most would say extra sharp cheddar has punch. I agree when eaten on a cracker. But the cheddar flavor gets lost when mixed into this dish. I’m looking for a cheese that will rise up in this dish to add to the flavor profile.
3. Definitely chopped parsley on top for a bright green herb flavor as a topper.
4. If you want to go the extra mile, I would cut in half the mixed in cheese, place the pasta mixture in a casserole dish, and top it with cheddar. Then bake that bad boy to form a nice crispy cheese top.
Do those steps and this dish is a show stopper.
This was delicious! I will be making it again!
I also added a lil rue, to this recipe….1/4 cup flour with 1/2cup cold water…..perfect.thank you for your site and exciting twists to recipes…… For this old lady….been cooking 65yrs. And yet, I find fun inspiration here. FUN!
We loved it! Yummyy
This was really good. I read the reviews concerning it being runny and only used 1 cup beef broth. It turned out perfect! Will make again..
Thank you so very much for the chance to enter into your profile, as I already see so many wonderful receipes that I know that I will really enjoy…
This was so delicious! I made it as stated in the recipe only substituted half and half for the cream. This will become a regular dinner!