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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In an ealier review, someone mentioned draining the cooked meat well.
As long as I am browning burger meat alone to add into a dish, I always put it in a colander and run very hot water over it to get rid of excess fat, and then allow the water to drain well.
It tasted really bland. It was too watery with tomato taste. I really wanted to like this dish but unfortunately will not be making again.
I’m sorry this one didn’t work out for you, Mia! 🙁
The Creamy beef and shells recipe came out amazing!! My husband loved it! He loves hamburger helper and this was the comfort of that but without the stomach ache after! My picky kids loved it too! New rotation meal! Thanks so much!! Your recipes are Always a hit!
Absolutely delicious and super easy to make! A great weeknight dinner for our family meal planning rotation! Plus it makes a lot and my hubby has a pretty big appetite so having something that I know will feed him enough to satisfy is a huge bonus! Thank you for another great recipe! ❤️ This has been my favorite blog for the past 6 years and I’m always recommending friends to come check it out! Appreciate all that you and your team do!
Husband approved!! Highest rating there is!!
Love that! 🙂
Can u use heavy whipping cream
Yes, absolutely. 🙂
I was a little hesitant to make this because I wasn’t sure if my family would like it, but I happened to have all of the ingredients at home and I was looking for a quick and easy dinner recipe. Well, it came together quickly and easily…and my family loved it!! Made the recipe just as directed and didn’t change a thing. It was a filling, easy meal that I will make again…thanks!
My family really enjoyed this!
What is the can of (tomato sauce?) Is it Ketchup? or tomato (paste)? or just sauce like (Passata)? Which is like a can of tomatoes in a puree.
Canned tomato sauce is a cooked purée of unseasoned tomatoes.
This was fast and easy to make. My husband and I loved the flavor so I will definitely be making this again.
Could you use taco sauce for substitute for tomato sauce? Plus it is very yummy!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Although i love your dishes and i make alot of them as other reviewer’s said it was bland. Made it exactly as directed. Let me see what my guys says when he eats it. Maybe more spices and maybe a different cheese?? Not sure yet will make it again but i will tweak it. But thank you for your amazing dishes this is the only one that i feel i must tweak.
This was a huge hit in our picky eater house. I substituted Colby jack cheese and it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Such an easy recipe but so so good. Perfect on cold nights when all you want is some comfort food too.. Hubby commented on how delicious it was. He had seconds and so did my son. Thank you for sharing this recipe
Does anyone have the nutrition facts per serving ?
Why not just read the labels of the ingredients and find out?
This was “damn delicious “! My entire family loved it and asked me to make it again soon. I had fat free half & half on hand and used that instead of heavy cream and it was fantastic. I also plated mine over baby spinach with just a few noodles and loved it just as much( well almost 😉
Thank you for a great recipe!
Second time in 2 weeks that I’ve made this, so delicious! The first time I followed the recipe, the second time I added the oil after browning the hamburger before the onions! So awesome!
Excellent idea
SOOOO delicious!! Made this for my mom for Mother’s Day yesterday. It was a BIG hit with everyone. So creamy and cheesy and flavorful. My husband insists we put this in our meal rotation — I agree. The ONLY thing I did different (after reading some of the reviews) was to reduce slightly the amount of beef stock. The consistency was perfect. What else can I say buy YUM!
I want to make this tonight, but my daughter is dairy free! Do you think almond milk or canned coconut milk would work? Would a vegan cream cheese or cheddar substitute work? Thank you!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Made the recipe as listed – except for the heavy cream as I didn’t have any. I added mik and sour cream instead. Definitely makes more than 4 servings. It was easy and tasty. Thanks for sharing.
A big hit even in 90 degree weather! I want to try this again with a blend of cheeses since my husband is a cheese addict! I don’t think it turned out watery but then I did reduce the beef stock before I added the tomato sauce and then reduced them together. I will be making this again for sure!
What can I use instead of Italian seasoning as I don’t have it
Zita, you can substitute 1/4 teaspoon each of basil, thyme, rosemary and oregano for each teaspoon of Italian seasoning called for in a recipe.
I don’t have heavy cream, only milk. Will this work or should I try to add some sour cream?
I would add the sour cream as you go, if needed, simply for texture reasons. But as always, please use your best judgement when making substitutions and modifications.