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
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
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I tried the recipe last night after I could not think of anything to cook. The recipe was phenomenal. Such a quick dish to make and it was too good!
It was fantastic, the whole family loved it!
Hands down one of my favorite and go to dishes!! I really had my doubts at first.. this easy wonderful dish even got my picky eater to love it.
So much flavour and super easy to make.
With a houseful it’s hard to satisfy everyone but this was well received. I added spinach & mushrooms and topped with cheese & cilantro
Made recipe with a few changes and it was absolutely Delicious. My son who is a very picky eater loves this dish! I added or used the following
7 cloves of minced garlic
Used an excellent quality Pasta Sauce with simple ingredients, Italian tomatoes, onions, eevo, carrots, garlic, sea salt,basil, oregano, black pepper
I added 1/2 teaspoon sweet basil, oregano, marjoram, cilantro, thyme, a few crushed up rosemary leaves and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
I used organic beef bone broth.
I used organic half and half since it was all I had.
Used Parmesan cheese over each individual dish instead of added extra cheeses.
Your rating your own recipe.
This is not even close to the original recipe.
Start your own recipe blog…your recipe sounds terrible!
What is the point in being mean? Maybe this comment isn’t for you but I find these types of comments super helpful – sometimes we don’t have a few ingredients on hand. She spiced it up. Added her touch. Sounds great!
I guess your parents never told you if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.. jeez
This is the best 1 pan meal I’ve made in a long time! Super easy prep, clean up and storage of left overs. I’m curious if anyone knows the caloric intake?
Hey Antonia, I just made this recipe today and added to My Fitness Pal as I count calories, I doubled the recipe and with my ingredients (great value cheese, tomatoe sauce, pasta, heavy cream, flour, beef broth), Kirkland olive oil, 88/12 ground beef, it came to about 680calories per serving. Which is A LOT, but I believe it was worth it as it was so delicious.
this meal is incredible and soooo easy. for a man who loves 1 pan cooking, minimal effort and few ingredients and little clean up this is the one. got brownie points on this one too from my wife. ultimate comfort food
I made this and loved it! I used homemade canned spaghetti sauce in place of tomato sauce, I also omitted the seasonings, except garlic. It is creamy, I will definitely make again. I also didn’t add noodles, I served it separately. In my opinion when noodles are added to the sauce, it tends to get dried out! I will definitely make again
Well, holy #%$&!
That was amazing. My kids loved it. My daughter who only wants boxed Mac n Cheese (I mean, who doesn’t?) loved it. She said it’s the best pasta she’s ever had.
I added a few drops of Louisiana Hot Sauce to my bowl. It was fantastic!
Hi I made this recipe many times. What other type of cheese can I use for this recipe to spice it up? Can I use medium sharp cheddar cheese?
please make your own cheese decisions….save yourself while you still can.
I love this recipe, thanks so much! I’ve made it twice now and I’m very happy with it. The only changes I made were yellow onion instead of sweet, spaghetti sauce (marinara or tomato/basil) instead of plain tomato sauce, and I added some basil and oregano. This recipe is on my regular rotation now.
My 13 year old’s favorite meal. I printed out the recipe and she makes it herself.
This has become one of our favorites. Super easy to make. Only switch I make is using light cream instead of heavy cream since I usually have light cream on hand for coffee. Made it tonight. On the stove now and I can’t wait for dinner.
Damn Delicious. Made the recipe without changing a thing. My husband loved it. It was tasty and with French bread, a real winner. This has been added to my rotation.
Tried this dish for the first time tonight and oh my gosh it’s so delicious!! I will be adding it to my recipe book for future dinners!
I made this with chickpea shells, almond milk instead of heavy cream and mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar. kept everything the same. It was a huge hit with my family. My kids ate it so fast…and wow the next day left overs were amazing
This was a big hit in our house tonight, especially with our toddler. Super easy to put together and very tasty. It was a heallthier twist on Hamburger Helper, thanks!
This recipe is so good! Bonus that it is easy to make too. My 11yr old enjoyed helping in the making of this dish. My hubby took 1 bite and gave me a thumbs up (he’s usually pretty hesitant to try new recipes I prepare haha) and said it is FIRE!!! Even my 1yr old loved it! I did substitute shells for penne pasta because I didn’t have enough shells. Other than that, I followed the recipe. Delicious! Thank you!
this is exactly what I needed! The creaminess mixed with the seasoning results in brilliant taste. I made this for me and my parents as I know they’re quite tired after work and they really enjoyed it :))) so much so that my dad ended up eating the leftovers not long after
We love this recipe! I’ve made it dozens of times now and it’s a meal that all the kids will actually eat. That’s a huge win in our house.