Creamy Beef and Shells

Quick, easy, budget-friendly ground beef and pasta made so quickly! An absolute weeknight hero and a crowd-favorite for the entire family!

Ingredients · Servings 4

8 ounces medium pasta shells
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1/2 medium sweet onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef stock
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
3/4 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
6 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)

Method · 40 min

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.

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.

why you’ll love this creamy beef and shells recipe

Weeknight superhero. Whip this up in just 30-40 minutes, making weeknight dinners effortless.
The cream sauce. This dreamy, velvety cream sauce is what dreams are made of. And the shells just collect every single drop of all that creamy heavenly goodness.
Budget-friendly. Using ground beef, this is a great economical, budget-friendly dinner for the entire family.
Freezer-friendly. Not only does this come together so quickly, but this recipe also freezes beautifully, perfect to keep in your back pocket for a rainy day.

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.

Do I have to use ground beef?

Not at all! Ground pork or ground turkey can be used instead of ground beef.

What is tomato sauce? Is it the same as passata?

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.

What is heavy cream?

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.