I think I’m on an Italian kick this week. Yesterday afternoon storms were coming through and the rain was pounding on my windows. It made we want to make something comforting and hearty. I decided to make this homemade lasagna recipe using stuffed shells and Mezzetta Pasta Sauce since I didn’t have any lasagna noodles in my cupboard. I am so excited about how it turned out! To be honest, I found it easier that regular lasagna and easier to portion out for dinner.
One of my biggest complaints about making lasagna is how many ingredients it takes. Sometimes I just want dinner to be super simple. However, I’ve found that it really takes a variety of ingredients to truly make a great homemade lasagna recipe. What I like about this recipe is that it freezes well if you want to make a double batch. It’s also easy to portion it out for leftovers, which is what I did for my hubby’s lunch.
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Are you ready to make this awesome recipe?!
To make one pan of lasagna you will need:
2 TB olive oil
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb italian sausage
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
25 oz jar of Mezzetta Pasta Sauce (I used the Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onions version.)
6 oz package of fresh spinach
16 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 large eggs
2 TB fresh basil, chopped
2/3 of 12 oz jumbo pasta shells
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first thing you need to do is to cook the jumbo pasta shells according to the directions. While it’s boiling, add the olive oil to a large pan on medium high. Saute the onion and garlic for about five minutes. Add the italian sausage and ground beef and cook thoroughly. Drain the meat and then return to the stove. Add the salt and pepper, 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce and the spinach.
Stir the meat mixture until the spinach is wilted. Remove from the heat.
Right about now the noodles should be done. Drain the pasta.
*TIP* Fill a pan with cold water and add the pasta shells to keep them from sticking as you put the lasagna shells together.
In a bowl mix together 1 cup mozzarella with the ricotta cheese, basil and eggs.
Mix the meat mixture together with the cheese mixture. I was afraid the cheese would melt with the heat from the meat mixture. However, I realized it’s all going to cook together anyways, right?
Add 1/2 cup of pasta sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 pan after spraying it with cooking spray.
Using a cookie scoop, add the lasagna cheese mixture to the shells. They were easy to fill.
Keep on filling shells until the pan is full. I used about 25 jumbo shells.
The last step is an easy one and one that would be great for kids to help with! (That is, unless they’re napping.) 🙂
Add the remaining Mezzetta pasta sauce to the top of the shells.
Top with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover the lasagna shells with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
That’s it! I absolutely love how this recipe turned out. It was a huge hit with my family!
The best thing about using the shells is how easy it is to scoop each one out to serve. I ended up having a lot of leftovers and filled quite a few tupperware containers for my hubby to take to work.
Enjoy!
Looking for another delicious lasagna? Give this Mexican Lasagna Recipe or this Easy Meat Lasagna Recipe a try!
Enter to win the Perfect Pasta Night with your family! You can enter here.
Stuffed Shells Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1/2 lb italian sausage
- 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves diced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 25 oz pasta sauce
- 6 oz fresh spinach
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 TB fresh basil chopped
- 12 oz jumbo pasta shells
Instructions
- Cook the jumbo pasta shells to al dente.
- In a large skillet on medium/high heat, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add the ground beef and Italian sausage and cook thoroughly. Drain. Add 1/2 cup of Mezzetta Sauce, salt, pepper, and spinach, and stir until wilted. Take off the heat.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, basil, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Add the meat mixture to the cheese mixture and stir together. Add 1/2 cup of pasta sauce to a 9x13 pan. Fill jumbo shells with cheese & meat mixture. Top with the rest of the pasta sauce and then 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven at 375˚ F for 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Awesome receipt will definitely be making this again soon. Thank you for sharing this with everyone.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Such a unique twist on the classic lasagna recipe. I need to make this again, soon!
Looks great. This may be on the menu tonight!
Hope you enjoyed it!