A creamy, cheesy, chicken filling accentuates these Creamy Chicken Stuffed Shells. Make a double batch to freeze for another time. Such a great comfort food!
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Ready to fill your freezer with deliciousness? These Creamy Chicken Stuffed Shells are just the ticket!
The filling is a luscious cream cheese, chicken, mozzarella concoction, specked with green onion and a homemade Italian seasoning mix. I swear just that alone is worthy of licking the bowl clean!
Creamy Chicken Stuffed Shells
These Chicken Stuffed Shells are great for freezing. The beauty of stuffed shells is that you can easily freeze them in smaller portions to accommodate for whatever size table you’re serving.
I’ve even frozen them unsauced in a bag and pulled out just as many as I want. Super versatile and a lot easier to divvy up into portions than a lasagna.
Shells are actually a perfect vehicle for your favorite lasagna fillings without making a huge casserole. Keep that in mind for future reference. 😉
What’s the difference between manicotti and stuffed shells?
Both manicotti and jumbo shells are large pasta noodles great for stuffing. Manicotti are tube-shaped while shells are large, shell-shaped pasta noodles.
How many jumbo shells are in a 12-ounce box?
A box of jumbo shells makes a lot! There are about 40 jumbo shells in each box, enough to fill two 9×13-inch baking dishes.
What goes with stuffed shells?
Stuffed shells go great with whatever side dishes you normally serve with pasta dishes, such as a green salad, broccoli or green beans, and garlic bread.
How do you make stuffed shells?
- Boil the noodles according to the directions on the package.
- While the noodles are cooking, combine the chicken and cheese filling.
- When the noodles are al dente, rinse and drain them and divide them on a work surface. They will stick together if they cool while touching.
- Spoon the filling into the shells and place them in a greased baking dish. The shells can be frozen at this point if you’d like to use just a few at a time.
- Once all the shells are filled, cover them with sauce.
- Top with mozzarella cheese and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the filling is hot.
How to make this good and cheap:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. For instance, when I see a great price on pasta, cheese, or chicken, I’ll buy lots of those items and plan my meals around them.
- Use a whole chicken! Cooking a whole chicken (or buying one that Costco roasted for you) can be more economical than buying chicken pieces. Plus, you can use the carcass to make homemade stock. You can easily make this dish with turkey when the whole birds go on sale at the holidays, too.
How I make this recipe easy:
Having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
- 9×13-inch pan with secure lid – I love these Pyrex ones. They are great for freezing!
- stand mixer – I use my KitchenAid to combine the chicken and cheese mixture. It comes together very quickly with less mess.
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to share a picture on social media and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Creamy Chicken Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 6 oz jumbo pasta shells cooked according to package directions
- 2 cup chicken (cooked and cubed) you can use turkey as well
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese (shredded) (2 cups)
- 1 green onion chopped
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning Mix
- 16 oz marinara sauce (2 cups)
Instructions
- In a pot of salted, boiling water, cook the noodles, according to package directions until al dente. Rinse and drain well. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the chicken, cream cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, scallions, and herbed seasoning mix. Mix until the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Divide the chicken mixture among the cooked shells. Place the shells in the prepared pan. Pour the sauce over all and sprinkle with the remaining cup of cheese.
- At this point, you can wrap and label the pan, if freezing. Chill completely before freezing.
- If baking fresh, bake for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. If baking from frozen, thaw the shells in the refrigerator before baking.
Notes
Nutrition
Tiadra
Really enjoyed this meal! I did shred the chicken instead of cubes and found that worked really well!!!
Pat
What is summer savory in the herbed blend? Thanks
Jessica Fisher
A currently very difficult-to-find dried herb. I ran out in November, and have a hard time finding it at my local grocery stores. You can omit it.
Pat
This sounds amazing! The only problem I have is pasta seems to raise my husband’s blood sugar.. I wonder how it would be mixed with rice? There’s only one way to find out–its on the menu for next week!!
Jessica Fisher
Do corn tortillas have the same effect on him? I use a similar filling for enchiladas sometimes.
Pat
I honestly don’t think he’s eaten any tortillas since he was diagnosed last May. We’ve done taco salads and he eats crumbled tortilla chips in that without a problem.
I already planned spaghetti and meatballs this week so I’ll eat it on top of l/o spaghetti and he can have it on rice.
Jennifer B.
SOO GOOD!! I made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! It is definitely a keeper for our house (and it will be at the top of the menu as a great option for bringing a meal to someone). I also made a 2nd batch for the freezer, so I’m doubly thrilled about that. 🙂 When I was looking at the recipe earlier today, there were no comments on the herb seasoning yet. I wasn’t sure what to do there – so I just used an Italian Seasoning blend and it worked out well. Thank you (!!) for giving us yet again a terrific recipe! <3
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad you liked them. Sorry about forgetting to mention the seasoning mix. Glad it worked out!
Jennifer B
np! I also recently used ground turkey one night when I was desperate for a dinner solution and had all of the other ingredients except for chopped chicken/turkey and it turned out super yummy as well! I’m not sure there is a bad version of this fabulous recipe! 😀
Jessica Fisher
good to know!
Crystal
Did you make your own or use like an Italian blend for the herb mix? This looks delicious!
Jessica Fisher
I made my own. Sorry. Link is here: https://goodcheapeats.com/2016/04/herbed-seasoning-mix/
Susan
Ingredients list calls for 2 cups of mozzarella. I only see 1-1/2 cups used in the directions.
Jessica Fisher
Sorry! It should be one cup of cheese as a topping not one-half. Thanks for catching my mistake!