Stuffed Mac and Cheese
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Serves: 8
My daughter was the inspiration for this amazing recipe. As is her usual routine, she goes to the pantry, opens the door, and just stands there staring. I’m not sure if she’s expecting a fully-prepared meal to be sitting on a plate ready for her, or if the pantry is just a place she can mentally focus. Definitely the former, maybe both. So standing in the pantry, she reaches for a box of jumbo pasta shells and turns to me and says, “Can we make mac & cheese with these?“ I knew she was halfway joking, but a brilliant idea came up between the two of us… Stuffed Mac and Cheese. We would make a creamy, velvety ricotta filling and pair it with a flavorful, rich cheese sauce to blanket these awesome and happy stuffed shells.
We got our heads together about which cheeses would satisfy our endeavor and decided to whip the ricotta mixture to create this light and fluffy, almost melt in your mouth filling and a gourmet cheese sauce. Velveeta is nowhere to be found in this recipe. Sure, Velveeta has a place in many delicious macaroni and cheese recipes, but this recipe puts macaroni and cheese in its own category.
I make this in a 9×13” baking pan; you can certainly halve the recipe if you don’t want this amount. But, come on, who wouldn’t want leftovers??
I cook the whole 12-ounce box of jumbo shells. Some of the shells may not make it to the end. Several are generally going to tear or are already broken in the package. Depending on how much you stuff your shells, you may use the entire package. For the photos, I used 2 dishes, because I wanted to show another variation of this recipe with marinara.
You might be tempted to add oil to your pasta water. Please, do not add oil, just stir very often to keep the pasta from sticking to one another. Adding oil to the pasta water or even to the drained pasta will put a barrier on the shells that will not allow the sauce to perfectly adhere to the stuffed shells.
Let me mention that the cheeses were specifically picked out for this recipe. If you substitute with other cheeses, it won’t taste the same as what this recipe is intended to be, and even the texture could be off. And it’s ok if you choose to sub cheeses, but know that it will alter the end result. Choosing more processed cheeses will possibly result in your fats separating and breaking your sauce. So, basically, please, do not be one of those people who substitute broccoli for ice cream and complain that the dessert didn’t turn out to their liking. (Ha. We’ve all read “those” reviews.”) But, if you must sub out cheeses, Gruyere and Parmesan are good ones that melt beautifully and have a wonderful flavor.
Milk vs half-half in the sauce – my first couple of trial runs I used half and half in the cheese sauce. It creates a very rich dish. Some people may say it’s too “heavy” for a side dish. Trying whole milk resulted in a somewhat lighter sauce, which some may prefer. I used whole milk. I have not tried any other milk because I wanted to keep some richness.
Another delicious variation of this recipe is to add marinara…
Cook the jumbo shells as the package instructs, using the addition of the salt. Make the filling and the sauce. Spread the sauce in the bottom of your pan. Add the stuffed shells on top of your sauce. Pour the marinara across the top of the shells. Sprinkle with cheese and chopped Italian parsley, if desired. Bake as the recipe below directs.
Either way you choose to bake this dish, Enjoy!
Another delicious variation of this recipe is to add marinara…
Cook the jumbo shells as the package instructs, using the addition of the salt. Make the filling and the sauce. Spread the sauce in the bottom of your pan. Add the stuffed shells on top of your sauce. Pour the marinara across the top of the shells. Sprinkle with cheese and chopped Italian parsley, if desired. Bake as the recipe below directs.
Either way you choose to bake this dish, Enjoy!
Stuffed Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 12 ounces package jumbo shells
- kosher salt, for boiling water
For the filling:
- 32 ounces ricotta cheese
- 5 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 cups mozzarella, shredded
- 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons kosher salt, to taste
- freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2 large eggs
For the Sauce:
- 4 tablespooons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk, or half and half
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13” pan.
- Cook shells according to directions. Be sure to salt your water for the shells. While you wait for the water to come to a boil and the shells to cook, go ahead and get started on the filling and sauce.
For the Filling:
- In a medium bowl, combine all the filling ingredients.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whip the ricotta filling for about 1 minute or until lighter and fluffier. Set aside.
For the Sauce:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Sprinkle the flour over the butter and whisk until no lumps of flour remain.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir continuously with a whisk for 2 minutes. If you see the mixture is starting to turn a little darker, turn the heat to low. You want a white sauce, not brown.
- Add the milk (or half and half), heavy cream, and nutmeg and stir well.
- Raise the heat to medium-high and continue to whisk as the sauce comes to a gentle boil and thickens.
- Once the sauce is a smooth, thickened consistency, turn off the heat and add the cheddar and fontina by handfuls, whisking to combine after each addition. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Turn the heat to low and stir gently to combine and heat through. Turn off the heat until ready to use.
- Now here’s the fun… Add approximately 2 heaping tablespoons of the ricotta mixture into each shell, taking care to not tear the shells. Place the filled shells as you fill them in the greased 9x13” baking pan.
- Evenly pour the warm sauce over the shells.
- Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 35 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and the sauce is lightly browned.
- Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley, if desired.
- Serve warm.
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