Easy Cream Cheese Stuffed Shells – No Ricotta
These cream cheese stuffed shells are creamy and delicious with just a tiny bit of a kick to them. They’re perfect for a quick weeknight dinner that everyone will enjoy.
Looking for a stuffed shell recipe that’s just a little bit different- something creamy, cozy, and not overloaded with Ricotta?
Same. Most stuffed shell recipes lean heavily on Ricotta cheese, and honestly… it’s just not my thing. So I made my own version using a cheese I do love: cream cheese. And wow, it works.
These jalapeño cream cheese stuffed shells have become one of my absolute favorite vegetarian dinners to make. Cream cheese stuffed shells are simple, delicious, and everyone always goes back for seconds. The cream cheese keeps them mild, rich, and super creamy, while the jalapeño adds a tiny, unexpected kick that makes the whole dish pop. If you want an easy vegetarian pasta recipe that feels comforting but still a little fun, this is it. At least I’ve never had a single complaint.
How to Make Cream Cheese Stuffed Shells:
Equipment You’ll Need
Sauté pan or 9×13 baking dish
Use either a large pan with a tall enough rim to hold your sauce, or a classic 9×13 baking dish. If you’re making a bigger batch of stuffed shells, the baking dish is definitely the easier route.
Large pot for boiling pasta
You’ll need a pot big enough to cook all your jumbo shells. Make sure you follow the “pre‑bake” instructions on the box so they don’t get too soft before baking.
Mixing bowl
Grab a bowl large enough to mix together your cream cheese, jalapeño, and spices. This is your filling base, so give yourself enough room to stir without flinging cheese across the kitchen (I’ve been there. Often).
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Stuffed Shells:
- 8oz cream cheese, softened
- 4oz jalapeno cream cheese, softened (if you can’t find jalapeno cream cheese, see notes)
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, plus more for topping
- 1 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
- Jumbo shell pasta
- 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
- Parmesan cheese, shredded (optional, but yummy)
Preparation
You’ll need to start by cooking the jumbo shells according to the package directions. Make sure that you’re following the pre-bake instructions– you don’t want to overcook your pasta and make it all gummy. It’s going to continue cooking a little bit more in the sauce at the end. There’s typically enough filling to make about 15-20 shells depending on how full you make them and the size of the jumbo shells you can find.
Next, place the cream cheese, jalapeno cream cheese, shredded mozzarella, and spices into your mixing bowl. Mix them all together and then set aside until your shells are finished and ready to stuff. When the shells are done cooking, drain and rinse them in cool water so they aren’t too hot to handle.
Pour the sauce into your pan and set it to med-low heat. Then, place one large spoonful of filling into each shell and place them into a large sauté pan. If you’d rather bake them in the oven, then pre-heat it to 350℉, fill your shells, and place them into a baking dish with the sauce.
Sprinkle a little more mozzarella and some parmesan cheese on top if desired and then cover with a lid. If you’re baking them then cover them with some foil.
Cook over medium-low heat or bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the filling is starting to look gooey and ooze out of the shells. Gently move them around the pan every so often to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom.
Serve warm. I usually like to serve them with some garlic bread.
Tips
These aren’t very spicy. You can adjust the amount of jalapeno cream cheese to make them spicier. If you can’t find jalapeno cream cheese, add one diced jalapeno and 4 extra ounces of plain cream cheese instead.
You can also remove the jalapeno cream cheese and just substitute more plain cream cheese.
They’re also really good with different cheeses– I’ve use cheddar or monetary jack in place of the mozzarella and they turn out great.
If you’re making a large batch or don’t have a pan that’s large enough, you can also cook them in the oven. Place them in a casserole dish, cover them with sauce and top with more mozzarella if desired, then put them in the oven at 350℉ for around 20 minutes, or until hot.
Additional add ins and substitutions
If you’d like to add in a little protein you can add rehydrated TVP, a pre-made beef substitute, or ground beef. Just cook according to the package directions and mix it into your sauce. You can also add some sautéed spinach to your cheese mixture if you’d like. Just be sure to drain it so you don’t make your filling soggy.
FAQ
Of course! Just use regular cream cheese in place of the jalapeno cream cheese.
I like using mozzarella the most, but I’ve also used cheddar and Mexican cheese blends and they still turn out great.
Cream Cheese Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Cook the jumbo shells according to package directions. Make sure that you’re following the pre-bake instructions– you don’t want to overcook your pasta. There’s typically enough filling to make about 15-20 shells depending on how full you make them.Jumbo shell pasta
- Place the cream cheese, jalapeno cream cheese, shredded mozzarella, and spices into a bowl. Mix.8 oz Cream Cheese, 4 oz jalapeno cream cheese, ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- When the shells are done cooking, drain and rinse them in cool water so they aren’t too hot to handle.
- Pour the sauce into your saute pan and set it to med-low heat.1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
- Place one large spoonful of filling into each shell and place into a large sauté pan (see tips if you’d rather bake them in the oven).
- Sprinkle a little more mozzarella and some parmesan cheese on top if desired and then cover with a lid.Parmesan cheese, ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Cook over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until the filling is starting to look gooey and ooze out of the shells. Gently move them around the pan every so often to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom.
- Serve warm. I usually like to serve them with some garlic bread.
