Girl Gone Gourmet

Easy Recipes for Every Occasion

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Cookbook
    • Free Email Bonus: Gourmet Made Simple!
    • Work with Me
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy
  • Course
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Appetizers
    • Salads
    • Desserts
    • Breakfast
    • Drinks
  • Ingredient
    • Pasta
    • Chicken
    • Beef Recipes
    • Pork
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Turkey
    • Meat-Free
  • Recipe Collections
    • Comfort Food Recipes
    • Quick & Easy
    • Slow Cooker
    • One-Pot
    • Soups, Stews and Chili
    • Game Day Recipes
    • Recipes for One or Two
    • Instant Pot
    • Recipe Round-Ups
  • Holiday Recipes
    • Easter
    • Cinco de Mayo
    • Memorial Day Weekend
    • 4th of July
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Season
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Winter

March 27, 2015

Stuffed Shells with Tomato Sauce

Skip To RecipePrint Recipe
Cheesy Stuffed Shells with Marcella Hazan's Amazing Tomato Sauce | girlgonegourmet.com
Cheesy Stuffed Shells with Marcella Hazan's Amazing Tomato Sauce | girlgonegourmet.com

Cheesy stuffed shells with a super simple 4-ingredient tomato sauce.

Stuffed shells in a clear pie dish topped with tomato sauce

Stuffed Shells with Tomato Sauce

There are tomato sauces and then there is this tomato sauce that I’m sharing with you today. Maybe you’ve heard about it? It’s Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce – you know, the one that has only four ingredients: tomatoes, onion, butter, and salt. There’s no chopping, peeling, roasting of anything and all you need is:

  • 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano whole plum tomatoes
  • 1 white onion cut in half
  • 5 tablespoons of butter
  • A pinch of salt
photo collage showing how to make the simple tomato sauce with only three ingredients

It seems weird, but you just squish the tomatoes and add them to the pot with the onion and butter. Let it simmer for 45 minutes and then remove the onion – at this point, you can puree it with a stick blender (what I did) or serve it as is. That’s it – so easy.

I found this recipe while perusing Adam Robert’s blog, The Amateur Gourmet, a few weeks ago. Don’t let its simplicity fool you — something truly magical happens while it simmers and you are left with a sauce so flavorful you won’t believe all it took was four ingredients. It’s perfect just tossed with some pasta, but I took it a step further and made some stuffed shells…

Photo collage showing how to stuff the shells with cheese and place in the baking dish

Is there anything better than jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, and romano cheese? Pour all that wonderful tomato sauce over the top and you got yourself a very decadent and tasty dinner on your hands. It will make the people happy.

Enjoy!

Baked stuffed shells in a baking dish with two white plates with one serving each

More Pasta Recipes

  • Chicken-Basil Baked Shells
  • Shrimp Fettuccine with Tomatoes and Feta
  • Penne al Pomodoro
Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Stuffed Shells with Tomato Sauce


  • Author: April @ Girl Gone Gourmet
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Save Recipe Recipe Saved

Description

Cheesy baked shells with Marcella Hazan’s incredibly simple and flavorful tomato sauce.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (28) ounce can whole plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
  • 1 yellow onion, peeled and halved
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 16 jumbo pasta shells
  • 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup romano cheese, shredded
  • Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions

  1. Place the tomatoes (with the juices), onion halves, and butter in a medium-sized pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Break the tomatoes apart with a wooden spoon and let it all lightly simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  3. While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the shells and boil them for 9-10 minutes. You want them very al dente – they will finish cooking in the oven. While the pasta is boiling, prepare the filling by combining the cheese, nutmeg, parsley, and egg in a medium-sized bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Drain the shells and place them on a sheet pan to keep them from sticking to each other.
  4. Remove the onion from the sauce and discard. If you want a smooth sauce use an immersion blender to puree the sauce. Coat the bottom of a baking dish (I used a 9-inch glass pie pan) with about 1/2 of the sauce. Fill each shell with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the filling. Place in the baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the top.
  5. Cover the baking dish with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the tin foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand a couple of minutes before serving.
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 or recipe
  • Calories: 857
  • Sugar: 9.7g
  • Sodium: 933.2mg
  • Fat: 39.5g
  • Saturated Fat: 23.8g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 13.2g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 79g
  • Fiber: 7.5g
  • Protein: 47.1g
  • Cholesterol: 176.9mg

Keywords: stuffed shells, easy tomato sauce recipe

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @girlgonegourmet on Instagram and hashtag it #girlgonegourmet


2 Comments

About April Anderson

I’m a passionate home cook, cookbook author, recipe developer, freelance writer, food photographer, and dog mom ❤ I garnish (almost) everything with parsley and believe you can make deliciously amazing dishes with everyday ingredients.

« The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies I’ve Ever Made
Roasted Cauliflower Gratin »

Comments

  1. Medha @ Whisk & Shout says

    March 31, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    This is like my dream dinner! Lovely photos, pinning 🙂

    Reply
  2. Shelby @ Go Eat and Repeat says

    March 28, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    Stuffed shells are one of those dishes that are hard to beat. They are such a comfort food and have such great flavor!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Welcome to Girl Gone Gourmet

Hi, I’m April! Welcome to my food world where I share easy recipes made with everyday ingredients ❤ Whether you’re looking for great dinner recipes or ideas for breakfast, appetizers, sides, or desserts, I have so many delicious recipes to share with you! Learn more… 

photo of the cover of Gourmet Cooking for One or Two
Get the Cookbook!

Categories

Popular Recipes

Eggplant Casserole
Dinner for One: Easy Pasta with Olive Oil & Garlic
Creamy Poblano Chicken Enchiladas
Truffle Mushroom Pasta
Italian Sandwich Sliders
Green Bean Potato Salad
Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta - Quick & Easy!
Creamy Pesto Sauce

You might also like

close-up shot of the final dish.

15-Minute Mediterranean Pasta

close-up shot of the final dish in a skillet.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

close-up of the dessert in a bowl.

Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake

close-up shot of the final dish.

Pesto Pasta with Peas

roast beef sandwich.

Caprese Roast Beef Sandwich

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Divine theme by Restored 316 · Logo + Site Design by Sweet Southern Media

Copyright © 2022 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Girl Gone GourmetLogo Header Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Cookbook
    • Free Email Bonus: Gourmet Made Simple!
    • Work with Me
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy
  • Course
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Appetizers
    • Salads
    • Desserts
    • Breakfast
    • Drinks
  • Ingredient
    • Pasta
    • Chicken
    • Beef Recipes
    • Pork
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Turkey
    • Meat-Free
  • Recipe Collections
    • Comfort Food Recipes
    • Quick & Easy
    • Slow Cooker
    • One-Pot
    • Soups, Stews and Chili
    • Game Day Recipes
    • Recipes for One or Two
    • Instant Pot
    • Recipe Round-Ups
  • Holiday Recipes
    • Easter
    • Cinco de Mayo
    • Memorial Day Weekend
    • 4th of July
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Season
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Winter
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNoRead more