One Pot Cheesy Beef and Shells – 🧀🎉🍅 An EASY, one-skillet recipe for cheesy beef and pasta shells that’s ready in just 30 minutes! Simple and hearty comfort food the whole family will love! It’s the PERFECT weeknight dinner recipe when you need to get dinner on the table in a hurry! If you’ve got picky eaters, I promise you that no one can resist this cheesy pasta!
Table of Contents
Easy One-Pot Cheesy Beef and Shells Recipe
We’ve been on a pasta kick lately – did you catch my dedcadent Sausage and Rigatoni Pasta Skillet and this superb Chicken Noodle Casserole?
Pasta is the perfect wintertime comfort food and who can resist al dente cooked pasta shells that are floating in a mixture of seasoned ground beef, melted cheese, and a bit of heavy cream!
You’re going to love this easy ground beef recipe with cheesy shells, too!
- It’s a one pot, or one skillet, recipe and seriously I can think of nothing better! You don’t even have to boil the pasta separately. Everything cooks together in one skillet and that’s music to my ears.
- It’s so easy. If you can brown ground beef and add a can of broth and some tomato sauce with some dry pasta, you can make this easy pasta dinner recipe.
- Fast and fuss-free for busy weeknights. If busy weeknights or school nights with late practices and kids coming home at all hours has you feeling stressed, this is a 30-minute meal that hits the spot!
- Picky eaters have you perplexed about what to make? This one is picky-eater approved. No vegetables in sight (ha!) – just pure cheesy, creamy beef and pasta goodness.
more easy one pot Beef pasta recipes
Ingredients in Cheesy Beef Shells
- Lean ground beef – I use beef in the 90-93% fat range. Any leaner and you have to add oil anyway in order to brown the beef with the onion. And any fattier and you have to contend with draining fat so I find that to be the sweet spot. Want to swap the protein? See the FAQs.
- Onion – Yellow or white onions are my recommendation.
- Cloves garlic
- All-purpose flour – Flour in this application will help to create a makeshift roux (normally made with butter too but we don’t need butter since there’s beef fat). A roux will help thicken a sauce later on so it’s important to add it and follow the instructions about adding the broth slowly.
- Beef broth – I use reduced sodium and then add salt, to taste, later.
- Tomato sauce
- Seasonings – Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper
- Small pasta shells – Wondering if you can use another type of pasta? See the FAQs below before you do that.
- Heavy cream – Use heavy cream and not half-and-half (which is only half cream, and half whole milk) for best results.
- Shredded cheese – I used shredded cheddar cheese although you can use shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack if you want more of a gooey vibe. For extra flavor, you can also add a bit of shredded or grated Parmesan but don’t rely solely on Parm because it doesn’t melt in such a way as to give you the ooey-gooey cheesiness you want, but it will add extra flavor
- Garnishes – Optional, but fresh herbs such as fresh parsley, basil, or oregano are great. Or add grated Parmesan cheese.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make Beef and Cheesy Shells in One Skillet
- Brown the beef in large skillet or large pot over medium-high heat. When done, remove it with a slotted spoon and set it on a plate or bowl.
- Add the onions and saute for about 4-5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook momentarily. Sprinkle flour over the top, stir, and cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly add the broth, stirring the entire time, turn the heat to high, and boil for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the tomato sauce, seasonings, pasta shells, stir, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until pasta is cooked (more on this in the FAQs as troubleshooting if you need it).
- Add the cheese, cream, stir to melt the cheese, and add the beef back in, and then the pasta. Cook momentarily to rewarm, garnish, and serve!
what to serve with cheesy beef and shells
Storage
In the Refrigerator: This recipe will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
In the Freezer: This recipe will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months. Sometimes I worry about freezing anything in a cream sauce, but you can freeze this one.
To Reheat: I use my microwave for quickness and ease and reheat my leftovers for about 30 seconds, or as needed. Always be careful anytime you’re reheating anything with cream or dairy in it and don’t over do it.
Recipe FAQs
Because this recipe is made in one pot there is less wiggle room on what type of pasta you should use. I developed the recipe using small shells. You could also likely use small elbow macaroni. However, other pasta shapes (penne, ziti, rotini, wheels, farfalle, medium pasta shells, etc.) are bigger and may take longer to cook through – and more importantly – may need extra liquid in order to soften them sufficiently. At which point you’d have to start tinkering with the liquid volume. It’s easier to just use small shells (or small elbow macaroni).
Using ground Italian sausage (either mild or spicy) is an easier swap since pork sausage has a similar fat content to lean ground beef. If you want to use an ultra lean protein like ground chicken or turkey, then you’ll want to add plenty of olive oil so it doesn’t dry out as you saute it.
If after you add the pasta, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes and the pasta is still hard, place the lid back on and simmer for a few more minutes, or until it’s cooked to your liking.
However, if the pasta is still on the firm or hard side AND there’s no more liquid left in the skillet or it’s looking quite dry, you’ll need to add more liquid – either beef broth or water are fine. It’s the liquid that absorbs into the pasta that thereby softens it. So simmering alone will not soften your pasta. It needs liquid if it’s still too hard so make sure to add some. I would start with 1/2 cup, cover, simmer, and see how that goes. If the additional liquid is absorbed, but the pasta still isn’t quite soft enough, repeat (more liquid, cover, simmer).
This should not be an issue if you measured properly and followed the recipe.
But…if your pasta has completely cooked through and there’s a significant amount of unabsorbed liquid (before you add the heavy cream and cheese), there are a few ways to handle the extra liquid. Remember though, you don’t want it bone dry, this is a cheesy gooey pasta dish after all!
1.) Everything dries out as it sits and cools, especially leftovers in the fridge. What looks a little juicy now, won’t be in the future. Pasta is a sponge and will continue to absorb liquid in its presence. So keep that in mind and you may not want to do anything unless it’s very soupy. 2.) If so, uncover the skillet, turn the heat up to create a faster boil and allow some of the excess liquid to steam off and evaporate over the course of a few minutes. 3.) You can also add extra cheese to create a creamier, cheesier dish. 4.) Don’t add the heavy cream if you already have a lot of excess liquid.
One Pot Cheesy Beef and Shells
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef, I recommend between 90-93% lean
- 1 large yellow onion, diced small
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups reduced beef broth
- 8- ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces small pasta shells, (small elbow macaroni may be substituted, however read the FAQs why I don't recommend other swaps)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Optional for garnishing: freshly grated Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, more cheddar cheese, or as desired, (fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, etc. are all great)
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the ground beef, and brown it over medium-high heat, crumbling and flipping it as it cooks to ensure even cooking. When it's done, remove it with a slotted spoon and set it aside in a bowl or on a plate. Don't drain the cooking liquids or grease. You'll need it to saute the onions.
- Add the onions, and saute for about 4 minutes, or until soft and translucent; stir frequently to ensure even cooking.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute; stir nearly constantly.
- Evenly sprinkle the flour over the onions and garlic, stirring well, and cook for 1 minute. Tip – Adding flour like this is in essence creating a roux, which later on helps thicken the sauce. Make sure not to shortchange this step because you also want to cook the raw flour sufficiently so the finished dish doesn't have any lingering raw flour taste.
- Slowly add the broth, stirring the whole time as you're adding it, turn the heat to high, and continue stirring for 1-2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Add the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, dry pasta shells, turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until much of the liquid has been absorbed and pasta is cooked properly to al dente. Cooking Tips – If the pasta is still hard after 10 minutes and there's liquid left in the skillet, simply re-cover it, and allow it to simmer for another few minutes or until it's done. If it's not done but the skillet is pretty dry, add about 1/2 cup additional broth (or water), cover, and simmer for another few minutes. If after 10 minutes the pasta is done, but there's a lot of excess amount of liquid (this is less likely, but anything is possible), simply turn up the heat to medium-high or high, and allow the mixture to boil uncovered with a good amount of steam coming off, and within a couple minutes unnecessary liquid volume will just steam off and evaporate. However, remember that you don't want it bone dry – this is a cheesy pasta dish after all! Also see the FAQs for more info.
- Add the shredded cheese, heavy cream, turn the heat to medium-high, and stir continuously until the cheese has melted, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the beef back into the skillet, stir to combine, and cook for 1-2 minutes, just to rewarm the beef and incorporate it.
- Optionally, garnish with additional cheese and/or fresh herbs and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was better than expected! The entire family of picky eaters loved it. I ended up using double the amount of broth and tomato sauce. This is going on my regular rotation.
Thanks for the 5 star review Lesleigh and I love hearing that this was better than expected and your entire family of picky eaters loved it! There’s no better compliment than that and it’s great that this is going into your regular rotation!
made this for grandkids and they loved it!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Ellen, and I’m glad your grandkids loved this!