Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells (Print Version)
Pasta shells filled with creamy chicken and cheeses, baked to golden perfection in rich Alfredo sauce.
# What You Need:
→ Pasta
01 - 20 jumbo pasta shells
02 - Salt, for boiling water
→ Filling
03 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, finely shredded
04 - 1 cup ricotta cheese
05 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
06 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
07 - 1 large egg
08 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
09 - 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
10 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
11 - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
→ Alfredo Sauce
12 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
13 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
14 - 1 cup heavy cream
15 - 1 cup whole milk
16 - 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
17 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
18 - Salt and pepper, to taste
→ Topping
19 - 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
20 - 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
21 - Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat the oven to 375°F.
02 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta shells until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
03 - In a medium bowl, combine shredded chicken, ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, egg, garlic powder, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Mix until fully incorporated.
04 - Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in heavy cream and milk, bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk in Parmesan and nutmeg, stirring until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
05 - Spread 1 cup of Alfredo sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Stuff each pasta shell with about 2 tablespoons of the chicken filling and arrange shells in the dish. Pour remaining Alfredo sauce evenly over shells and sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
06 - Cover dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbly.
07 - Garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving.
# Expert Hints:
01 -
- It looks fancy enough to serve guests but uses ingredients you probably already have on hand.
- The whole thing comes together in about an hour, which means dinner on the table before nine o'clock feels genuinely possible.
- Each bite delivers three textures at once: soft shells, creamy filling, and that crispy-edged cheese on top that everyone fights over.
- Leftovers taste even better the next day, which is the true mark of a recipe worth keeping.
02 -
- Don't skip cooking the pasta slightly underdone—it's easy to think you're not cooking it enough, but those shells keep cooking in the oven and will turn to mush if you start with fully cooked pasta.
- The Alfredo sauce will thicken slightly as it cools and bakes, so it should look almost pourable when you pour it into the dish—if it's thick and gloppy, thin it with a splash of milk.
- Stuff the shells while they're still warm and pliable; cold shells crack and splinter as you try to fill them, which is frustrating and wasteful.
03 -
- Use a small ice cream scoop to portion the filling into shells—it's faster, messier, and actually more fun than a spoon.
- Add the nutmeg to the Alfredo sauce even if you think you don't like nutmeg; it's subtle enough that you won't detect it, but you'll notice something is missing if you leave it out.