If you’re a pasta lover, you’ll love these Instant Pot Stuffed Shells! Flavorful, cheesy, and made in no time using the Instant Pot!
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If you take a look around my blog, you’ll realize I am a HUGE Instant Pot lover! Seriously!! Where has that appliance been all my life and how on Earth did I survive without it?!?!
Okay, maybe that was a tad bit dramatic, but I sure do love the convenience it brings to busy schedules!
Last week, I decided to make it an Instant Pot night and make these stuffed shells for dinner! I knew my kids would love it because anything pasta is a winner in their eyes!
I actually prepared this a bit earlier in the afternoon and kept it ready to go until dinner!
Not only was it quick and easy to prepare, but it had amazing flavor! The noodles were perfectly cooked and we all were able to scoop our desired portions out and enjoy without the shells falling apart!
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Quick, flavorful, and budget friendly, these Instant Pot Stuffed Shells come together in no time!
If you want to substitute ground turkey in place of the beef, you definitely can! Or, make this meatless and skip the beef/turkey steps altogether!
You can make a homemade sauce and use that in this recipe, or keep it simple and buy whichever sauce is your favorite! My family loves garlic, so I tend to buy roasted garlic pasta sauces for added flavor!
If you want to add a slight kick to this, add in some red pepper flakes! Both my hubby and I sprinkled some on our portion and it was a great addition!
If you’re an Instant Pot lover, check out these other Instant Pot recipe:
Instant Pot Beef Enchilada Casserole
Enjoy these Instant Pot Stuffed Shells and be sure to let me know what you think! Let’s connect on Instagram too! Click HERE!
Instant Pot Stuffed Shells: Print the recipe below!
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Instant Pot Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef or turkey
- t teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 15 oz Ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
- 8 oz jumbo pasta shells
- 2 cups water
- 24 oz pasta sauce
Instructions
MEAT LAYER
- Turn Instant Pot to saute mode and add in the ground beef/turkey.
- Cook meat until no longer pink. Drain fat.
- Add in the salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine.
- If you have anything stuck to the bottom of your pot, add up to ¼ cup water to deglaze.
- Ensure meat it spread evenly over bottom of Instant Pot liner.
CHEESE FILLING
- Combine the ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan, and 2 cups Mozzarella cheese in a medium bowl.
- Place cheese mixture into a piping bag or Ziploc with corner cut off.
- Fill each pasta shell with cheese mixture.
- Place stuffed pasta shells (uncooked but filled at this point) on top of the meat layer.
- Carefully pour water on top of pasta shells.
- Pour pasta sauce evenly on top of pasta shells.
- Place lid securely on top of Instant Pot and ensure valve is in sealed position.
- Cook manual, high pressure for 8 minutes followed by a quick release.
- Once pin has dropped, remove lid and sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese evenly on top of pasta shells.
- Place lid back on the Instant Pot and allow to rest for about 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- To serve, scoop shells onto plate. Make sure you scoop to the bottom to get some of the meat into your portion!
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from: Busy Cooks
Cindi says
This sounds delicious! I make my own sauce that has ground beef in it already. If I added a meat layer with the meat already in the sauce I feel it would be too much. How do I adjust the time and recipe to account for that? If I add water it would be too watery as well.
Kristin says
If you were using a meat sauce and eliminating the meat layer, I would skip all the meat cooking steps and add about 1/4 water to the bottom of the pot before placing the stuffed shells on top. No need to adjust time or anything else. Add a bit of water so the pasta doesn’t burn onto the pot. Pour meat sauce on top of shells and continue recipe. Hope you enjoy!