Creamy beef and shells has a thick tomato-and-cheese sauce that settles into the little pockets of the pasta. Ground beef gives it a hearty texture, while cheddar, Parmesan and a small amount of cream soften the tomato flavor. It’s a stovetop dinner with a short simmer and no baking step.
Cook the shells in one pot while you make the sauce in a deep skillet. Once the beef is browned, the sauce comes together quickly. Have the cheese grated before you start so you can add it as soon as the pan comes off the heat.
Have the pasta and sauce finish together
Put the pot of water on first, then dice the onion and grate the cheese while it heats. Start browning the beef once the pasta is cooking. That overlap keeps dinner close to the 30-minute estimate, though a large pot of water or a slower burner can add a few minutes.
Use a wide, deep skillet or a Dutch oven for the sauce. It needs room for 12 ounces of cooked shells as well as the beef and sauce, with enough space to stir without spilling. A small frying pan will make the final mixing awkward.
Check the shells against the package time and taste one before draining. It should be cooked through but still hold its shape. Keep a little cooking water in a cup in case the finished sauce needs loosening, then drain the shells well.
Small ingredient choices that matter
Tomato sauce and paste: Use the plain tomato sauce called for in the card. The tablespoon of tomato paste adds a more concentrated tomato flavor. Cook it with the beef briefly before pouring in the sauce; it should spread through the meat rather than remain in one lump.
Heavy cream: The ½ cup is enough to round out the sauce without making it taste mostly of cream. Keep the heavy cream for the texture intended here. Milk and half-and-half make a thinner sauce, so they won’t give exactly the same result.
Cheddar and Parmesan: Grate both before cooking. Small shreds are easier to stir into the warm sauce than large chunks. Pre-shredded cheese can work, but its coating and shred size may affect how smoothly it melts; a block gives you more control.
Water or broth: Either works for the measured ½ cup of liquid. Broth adds seasoning as well as moisture, so taste the finished pasta before adding any extra salt. The cheddar and Parmesan contribute salt too.
Brown the beef, then build the sauce
Break the beef into small pieces as it cooks. Add the finely diced onion while the meat is browning so it has time to soften. Drain off excess fat before continuing; a puddle of grease will leave the finished sauce oily.
The garlic goes in after the beef and onion, followed by the tomato paste. Stir along the bottom of the pan as you add the liquid to loosen any browned bits. Keep the tomato sauce at a gentle simmer for about five minutes.
Move the skillet off the burner before adding the cream. Stir it in, then add the cheeses a handful at a time. Let each addition melt before adding more. If the pan has cooled too much, use very low heat briefly and keep stirring.
What the finished sauce should look like
After the shells go in, the sauce should coat them and collect inside their curves. Fold from the bottom of the skillet to bring the beef through the pasta. Stop once everything is evenly mixed; prolonged cooking will soften the shells further.
If it’s too thick: Add the saved cooking water a tablespoon at a time, stirring between additions. You only need enough to loosen the coating. This is separate from the measured water or broth used to build the tomato sauce.
If it looks oily or grainy: Stop heating the pan and stir gently. High heat can make the cheese separate. Preventing that by adding the cheese gradually off the burner is more reliable than trying to fix a sauce after it has split.
Changing the pasta or meat
Elbows, small penne or another short pasta can replace the shells. Keep the same dry weight and follow that pasta’s cooking time. Large shells meant for stuffing are less convenient here because the beef and sauce won’t distribute in the same way.
Ground turkey can replace the beef if that’s what you have. If the pan looks dry while it cooks, add a little oil to keep the onion from sticking. The tomato, cream and cheese amounts can stay the same.
A few ideas for serving
Spoon the pasta into bowls while the sauce is warm and loose. Garlic bread, a simple salad or a cooked vegetable makes an easy side. Parsley is optional, so the pasta is ready to serve once the shells are coated.
For another ground beef dinner, try Ground Beef Casserole with its layered noodles and creamy filling. One-Pot Macaroni Cheeseburger Soup uses a similar beef-and-cheddar combination in a bowl of soup.
Printable recipe
Creamy Beef and Shells
Ingredients
Pasta
- 12 oz medium pasta shells
Beef and tomato sauce
- 1 lb ground beef 80/20 or 85/15 recommended
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water or low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp kosher salt adjust to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Cream and cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese freshly grated
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Fresh parsley optional; chopped, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the medium shells according to the package directions until cooked through but still firm enough to hold their shape. Reserve a little cooking water, then drain well. Make the sauce while the pasta cooks.
- In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces. Add the diced onion while the beef is browning. Cook until the beef is browned and cooked through and the onion is soft, about 5–7 minutes. Drain off excess fat.
- Add the minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, spreading it through the beef and stirring along the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the tomato sauce, ½ cup water or low-sodium beef broth, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, kosher salt and black pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the burner. Stir in the heavy cream, then gradually add the grated cheddar and Parmesan, stirring between additions until melted. If needed, use very low heat briefly to finish melting the cheese. Avoid boiling the cheese sauce.
- Fold the drained shells into the creamy beef sauce until evenly coated. If the coating is too thick, add a tablespoon of the reserved cooking water at a time until loosened. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve warm, with the optional parsley if desired.
