Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells — Comfort food coming in hot with these Philly cheesesteak stuffed pasta shells complete with ribeye steak, peppers, and onions. Ricotta, provolone, and Parmesan cheese lend a SUPER cheesy touch and everything is smothered in Alfredo sauce for next-level deliciousness!
Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells Recipe
When it comes to comfort food, it doesn’t get much more comforting the jumbo pasta shells stuffed with a delectable and oh-so-cheesy Philly cheesesteak mixture!
Philly cheesesteak fans are going to go nuts over pasta shells stuffed full of it. You can even overstuff the shells if you want.
There’s browned ribeye steak along with sautéed red and green bell peppers, onions, and garlic, along with three types of cheese.
Ricotta cheese, provolone cheese, and Parmesan cheese plus creamy and cheesy Alfredo sauce give these Philly cheesesteak shells an unbeatable flavor that your family and friends are going to love!
Can we say lots of members of the clean plate club after they sample these stuffed shells.
The recipe is easier than you think and comes together in 45 minutes although I provided make ahead directions as well.
Ingredients in Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells
To make these scrumptious stuffed Philly cheesesteak pasta shells, you’ll need the following easy to find fridge and pantry ingredients including:
- Jumbo pasta shells
- Olive oil
- Ribeye steak or ground beef
- White onion
- Red bell pepper
- Green bell pepper
- Garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- Salt
- Pepper
- Ricotta cheese
- Egg
- Shredded provolone cheese
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Alfredo sauce
How to Make Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells
Making Philly cheesesteak stuffed shells is faster and easier than you think!
Just follow these straightforward steps:
Step 1: Boil the pasta shells according to the package directions.
Step 2: While they’re boiling, to a skillet add the oil, beef, and brown it.
Step 3: Remove the beef from the skillet, add the onions, peppers, and saute them for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Add the garlic, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and saute for 1 minute.
Step 5: Add the beef back into the skillet, stir to combine everything, and set it aside.
Step 6: In a separate bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, and 1/4 cup each of the provolone and Parm, and stir this into the meat and veggie mixture.
Step 7: Stuff each cooked pasta shell with the filling mixture and place in a baking dish.
Step 8: Drizzle the alfredo sauce over the top, top with the remaining provolone and Parm, and baked until bubbly and lightly golden browned before serving.
What Kind of Beef is Best for Stuffed Shells?
You have a choice when it comes to what kind or cut of beef is best for Philly cheesesteak stuffed shells.
I used ribeye steak, sliced thinly. You can also use sirloin or New York strip steak.
Additionally, you can also use ground beef. I would use a lean-ish ground beef in the 90% range, not too lean nor too fatty.
Do I Have to Use Store-Bought Alfredo Sauce?
For convenience sake, I used store-bought Alfredo sauce in a jar.
The one I selected is a roasted garlic and Parmesan flavor which nicely complements the flavor in the Philly cheesesteak stuffed shells but select a flavor that sounds good to you.
However, if you have a favorite homemade recipe for Alfredo sauce and are adverse to using jarred sauces, by all means make your own.
My favorite homemade Alfredo sauce is the one I use in my Chicken Lasagna Rollups recipe and would be perfect here as well!
Also you don’t need to use a full 22-ounce jar (2.75 cups) of Alfredo sauce if you don’t want that much.
Can I Add More Beef Filling Mixture to the Pasta Shells?
As written, my stuffed Philly cheesesteak shells recipe makes about 12 jumbo shells, stuffed nicely but not overflowing.
If you want to go for the wow factor, you can overstuff the shells and reduce the overall yield to about 6 to 8 shells.
It’s up to you!
Note: The exact yield of how many stuffed shells will also depend on just how big your peppers were, if you used exactly a pound and a half of steak versus ground beef, just how jumbo your particular brand of shells are, and so forth.
What Kind of Cheeses are Best for Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells?
In my recipe for Philly cheesesteak stuffed pasta shells three types of cheeses are used:
- Ricotta – Adds creaminess and body to the beef, onions, and peppers filling mixture
- Provolone – Melts smoothly and nicely inside the filling mixture as well as on top of the shells as they bake
- Parmesan – Lends a richness and depth of flavor to the filling mixture and is what will brown up nicely on top of the shells during baking
They each play a role and I don’t recommend making any changes to the cheeses.
You could possibly substitute shredded mozzarella for the shredded provolone but I haven’t tried it personally.
What to Serve with Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells
Because the Philly cheesesteak shells are so cheesy and hearty, I prefer to serve them with lighter, simpler side dishes such as:
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Cranberry, Apple, & Pecan Salad
- Strawberry Kale Salad
- Rainbow Roasted Veggies
- Roasted Cauliflower
Make-Ahead Instructions
I make, bake, and serve these stuffed Philly cheesesteak shells all in one fell swoop. From start to finish it takes me 45 minutes.
As a make-ahead option, you could prep everything, get the shells stuffed and in their baking dish, and cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking.
When you’re ready to bake them, add the Alfredo sauce, sprinkle the reserved provolone and Parm, and bake.
Storage Instructions
Leftover stuffed shells will keep airtight for up to 5 days in the fridge or for up to 4 months in the freezer.
Tip: Always take care when reheating anything with a cream sauce such as an Alfredo sauce so it doesn’t “break” or separate. Reheat in the microwave on a lower heat setting is my recommendation.
Tips for the Best Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells
When you’re browning the beef for your Philly cheesesteak stuffed pasta shells, the photos depict first browning the beef, removing it from the saute pan, and then sauteeing the onions and peppers, and adding the beef back in.
However, if you’d like to save a bit of time, you can start by sauteeing the vegetables first for about 3 to 5 minutes, then add in the beef, and brown the beef with the peppers and onions in the saute pan.
Everything should finish cooking at the same time.
If you are making the recipe as directed meaning making the filling mixture, stuffing the shells, pouring the Alfredo sauce and cheeses over the top and baking, these stuffed shells bake quickly.
Ten to 15 minutes is likely all that the shells will need for the cheese to melt and brown up slightly since you are starting with freshly cooked pasta shells and the hot beef, onions, and peppers.
Everything is already cooked so you are just waiting for that cheese to get nice and bubbly so don’t go too far from your oven!
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Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 12- ounce package jumbo pasta shells, about 12
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds ribeye steak, sliced thinly OR 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- ½ half medium white onion, diced small
- 1 medium to large red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
- 1 medium to large green bell pepper, seeded and diced small
- 2 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 cup shredded provolone cheese; divided
- ¾ to 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese; divided
- 22- ounce jar Alfredo sauce OR 2.75 cups homemade Alfredo sauce; or as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and spray a 9x13-inch casserole or baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta shells as directed, drain well; set aside.
- While the shells are boiling, to a separate large skillet, add the beef and cook over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Stir and flip intermittently to ensure even cooking. If using ground beef, stir and crumble the beef as it cooks to ensure even cooking.
- When done, remove the beef from the skillet and set it aside. Tip - Do not drain the fat and cooking juices as you will need them for sautéing the onions and peppers.
- To the same skillet, add the onions, peppers, and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until becoming quite soft; stir frequently. Tip - Add additional oil if necessary during the sautéing process.
- Add the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and cook for 1 minute, or until the garlic is fragrant; stir nearly constantly.
- Add the beef back into the skillet, stir to combine; set aside off the heat.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the ricotta, egg, ¼ cup provolone, ¼ cup Parmesan, and stir to combine.
- Add beef mixture to the ricotta mixture and stir to combine.
- Fill each of the cooked pasta shells with the beef filling mixture one by one, setting each into the prepared baking dish. Tip - Touching is fine and almost better so they don't tip over, but don't stack them on top of each other. Tip - For Make Ahead directions, stop here and read the Notes below.
- Evenly pour store bought Alfredo OR homemade Alfredo sauce over the shells. Tip - You do not need to use all of it if you don't like as much sauce so use only as much as desired keeping mind you don't want them to be dry or dry out in the oven.
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining provolone and Parmesan over the top.
- Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and as lightly golden browned as desired, and serve immediately. Extra shells will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Tip - Use caution when reheating so you don't "break" the Alfredo sauce by using too high of heat. I recommend using the microwave carefully at a lower power setting.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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DELICIOUS 😋
Thanks so much, Cyndi Marie, I appreciate it!
Wow! looks so great. Thanks for sharing. I would like to try it next time :)
Wow! looks so great. Thanks for sharing. I would like to try it next time :)
Wow! looks so great. Thanks for sharing. I would like to try it next time :)
great