Ingredients:
20–22 jumbo shells (12–14 ounce box)
24 ounces marinara
14–16 ounces ground sweet or hot italian sausage (or ground beef)
2 cups (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
2–3 garlic cloves, minced
6–7 basil leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
Direction:
Preheat oven to 350 °F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells al dense, strain, and rinse with cool water.
Meanwhile, in a cast-iron skillet, cook sausage until fully cooked through and browned, about 5-7 minutes. Use the tip of a spatula to break the sausage into the smallest chunks possible. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove pan from the heat.
Transfer the sausage to a medium bowl with ricotta, basil. garlic, parmesan cheese, and egg. Stir until fully incorporated and creamy.
Place 1 cup of marinara in the bottom of the same skillet. Fill each shell to the top with ricotta filling using a spoon. Arrange in the skillet as tightly as possible. I was able to fit about 22 shells in a 12 inch cast iron skillet.
Top each shell with a heaping teaspoon of marinara. Layer the entire dish with about 1 cup of shredded mozzarella (more is OK too).
Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is fully melted and golden. You can finish with a quick broil to give the cheese a little sear if desired. Let cool 5 minutes, top with extra chopped basil and serve.
If making a larger quantity of shells, you can bake in a larger baking dish instead. You will need to scale the ricotta filling as it’s enough for roughly 20-22 shells.
