Creamy Beef and Shells

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Creamy Beef and Shells is an easy ground beef recipe with shell pasta smothered in a creamy and flavorful tomato sauce.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 543kcal

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef 85% lean
Salt/Pepper
1 small diced yellow onion can sub 1 tsp onion powder
3 cloves minced garlic can sub ½ tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon mustard powder
1 pinch red pepper flakes optional
3 Tablespoons flour optional-helps thicken the sauce
1 cup beef broth
16 oz. tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon cream cheese softened
½ cups half and half
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ pound medium shell pasta
Fresh parsley to garnish
Grated Parmesan cheese for serving.

Instructions

Shred the cheese and measure out all ingredients prior to beginning. Begin heating the pasta water for boiling.
Season the ground beef with salt/pepper. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the beef. Cook and crumble it for 4 minutes. Add the onions and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the onions are softened and the beef is cooked through. Drain grease.
Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, mustard powder, red pepper flakes, and flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the beef broth and use a silicone spatula to ‘clean’ the bottom of the skillet.
Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and softened cream cheese. Let the sauce simmer while you boil the shells for 7-8 minutes or as instructed on package. (Optional, add a few teaspoons of salt to the boiling water.)
Decrease heat to low. Stir in the half and half. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the shredded cheese until well-combined.
Add the drained pasta and stir to combine. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with garlic bread with cheese and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Shred the cheese from a block. It will melt (and taste!) much better than bagged shredded cheese, which contains cellulose to prevent it from clumping in the bag (but also makes it melt less creamy.) I use Cracker Barrel sharp yellow cheddar.

The hot sauce enhances all of the other flavors in the dish. It won’t make it spicy. I use Texas Pete hot sauce.

If you don’t have mustard powder or tomato paste, they can be omitted, but they do add subtle but excellent flavor to the sauce. The tomato paste also helps to thicken the sauce.

A variety of different pastas will work in this recipe, including rotini, farfalle (bowtie), and fusilli.

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