This Main Dish is Perfect For Picky Eaters
If your family struggles to find dinner ideas that everyone can agree on, then this recipe is for you! The kids and adults will be equally pleased. It’s not only delicious, it’s also cheap and easy to make. You can, of course, customize it to your own liking, but the main ingredients are simple: pasta shells, ground beef, sauce, cream cheese, and shredded cheese. Bake, eat and voila! Everyone is full and happy.
This Mexican inspired recipe is also quite unique. Combing taco ingredients with pasta is really fun and tasty. Top them with onion, avocado, sour cream, tomato, jalapeño, or anything else you’d like. Either way, they’re pretty darn good.
While the pasta shells are cooking, you’re going to start off by browning the beef and mixing it with taco seasoning, salsa and cream cheese. This is going to be the stuffing.
Generously stuff each shell with the cheesy beef mixture.
Cover the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with half of the enchilada sauce, and place the stuffed shells tightly next to each other. Drizzle with remaining sauce.
Top with your cheese blend.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
They should come out of the oven looking really cheesy and delicious.
Serve alone or with Spanish rice, veggies or salad. If you end up with any leftovers, they are just as good the next day.
This Mexican inspired main dish is great for picky eaters! Everyone, including the kids, will love it. It's quick, easy and made with simple ingredients: ground beef, cream cheese, sauce, pasta shells and more cheese. It's also cheap and budget friendly!
- 22-24 jumbo pasta shells (a little more than half a box)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 cup mild salsa
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce
- 2 cups Mexican cheese blend (or cheese of choice)
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Cook the shells according to the package directions (it's okay if they are a little firm since you will also be baking them). Once cooked, lay them out individually so that they don't stick together.
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In a skillet, cook and chop the ground beef until brown; remove any excess grease. Add the salsa and taco seasoning to the beef and combine.
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Add the cream cheese to the beef and stir until the cream cheese is thoroughly melted (if you cut the cream cheese into smaller pieces it melts a lot faster).
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Pour about half of the enchilada sauce onto the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
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Stuff the shells with the beef mixture and place them into the sauced dish. Once finished, drizzle with the remaining enchilada sauce and top with cheese.
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Bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!
- These stuffed shells are fabulous served with Spanish rice and topped with sour cream, tomatoes, avocado, jalapeño, olives and/or green onion.
- Make it vegetarian with black beans or refried beans instead of the beef. You could also add corn, rice, or bell peppers.
- Because you won't be using the entire box of shells, you could double the recipe and then have plenty for leftover the next day (or freeze it for later).
Don’t forget to pin and save for later! 🙂
