The Cozy Cookbook is here! Creamy Beef and Shells is an easy ground beef recipe that your family will love! Serve it with Garlic Bread with Cheese for an easy Italian dinner with simple ingredients!
Be sure to try my heart Beef Vegetable Soup recipe next!
Creamy Beef and Shells
I promise you- the extra ingredients that I have listed in this recipe are all SO entirely worth the outcome. It might seem strange to have a dab of hot sauce or mustard powder in here, but they really compliment and enhance the other flavors in this recipe. (And don’t skimp out on the cream cheese! It’s heavenly.)
This sauce has the perfect balance of every flavor. It’s creamy, but still has a distinct tomato flavor with a perfect ratio of ground beef and pasta.
You will be super proud of yourself when you taste it. My husband’s exact reaction: “Mmmm…. (4 seconds later)… Oh my GOSH! This is REALLY good!” -all of those flavors roll in after a few seconds and that’s what makes this recipe so great.
Okay- let’s do it!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Shred the cheese and measure out all ingredients prior to beginning. Begin heating the pasta water for boiling.
Cook and crumble the ground beef over medium-high heat. Add onions halfway through and cook until softened. Drain any grease. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add 1 tsp hot sauce, 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp mustard powder, 1 pinch of red pepper flakes, and 3 TBS flour. Cook for one minute.
Add the beef broth and use a silicone spatula to ‘clean’ the bottom of the pot.
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 kosher 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 shells and stir to combine. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with garlic bread with cheese and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Pro Tips
- 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 (which 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 yet 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.
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)– Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Kitchen Scale– Perfect for weighing the pasta or ground beef if needed.
- Deep 13-inch skillet– You’ll have this one forever.
- Box Grater– Always shred cheese from a block for best flavor and meltability. (Yes, that’s actually a word! 😂)
Try These Next
-
- Tuscan Chicken Pasta
-
- Salisbury Steak
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- Ground Beef Stroganoff
-
- Beef Tips and Gravy
-
- American Chop Suey
-
- French Onion Chicken
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Tried This Recipe?
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Creamy Beef and Shells
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, 85% lean
- 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.
- Cook and crumble the ground beef over medium-high heat. Add onions halfway through and cook until softened. Drain any grease.
- Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add 1 tsp hot sauce, 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp mustard powder, 1 pinch of red pepper flakes, and 3 TBS flour. Cook for one minute.
- Add the beef broth and use a silicone spatula to ‘clean’ the bottom of the pot.
- 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 kosher 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 shells and stir to combine. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with garlic bread with cheese and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
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.
Who would it be okay to add a little paprika? In place of the hot sauce?
Hi Elsa, sure- that should be fine! 🙂
Amazing! The fam really liked this recipe. I subbed shaved beef for the ground beef and mezi rigatoni for the shells because that’s what I had in hand. I’m a gravy – lover, and I love anything beefy and creamy! Thanks for sharing this!
Cheers to a fellow gravy lover!🥂 I’m so happy the family enjoyed this one Kimberly, thanks so much for the great comments and review!♥️