All the flavors of Cajun in this cheesy pasta dish, along with juicy shrimp and chunks of andouille sausage! This is comfort food for any night of the week.
Comfort food is trending right now and so it should be. Once the chilly evenings begin to appear, it's time to switch up the dinner choices and cheesy, rich recipes should be right at the top!
Just like these stuffed pasta shells filled with Cajun shrimp, chunks of andouille sausage, peppers and onion.
It's a little bit like a gumbo but with pasta and super cheesy and creamy. The cheese is the key ingredient and for this recipe I used Cabot Creamery Vermont Seriously Sharp Cheddar!
As if the Cajun spices didn't add enough flavor to this dish, this sharp cheddar cheese makes it the complete deal. Cabot has so many cheddar cheeses to choose from and to be honest you would probably be okay using any of them in this recipe, so take a look at the choices and see if you have a favorite.
Remember Cabot Creamery is a cooperative with small family owned farms producing some award winning dairy products, so quality is always high.
How do I make stuffed pasta shells
This recipe has two main steps to the process. First the filling needs to be made which means quickly cooking the shrimp and then adding them to a bowl with the peppers, sausage and green onions.
A little sour cream is added to help bind everything together. The other step is to make the cheese sauce that will be poured over the stuffed pasta shells as they bake.
Whether I'm making Mac and cheese or any other recipe that requires a cheese sauce, I always use the béchamel sauce method. You can find my béchamel tutorial helpful for making this really easy but important sauce.
Finally you'll need to stuff the shells, add the sauce and bake in the oven until golden and bubbling!
FAQ's about this stuffed pasta shells recipe
Can I use another kind of pasta and skip the shells? You could. Just mix the filling through the cooked pasta and then add the sauce, but then you don't have stuffed pasta shells.
Can I use cooked shrimp? This recipe works best with uncooked shrimp. Once you season them and then sear the shrimp, the flavor is much stronger than it would be if you used cooked shrimp. Also cooked shrimp would be too dry at the end of cooking.
Can you overcook pasta shells? Yes you can so you'll want to scoop one shell out of the water as a test. It should be slightly stiff and will finish cooking in the oven.
Do I have to fill the shells right away? No, in fact they are much easier to handle when cool, You can let them sit on a paper towel on the counter while you focus on making the sauce.
Ingredients needed for this recipe
- Jumbo pasta shells
- Bell peppers, red and green
- Large shrimp
- Andouille sausage
- Green onion
- Cabot Vermont Seriously Sharp Cheddar
- Whole milk
- Flour
- Butter
- Spices
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