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If you loved Stuffed Shells but don’t love the time that goes into making them, then this Unstuffed Shells Casserole is the recipe for you!
You probably know by now how much I love pasta. This love is only really rivaled by the one I have for comforting casseroles that can save me time. This Unstuffed Shells Casserole checks off both of those boxes!
Traditional Stuffed Shells are fantastic, but I’m too impatient to make them. I also have a delicious recipe for classic Lasagna with Meat Sauce, but that is pretty labor-intensive. I absolutely love it, but it’s a special-occasion recipe for me because of the multiple steps included.
I’ve been seeing a lot of layered-pasta casseroles on YouTube lately, so I thought why not just mix what would normally go into the stuffing of the shells all around the pasta to create a cohesive layer. That way you save about 20 minutes by not having to stuff each shell individually!
The result is pretty much the exact flavor of traditional stuffed shells, but in a fraction of the time!
How to make unstuffed shells casserole
The first step is to make my Quick Zero Point Marinara. If you want to save even more time, make the marinara beforehand and keep it in the refrigerator. That way you don’t need to spend the 20 minutes on that sauce.
All you really need to do at this point is cook the pasta. Boil the pasta for about three minutes less than it says on the package. It’s going to soften more in the oven.
If you follow me on Instagram (@litecravings), you know that I’m following the #MyWW Purple plan. I wanted to find whole wheat shells to make this only 4 SP a serving, but I couldn’t find them. You could totally just use smaller whole wheat shells or any other kind of short pasta, like whole wheat penne, to keep the points lower on that plan. Whole wheat pasta would also make this 1 point lower on both Green and Blue.
Once the pasta is cooked, mix in with most of the cheese, seasoning, and egg. It should look something like this:
After that, you’ll start layering the sauce, pasta mixture, more sauce, and the remaining cheese.
Assembling the casserole
Start by spreading 2 cups of sauce across the bottom of your dish.
Next, add you pasta/cheese mixture.
Then top with more marinara and the remaining cheese.
Keep in mind this is a base recipe. Add whatever veggies or protein that sound delicious. I’m thinking mushrooms, spinach, black olives, sausage, ground turkey, etc.
Apologies for the awful pics. The lighting in my kitchen is already bad enough. Add daylight savings on top of that and you have the most flat food photography ever. The recipe is all that really matters!
Click below for a direct link to the marinara recipe:
Quick Zero Point Marinara
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
Print Recipe
5 from 9 votes
Unstuffed Shells Casserole
If you love Stuffed Shells but don't love the time that goes into making them, then this Unstuffed Shells Casserole is the recipe for you!
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 8
Calories: 248kcal
Author: Geri
Ingredients
- 11 ounces uncooked jumbo shells (or use any short pasta shape, like penne)
- 3-4 cups Quick Zero SmartPoint Marinara (see below)
- 5 ounces Alouette Garlic and Herb Spreadable Cheese
- 1 cup fat free cottage cheese
- 1 1/4 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- cracked black pepper, to taste
Quick Zero Point Marinara (start this when boiling your pasta water if making the same day)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 228 ounce canscrushed plum tomatoes
- 2tsponion powder
- 1tspdried oregano
- 1tspdried basil
- 1/2tspred pepper flakes
- 1/2tspkosher salt
- 1/4tspfresh cracked pepper
- 1dried bay leaf
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Boil pasta 3 minutes less than package directions state. Mine said to cook for 8-10 minutes, so I cooked my shells for 5 minutes.
Mix in garlic and herb cheese, cottage cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella, 2 tbsp parmesan, seasonings, and egg in a large bowl. Add in drained pasta and mix together until pasta is fully coated.
Coat a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray, then add in two cups of marinara and spread until it evenly covers the bottom of the dish.
Add the pasta and cheese mixture to the dish. Spread evenly across the marinara sauce.
Top pasta/cheese mixture with another 1 -2 cups of marinara, depending on how saucy you like your pasta.
Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tbsp parmesan over the top of the casserole. Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling at the tops of the shells have started to brown.
Divide into 8 servings, about 2 cups of shells and sauce combined.
FOR THE QUICK ZERO POINT MARINARA
In a large skillet or stock pot, saute garlic in cooking spray until slightly brown, about 1 minute.
Add in tomatoes. Add about 1 cup of water to one of the cans, sloshing around to get the remaining tomatoes out. Add the tomato water to the skillet or pot.
Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf and serve.
Notes
Click here to determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe (if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically). Serving size is 1/8 of the pan.
WW Green SmartPoints: 9 for 1/8 of the pan
WW Blue SmartPoints: 8 for 1/8 of the pan
WW Purple SmartPoints: 8 for 1/8 of the pan, or 4 if you use whole wheat pasta
Nutrition
Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g
