This super easy Creamy Beef and Shells recipe comes together in about 20 minutes and is perfect for those busy weeknights!
I love pairing this comforting dinner recipe with a Caesar Salad and my Honey Roasted Carrots for a complete meal.
I love it when comfort food and convenience come together in one pan. This dinner is so cozy and delicious, your whole family will absolutely love it!
Creamy Beef and Shells Recipe
We’re using ground beef and medium pasta shells to create an affordable and tasty meal that the whole family will devour. The best part? This meal comes together in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients Needed:
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make this Creamy Beef and Shells recipe. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the recipe card below.
- Medium Pasta Shells – or any other small cut pasta shape
- Ground Beef – you can also substitute with ground turkey
- Red Bell Pepper
- Onion
- Garlic
- Land O Lakes Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt
- Flour
- Italian Seasoning – use my homemade blend!
- Beef Broth
- Sour Cream
- Mild Cheddar Cheese
How To Make Creamy Beef and Shells
BOIL PASTA
Start by boiling your pasta shells in salted water. In about the time it takes to cook the pasta shells, your other ingredients will be cooked and ready, so definitely start the pasta cooking first!
BROWN BEEF
Cook the ground beef in a skillet with the bell pepper and onion, until the beef is cooked through. Drain any fat from the pan and return it to the heat. Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant.
MAKE ROUX
Add in the Land O Lakes Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt and stir until it’s melted throughout. Then stir in the flour and cook, just one minute, until the flour is no longer visible. Gradually stir in the beef broth and mix until the sauce is thickened slightly.
ADD PASTA SHELLS
Finally, stir in the sour cream and cheese to make the sauce nice and creamy, then add in the drained pasta shells and stir to combine.
If you’re looking for a delicious, quick and easy dinner using ground beef, then this is for you!
The flavor from the sweet red bell pepper, mild cheddar cheese and Italian seasoning blend together so well. I love how the little pasta shells scoop up the sauce in each and every bite.
What To Serve with Creamy Beef and Shells
Looking for the best side dishes to go with this beefy pasta recipe? Here are some of our favorites…
- Parmesan Roasted Green Beans
- Easy Sautéed Zucchini
- Garlic Breadsticks
- Cheesy Garlic Roasted Asparagus
More Easy Ground Beef Recipes
I love using ground beef for quick dinners! Here are some more fan favorites that you’ll love…
- Easy Korean Ground Beef Bowls
- Kung Pao Ground Beef
- Easy American Goulash Recipe
- Ground Beef Stuffed Pepper Skillet
I can’t wait for you to give this recipe a try! I know you’re going to love it as much as we do!
Creamy Beef and Shells Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups medium pasta shells, uncooked
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- ½ large onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup mild cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta shells according to package instructions, until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium heat, brown ground beef, red bell pepper and onion until beef is cooked through and crumbled. Drain any fat and return pan to heat.
- Add in garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir until fragrant. Stir in Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt until melted, then whisk in flour and cook about 1 minute, until flour is absorbed.
- Gradually stir in beef broth, until mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in sour cream and mild cheddar cheese until combined, then stir in pasta shells. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
Nutrition
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This was better than I thought it would be. And my kids loved it, even my daughter who is a self proclaimed red pepper hater. I added a teaspoon of Worcester sauce to deepen the flavor. Will def make again. Might add some mushrooms and spinach next time for some more veggies.
Mushrooms and spinach sound like a great addition!
Everyone loved this. Did not change anything. I love simple recipes that are outstanding. YUM, YUM, YUM. Keep these wonderful recipes coming.
So simple and super delicious! Great to make with bell or venison instead of the beef as well.
So good!!! Followed recipe to a tee will definitely make again!! A great go-to comfort food
I love this recipe, it’s simple and delicious! I’ve taken it to a family as a meal for Church and they all loved it too! Thanks
Made this tonight. Followed the recipe to a tee. It was deeeeee-licous!!!! Had it with some Pillsbury Crusty French bread. Also added the rest of the cheese on top. I will definitely be making this again ❣️
Good recipe, I made pretty close to as stated. We love onions so I added more, used home dried sweet peppers when I added the broth and added some extra seasonings. A little extra italian seasoning and some rosemary. Simple and tasty
Easy. Delicious. Perfect.
Enough for a meal & some to freeze.
Thanks!!
What can I use instead of sour cream
You can use plain greek yogurt or cream cheese if you don’t want to use sour cream. Enjoy!
Just made this for me and my wife came out perfect ,thank you for this quick recipe. I will definitely make this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made tonight, took 2.5 cup shell recommendation’s and added a can of green beans, used regular butter /olive oil instead of special purchase and it’s delicious thank you!
Quick and easy dinner! I didn’t have shells so I used bowtie pasta and also didn’t have a bell pepper so I just threw in a chopped up jalapeno. I thought it wasn’t going to be enough pasta because of how much sauce there was but it turned out perfect and my partner loved it!
This was so delicious, we loved it!
This was super easy to make and very tasty. I did add more cheese on top.
Can I use pulled pork instead of ground meat
Absolutely mouth watering!!!!!!!! Even Grandpa can make it! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
My tastebuds say the addition of sweet corn may compliment the flavors. I will try it next time,
and comment back. If you can’t eat, what else it there!!!!! Thanks Farmers and Thanks iwashyoudry.
SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!
I made this tonight. It was delicious and easy.
I made this last night and it did not disappoint. I Absolutely love that I didn’t need heavy cream for this recipe because I don’t always have that on hand.
Also I think my husband appreciated that it did not call for any kind of tomato.
Anyway I loved the flavor and wanted to ask if you add anything to the leftovers the next day when reheating to make it back creamy? Thanks in advanced.
I also only used 2 cups large salad shell noodles.
How many does it feed I will be feeding 6 people
Yummy! I used 2.5 cups noodles, per reviews. I also added a can of corn.
Ok so the directions say UNCOOKED pasta….but yet you say BOIL PASTA.
?????????
You’ll start with uncooked pasta shells, then boil them.
Omg
Measure out 3 cups of uncooked pasta, then boil it
Such a tasty dish! Very easy to make! We used the mini bow tie pasta. This will be great to feed the family when they visit!
This is very delicious I’m eating it right, yum. The only thing I did different is I didn’t add the shells in the gravy. I kept them seperate then I added my shells in a bowl and put the gravy over the top.
i love this recipe!! however i think next time i will do only 2-2.5 cups noodles ☺️
That sounds great!
Yes!!! I made this today and didn’t put all the cooked noodles in the pot… it’s very good!!
I made this for dinner after I had a spectacularly bad day- and it improved my mood immensely and I now only want to eat this for the rest of my life!!! Delicious and easy and perfect!
Yum! I made this tonight and it is so tasty! Easy weeknight dinner with things we typically have on hand.
Looks wonderful for my 7 grandkids! I was curious about where you found the utensil you used to break up the meat, and scrape the dish? Really looks like it works well?
I would like to also know where you got that utensil you used for this recipe.
The wooden utensil is from Earlywood! They have so many great items – https://www.earlywooddesigns.com/
The wooden spatula you used, where do you find it please?
It’s from Earlywood Designs. https://www.earlywooddesigns.com/
What kind of skillet are you using? I would love to
Get one like that!
I found it on Amazon actually! It’s a nice one! You can find it here: https://amzn.to/3lSyiqd
This was delicious, but I cut it in half and used wagon wheels. It was for 1 person. Then froze the leftovers.
Awesome! Love those wagon wheels!
could this be frozen?
I think it would be fine frozen.
Very good! I made this dish with ground venison and I used elbow macaroni because I did not have shells. Note: If you use elbow, you only need about 1.5 cups uncooked. I cooked 3 cups and I now I have mucho pasta left over… for something else!!
Sounds fantastic! Yes, it does make quite a bit.. but I think the leftovers are worth it! 😉
Can u freeze this dish, I just made it & it’s delicious & easy
Yes, you should be fine freezing this, but keep in mind that if the pasta is really tender it can fall apart easier after it’s been defrosted and reheated. Should still taste great, but might not look the same.