These easy taco stuffed shells are a 30 minute dinner that's kid friendly and perfect for busy weeknights! This hearty casserole can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time or frozen for up to 3 months before baking.
1 ½cupsquesoRestless Chipotle homemade or store bought
1cupCheddar cheesegrated
green onions
taco sauce
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Cook jumbo shells according to package instructions. Do not overcook - they'll fall apart.
Drain, rinse, and let cool.
Brown ground beef in a heavy skillet.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over the top.
Stir in water and simmer until the water is absorbed.
Stir in cilantro.
Spray a 13x9 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray.
Gently hold a jumbo shell in the palm of your hand and fill it with meat mixture. It should hold about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons.
Place in the casserole dish.
Repeat with the remaining shells until all the meat is gone.
Pour the queso over the shells, spreading to cover them with it.
Sprinkle with the shredded cheese.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and the casserole is heated through.
Drizzle with taco sauce, sprinkle with green onions and serve.
To bake after freezing
Remove the casserole from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
When ready to fix dinner just bake as directed in the recipe instructions.
Notes
Storage:You can assemble this dish up to 2 days ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you're ready to bake it.Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap for up to 4 days.Tips:
Don't add salt! The taco seasoning is salty (I suggest getting a low sodium variety) and the queso is salty. If you salt the meat it will be WAY over salted.
For easy stuffing use a cake decorating bag without an end in it. Fill it with the meat and squeeze it into the pasta.
Sometimes I add RoTel tomatoes to the cooked ground beef along with the taco seasoning.
Use 90/10 lean ground beef or leaner - it keeps the casserole from being greasy and the seasoning adds plenty of flavor.
You can substitute ground turkey, ground pork, ground chicken, or ground venison for the beef in this recipe.
While you're browning the meat stir and break it up with a spatula so it's in small pieces with no big lumps.
Don't overcook the pasta! It will fall apart when you try to stuff it.
If you assemble this dish and freeze it be sure to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Don't use the packaged shredded cheese. Shred it yourself from a block - the packaged shredded cheese has cellulose on it to keep it from clumping and it won't melt as nicely as block cheese.
Want to make this even easier? Use the small shells and make it into taco mac & cheese.