Seafood Stuffed Shells are a restaurant-quality dish that can be easily made for your family right at home! We take jumbo pasta shells and stuff them with a creamy shrimp & crab filling, then bake alongside a quick homemade white sauce. It's divine!
I can't stress how absolutely delicious these crab and shrimp stuffed shells are! The filling is perfectly seasoned, and the homemade cream sauce just ties the entire dish together. Make extra shells and freeze them using my methods below, for an easy ready-made meal in the future!
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $2.41
- Total Cost (4 servings): $9.62
- Those Other Guys: $16.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Peeled Shrimp - Take some large, peeled shrimp and cut into chunks.
- Crabmeat - I like using claw crabmeat because it's more budget-friendly!
- Jumbo Pasta Shells - The base of our dish. These can be easily found in the pasta section of your local grocery store.
- Ricotta Cheese - Our filling contains lots of tasty ricotta cheese. Skim or full fat, it doesn't matter.
- Spinach - To add some greens and fiber to the filling. I usually use frozen, but you can also use fresh.
- Lemon Juice - Just a splash of lemon juice in the filling goes great with all of the seafood we're packing in.
- Dijon Mustard - A teaspoon of Dijon provides some umami in our filling that goes a long way.
- Heavy Cream - To make the cream sauce, I used non-dairy heavy cream. Feel free to grab your go-to brand.
- Almond Milk - Unsweetened almond milk helps us stretch the cream sauce a bit.
- Mozzarella - Shredded mozzarella is sprinkled on top so we have a cheesy crust!
- Spices - The filling is seasoned with Old Bay and Italian seasoning, and the cream sauce is seasoned with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Super simple!
Variations and Substitutions
Cajun Seafood Stuffed Shells: Stuff the shells with a mixture of crawfish and shrimp!
Veggie Stuffed Shells: Try this recipe for vegetarian stuffed shells - made with spinach, mushrooms, and a hearty red sauce.
Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells: Fill the jumbo shells with juicy, diced chicken and cheese. Top with a creamy Alfredo sauce!
How to Make Crab & Shrimp Stuffed Shells
This is a very impressive looking dish, and it is actually super easy to create. There's two main parts to preparation: Making/filling the shells, and creating the homemade cream sauce.
Homemade Cream Sauce
- Start out by creating the cream sauce. Add heavy cream, unsweetened almond milk, and the below seasoning mix to a saucepan.
- Heat on low, simmering until the liquid reduces and thickens up. This takes a second, so you can stuff the shells in the meantime.
Stuffed Shells
- Meanwhile, cook your jumbo shells for 2 minutes less than the package instructions.
- Blanch the shells in an ice bath to stop them from cooking. Drain, and set aside.
Step 1: For the filling, mix your ricotta, spinach, heavy cream, lemon juice, Dijon, Old Bay, and Italian seasoning in a medium-sized bowl. Taste the filling, adjust any seasonings to your preference, then gently fold in the crabmeat and chopped shrimp.
Step 2: Next, stuff your shells with the filling. I usually use my hands and a spoon, but you can also use a large piping bag.
Preheat your oven to 375℉. Then, place your stuffed shells in a baking pan.
Step 3: Pour the cream sauce over the shells. Sprinkle shredded cheese and smoked paprika over the top.
Step 4: Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Then broil until the cheesy top is golden brown. Sprinkle some freshly chopped parsley for a garnish, and serve!
Recipe Pro Tips
- Taste test when you can. When it comes to the filling, we add raw shrimp inside. So you want to mix together everything except the seafood, then taste the filling in case you want to add anything extra. Once you're satisfied, add the shrimp and crab (gently).
- Undercook the pasta. If you cook the pasta fully before baking, the shells will fall apart either during the stuffing phase or the cooking phase. Undercook your shells by a few minutes!
- Make extras and freeze. This makes a really impressive dish for family and friends. Make an extra batch so you can easily pull off a quick dinner that everyone will love!
Recipe FAQs
Of course! See the recipe notes below (in the recipe card) for detailed freezing instructions. In a nutshell - you can freeze the shells after stuffing them, then dump them in a baking pan with the sauce.
I would suggest cream cheese or blended cottage cheese as a substitute.
I normally use the Barilla brand, called "Jumbo Shells". I've also seen store-brand versions at Target.
Other Pasta Dishes You'll Love!
If you tried this Seafood Stuffed Shells Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Seafood Stuffed Shells with Shrimp and Crab
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Baking Pan
- Wooden Spoon
- Serving Spoon
- Chef's Knife
Ingredients
Stuffed Shells & Filling
- 5 ounces jumbo pasta shells makes about 16
- 8 ounces large raw shrimp peeled and chopped into chunks
- 8 ounces claw crab meat
- 12 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 ounces frozen chopped spinach
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- shredded mozzarella to garnish
- fresh parsley to garnish
Cream Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
Jumbo Shells
- Boil a large pot of water and salt until it is at a rolling boil. Add pasta shells and cook for about 2 minutes less than the directions on the package - these will fully cook in the oven.
- Once shells are done, drain and set aside. Blanch them with a quick ice bath to completely stop the cooking process.
Homemade Cream Sauce
- Add the heavy cream and almond milk to a shallow saucepan. Season with the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Heat on low, stirring frequently, until the sauce begins to reduce.
Filling
- Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl - add the ricotta cheese, frozen chopped spinach, heavy cream, lemon juice, Dijon, Old Bay, and Italian seasoning.
- Taste, and adjust any seasonings to your preference.
- Gently fold in the crab meat and chopped shrimp.
- Stuff your shells with the seafood mixture. You can use piping bags, or get down and dirty with a regular serving spoon and (washed!) hands.
Assembly
- Preheat your oven to 375℉.
- In a 8x8 baking dish, layer the stuffed shells into even rows.
- Pour the cream sauce on top of the shells.
- Top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered. Then, turn your oven to low broil and cook for another 2-4 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- Sprinkle freshly chopped parsley on top and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- To freeze, stuff the shells as written above and then layer on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place shells in the freezer for an hour to ensure that they will not stick together.
- After an hour, remove and add the shells to a large freezer-safe bag.
- To reheat, bake frozen shells and sauce uncovered at 375°F for 20-30 minutes until fully heated through. Enjoy!
P. Ocker says
I would have given it 6 stars, but only 5 were available. If you love seafood this is a must to treat yourself and your guests with. Absolutely beyond DELICIOUS!
Shani W. says
Thank you so much for your review! 🙂
Brooke says
Loved the flavor of the stuffed shells. Was not a fan of the sauce.
Shani W. says
Hi Brooke, thank you for trying and commenting!
Anonymous says
Can you sub 2 percent milk for the almond milk?
Shani W. says
Yes, that's fine!
Carla says
WOW! The photos sold me on going to the store to get the ingredients, and the taste sold my entire family! Hubby specifically went back for thirds. This recipe is sublime!
Shani W. says
Carla, thank you so much for trying and commenting! This type of feedback is exactly what I love to hear.
Karen says
I cant wait to make this for my Son-in-law for Father's Day!
Tangela Torres says
Measurements on seasoning?
Shani W. says
I just updated the recipe card with seasoning measurements! Thank you for the feedback!
Brian Komerska says
Do I have to use unsweetened almond milk? Can I use regular milk?
Shani W. says
No, regular milk will be fine! It's actually more creamy than almond milk so the texture will be smoother 🙂
Anonymous says
I tried out this recipe and it was a show-stopper! One suggestion: include all of the spices in the shopping list, I got home from the grocery store and two weren’t in my spice rack, but I found substitutes. I’m sure more paprika and Old Bay would have knocked this out of the ballpark!
Shani W. says
Thank you so much for the suggestion! This post will be updated with the seasonings included in the recipe card - I'm really glad to hear you loved it!