Seafood Stuffed Shells with Shrimp and Crab
Seafood Stuffed Shells are an impressive dish to pull out for friends and family. Jumbo shells are stuffed with Cajun-seasoned shrimp and crab, and everything gets covered in a homemade white cream sauce. It's simply divine!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 625kcal
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
Freezer Instructions:
- 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!
Nutrition
Calories: 625kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 234mg | Sodium: 1030mg | Potassium: 578mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3063IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 401mg | Iron: 2mg