I come from the school that any good tasting filling is versatile in different applications, whether it be stuffed into baked dough, layered or stuffed with pasta or even used as a pizza topping. The chicken pesto filling I came up with is an example of a versatile recipe that would be great in a calzone, stromboli, lasagna, manicotti or topped on a pizza crust. For this recipe, I used the filling to stuff jumbo shells but feel free to use it however you'd like.
This dish came about after realizing I had quite a few leftovers of pesto, cooked and shredded chicken, various cheesse and jumbo pasta shells. I combined the pesto, chicken and cheese, tasting as I went along until the filling was just right. Feel free to adjust the measurements to your tastes. Since I prepared this as a freezer meal, I was hopeful it would come out well and it certainly did. When I make this again, I plan on including additional ingredients such as diced red bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes or even top the dish with a crunchy topping of buttery panko breadcrumbs before baking.
Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells
original Joelen recipe
original Joelen recipe
12-16 jumbo pasta shells
water for boiling pasta
4oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese + 1/4 cup for topping
3 tablespoons prepared pesto (homemade or store bought)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot over high heat, boil water and prepare pasta shells as directed on package. Cook pasta shells only until al dente. The pasta will finish cooking when the dish is baked. Drain the pasta shells and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, except the 1/4 cup of cheese for the topping. Fill the pasta shells with the filling and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over filled shells.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake shells uncovered for 30 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts.
* To make ahead/freezer meals - Prepare as directed but place filled shells in an oven- and freezer-proof baking dish. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over filled shells, cover and freeze. When ready to prepare, defrost. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake shells uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts.
40 comments:
I'm loving all of these freezer recipes! This pasta dish looks fantastic.
I could so sink my teeth into these! Love everything about them - the pesto, pasta, chicken...Home Run, Joelen!
Love pesto, pasta and chicken so I'm thinking I'm going to try these. Thanks for the recipe.
I'm definitely going to be making these stuffed shells - what a creative and tasty twist on a classic!
Stuffed shells are my go-to meal for using up left-overs too. I usually make some type of Ricotta mixture but pesto sounds yummy too!
this sounds so delicious! I'm definitely going to have try to this one!
I made these today and they were very dry. It's almost like it was missing something. It also did not make nearly as many as you said it would.
I thought that these stuffed shells sounded AMAZING! I had already bought everything to make them and then read the comment that said they were dry and didn't make as many. This made me a little worried, so I made a creamy pesto sauce to cover them with before I cooked them, as well as added about another ounce or two of cream cheese to the filling. With those few changes, they were great and didn't dry out at all!
My family LOVED these! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
I just made these tonight for me and my boyfriend. I halved the recipe and it made just enough to stuff them all and they were beyond delicious! I did accidentally add an entire cup of Parmesan cheese but no one here was complaining - haha! Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe!
These look so good! I can't wait to try them :)
I added them to Living A Bona Fide Life: Recipe Box #15
I followed this recipe exactly and it was AMAZING! I don't know how you could possibly think it was dry. Perhaps you started with dry chicken? It also made the intended amount. I stuffed 14 shells pretty full. I will be making this again and again. Thanks for the recipe!
Found the picture & link to this recipe on Pinterest! Can't wait to try! Also featured on my blog!
Tried the Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells tonight for dinner and they were just delicious! Simple to make and a hit with my family. Thank you for such a great recipe, will for sure make again.
I made these tonight and they were AWESOME. I added 1 oz cream cheese and 4 oz of Philadelphia Cooking Crean (Italian Cheese). I made 20 shells and had just enough to fill each one up nicely. So much better (IMO) than ricotta based stuffed shells. Definitely goes in my rotation!
Ashley
Question regarding the prepare ahead and freeze part - when you say "prepare as above" do you mean up until the baking part? Or do you bake them, then freeze them and then reheat?
I'm never sure with pasta dishes (like this or lasagne)if you are supposed to pre-bake before freezing.
Thank you for the great recipes!
Hi Andrea - * To make ahead/freezer meals, cook pasta shells only until al dente. The pasta will finish cooking when the dish is baked. Drain the pasta shells and fill with the filling as reflected in the recipe.
Place filled shells in an oven- and freezer-proof baking dish. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over filled shells, cover and freeze. When you are ready to prepare and eat the dish, remove from the freezer and defrost. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake shells uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts. It's as I mentioned above but slightly clarified. Hope this helps!
Thank you Joelen. I made these tonight and they were fabulous. Served a batch for dinner and one is in the freezer. I've never done stuffed shells before. I had them once when I was a kid and was repulsed by them so I've always avoided them. I think it was all the wads of ricotta.
Thank you again for replying so quickly to my question.
omg I just ate these. Absolutely awesome. I love them! I made them according to the recipe along with the breadcrumb topping. Next time I'm going to top them with sauce to keep the shells soft. I will also double the recipe and freeze half. Thank you!
I doubled the filling and this worked great! I didn't count how many shells I put in the water, but there was enough filling for almost a whole box of shells. I used 1 cup of parmesan and a 1 cup of asiago for the filling...yummy!
I used 1 oz extra cream cheese and 1 TB more of pesto...they were amazing but rich. (Made 20 shells) Next time I think I will cut out the garlic...the pesto I bought was a Basil Pesto and I think it had enough garlic in it! Very good and will make again!
I made these for dinner a few nights ago and they are delicious!!We loved them!! They were very moist and flavorful!!
Some friends and I made this as a freezer meal. One of my friends just baked hers and she said the oils separated pretty badly. I did not see it so I am not sure exactly what it looked like. How would you suggest preventing this? Would adding extra cheese before baking help to absorb the oils?
Hi Kelsey! Thank you for trying this recipe with your friends. When I made this the oil from the homemade pesto I used did separate a bit however we didn't mind it too much because we had garlic bread that was delicious sopping up the flavored oil. If you want to prevent this, I would suggest 1)reduce the amount of oil used in a homemade pesto just for this recipe or 2) reduce the amount of pesto to 2 tablespoons and add 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped basil to the filling mixture. I hope this helps!
Where did you get the handy pan you used to freeze this yummy looking meal? Its what's for dinner tonight, can't wait to try it. Always looking for meals I can make ahead & freeze b/c my 15 year old does the cooking when I have to work :)
These shells were the bomb! Very rich and full of flavor. Can't wait to try more of your tasty looking recipes.
Making these shells for a second time tonight! There are no words for how delicious they are. My roommate and I kept looking at each other saying these could have been straight out of a restaurant. Thanks for such an amazing recipe!
Do you bake the chicken or pan cook it?
Hi Anonymous - the recipe calls for shredded cooked chicken... so you can either bake, boil, or pan cook the chicken however you'd like. A great shortcut is using a store bought rotisserie chicken. Hope this helps!
This was amazing!!! HUGE hit with the whole family!!! Thank you!!
Can't wait to try this! Can you recommend a brand of pesto to buy?
made these tonight and froze a batch. my husband and i LOVED them! Wayyy better than ricotta stuffed shells. I also added some cooked spinach in the mixture...yum!
Made these tonight and my husband and I love them! I agree mine was a bit dry and made 11 shells. I will brush shells with EVOO next time and cover with foil. No biggie! These really are delish. They made it to our monthly menu ;)
I can't wait to try these... TONIGHT! :)
Does it need to be fresh cheese? I only have the parmesean in a can but I also was able to buy a bag of finely grated that is probably more fresh than the can. I live outside if the USA so it's not easy to find everything at my grocery stores. I wonder if this would also be good with mozzarella cheese? I also wonder if it would be good with some marinara sauce but where would I add it in?
I added marinara to mine and they were great! I just poured the sauce on the bottom of the pan and added the shells on top. YUM!
I made 3 of these tonight, one for a sick friend, one for tomorrow nights dinner, and one for the freezer. I sampled the chicken filling and I am pretty sure these will be a regular in our house!
I made this dish. Very good flavor but mine turned out dry too. But I'm not giving up on these. I used a rotisserie chicken that I shredded the day before, so the dry chicken may have messed it up. I'll tweak this recipe...It's worth it.:-)
I just made these! They were so great! But my shells were a little crunchy. Are they supposed to be like that? That didn't take away from the amazingness of them, though :)
I made these last night and they were a hit!! Wonderful flavor in the stuffing! I'll definitely be making these again and again! Thank you for the recipe!
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