Chicken Stuffed Shells became a favorite family recipe over the years while my kids were growing up. While I had to tweak it several times depending on who was over for dinner, more so my kids. I say tweak because you can never have my clan all together without remembering who doesn’t like one thing or the other. Till this day with my kids all grown up and moved on with their own cooking style, I am still requested to make this. I guess it’s about time to pass this recipe on so here I am.. passing it along to you all.
This recipe is one of my own but can be versatile to make it yours. If someone doesn’t like stuffing, no problem, simply remove it and just fill with extra Chicken. Someone may not like Cream Cheese, easy fix.. leave it out. At the end of the day, not much in hard work to bring a smile and still comes out delicious. There are so many ways you can make this recipe your own simply by changing the ingredients. Need I remind you though, you have got to try this version as I’m positive no changes will be necessary.
Stuffed Shells may seem like alot of work if you are preparing your own stuffing and sometimes it is. Let me tell you though, the results are almost always what you want them to be. Only suggestion I would make is to simply make extra since it is always a good thing to prepare in abundance and freeze for another day. Try your hand at Chicken Stuffed Shells where time and patience may be a factor but the flavors are 100 percent worth it.
You must first put the work in to be able to reap the reward!
~Sandy M
Chicken Stuffed Shells
Equipment
- 3 Pots
- Baking Dish
- Mixing Bowl
- Colander
Ingredients
Protein
- 1 lb Chicken Cutlets of Chicken of your choice
Pasta
- 1 Box of Stuffed Shells
Bread
- 2 Boxes of packaged Stuffing Mix or prepare your own.
Dairy
- 1 Block of Cream Cheese brought to room temperature.
- 1 16oz Sour Cream
- 16 oz Package Shredded Colby Jack or Mexican Blend Cheese.
Condiment
- 2 Containers of McCormick Simply Better Chicken Gravy or use your own prepared Gravy.
Seasonings
- 1 tbsp Garlic Herb Seasoning
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Cornstarch
Oil
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Rinse the Chicken off and place in pot. Fill pot with water just enough to cover Chicken.
- Add Garlic Herb Seasoning, Onion Power, Salt & Pepper to taste.
- Bring to boil on medium/high until Chicken starts to cook. Turn down to medium and let simmer to begin creating a broth and Chicken continues to cook through.
Stuffed Shells Pasta
- Bring another pot of water to a rapid boil on medium/high.
- Add a generous pinch of Salt a tablespoon of Olive Oil.
- Add Stuffed Shells and cook according to packaged instructions.
- Once Shells reach Al Dente in texture, drain Shells using a colander. Run cold water over it to stop the cooking process. Shells will continue to cook in the oven after they are assembled.
Prepare Stuffing
- Prepare Boxed Stuffing following directions. If you are making your own, please prepare prior to starting assembling process. Once completed, set aside.
Filling
- Add Cream Cheese, Sour Cream and a pinch of Salt & Pepper into mixing bowl. Stir to incorporate all ingredients together until creamy and smooth.
Bringing It Together
- Gently remove the cooked Chicken from the broth and place into a bowl. Using two forks, shred the Chicken into smaller pieces.
- Add the shredded Chicken directly into the prepared Stuffing and mix together to incorporate both.
- Create a slurry using 1 teaspoon of Cornstarch and a couple of tablspoons of water in a small cup. Add the slurry directly into the broth and stir to thicken it up to a Gravy consistency. Depending on how much liquid you have, you may have to do this a couple of times.
- Add the container of Mccormick's Gravy directly into the pot with the Gravy you have already prepared in the pot and stir in. This will give it more flavor and a thicker consistency. If you are using your own prepared Gravy, you may omit the previous two steps. Taste the Gravy to see if additional seasonings are needed.
Assembling
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Spray your baking dish with cooking spray to keep Shells from sticking.
- Spoon a couple spoonsful of Chicken Gravy on the bottom of baking dish.
- Gently grab a shell in your hand carefully opening it up.
- Add a spoonful of Cream Cheese/Sour Cream mixture at the bottom.
- Using a spoon or your fingers, stuff the rest of the shell with the Chicken Stuffing and place in baking dish seam side up.
- Continue this step until all are completed.
- If you have leftover Cream Cheese/Sour Cream mixture, I always just spoon the rest over the top of shells.
- Spread the Shredded Cheese over the shells.
- Using a ladle, gently pour the Gravy over the Shells letting the Gravy seep inside each of them.
- Cover baking dish with foil and bake in preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes.
