Roll With It
Bacon-Stuffed Pasta Shells Rolled and Baked with Cheese
55 minutes
Serves 4
DinnerItalian
Herb's take
Tonight, we’re fusing Italian comfort food with a little smoky bacon swagger. You’ll learn the fine art of rolling giant pasta shells around a creamy, savory bacon filling , then bake until everything’s bubbling and golden. It’s a dinner party trick disguised as weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
Yield
4
Instructions
- 01Preheat your oven to 375°F. Drizzle olive oil in a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- 02Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the jumbo pasta shells until just shy of al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain and run under cool water to prevent sticking.
- 03In a skillet over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel. Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon fat in the skillet.
- 04Add the minced garlic to the reserved bacon fat and sauté for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
- 05In a large bowl, combine ricotta, half of the mozzarella, Parmesan, cooked bacon, sautéed garlic, egg, parsley, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Mix until evenly distributed.
- 06Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- 07Fill each pasta shell with about 2 tablespoons of the bacon-cheese mixture, then gently roll each shell closed (like a mini crepe) and place seam-side down in the baking dish.
- 08Top the rolled shells evenly with the remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese over everything.
- 09Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10-12 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling.
- 10Let the roll-ups cool for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with extra parsley if you’re feeling fancy.
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