My Creamy Beef and Shells is one of the easiest one-pot meals and couldn’t be more delicious! The beef is sautéed with onions and garlic, and cooked with the shells in a creamy tomato sauce that’s finished with Pecorino Romano cheese and fresh basil. A must for busy weeknights!
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One-pot comfort
I’ve been on a mission to bring more one-pot meals to you and have even started a one-pot series on my YouTube channel that includes my one-pan Greek meatballs and potatoes, and my one-pan salmon and orzo. This delicious creamy shells with beef dish was born out of my experimenting with some new one-pot recipes and I just know you will love it!
It’s hearty and creamy, which translates to “comfort”, in my opinion, and since it’s all made in one pan, the clean up is super easy.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Shells. My recipe calls for medium-sized shells. Save the large shells for stuffed shells, and the small shells for soups. The medium shells are the perfect pasta for holding on to the bits of beef so every bite literally explodes with flavor.
- Beef. Ground chuck will yield the best flavor, but you can use leaner ground beef, pork, sausage, lamb, or even ground chicken or turkey.
- Stock. Use low-sodium beef stock, or better yet, homemade beef stock.
- Cream. I do recommend sticking to the recipe and using heavy cream for beef and shells. Using milk, or half and half, can cause the sauce to break.
- Basil. Adding basil at the end brings brightness and so much flavor to my creamy beef and shells.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Brown the beef in the pan until cooked and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the onions, then the garlic, then the red pepper flakes.
- Add the plum tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil.
- Add the shells to the sauce and stir fairly often.
- Add the cream and mix well.
- Turn off the heat and add the cheese and basil.
Top tips
- Cooking the shells. Since my creamy beef and shells was created as a one-pot recipe, the shells cook in the same pan with the sauce. For this reason, the recipe calls for 4 cups of beef stock which will be enough to cook the pasta. If the sauce drys out before the pasta is finished, simply add a bit more stock. If you do not want to make this a one-pot meal and prefer to cook the shells separately, you can, however, you will not need all the stock; you can reduce the amount of stock to just a 1/2 cup.
- Reserve some stock. If the pasta dried out at all, add a touch of warm beef stock or water to loosen it up. Usually, I’d suggest saving your pasta water, but since this is a one-pot dish, you won’t have any pasta water.
- Additions. If you’d like to add a veg to this dish, it would be great with green peas or even baby spinach.
More comforting pasta recipes
If creamy beef and shells is right up your alley, these are the recipes to try!
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One-Pot Creamy Beef and Shells
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds (680g) ground chuck
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
- 1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes hand crushed or blender pulsed
- 4 cups (1L) low sodium beef stock
- 1 pound (454g) medium shells
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (45g) grated Pecorino Romano
- 1/4 cup basil leaves hand torn
- salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Heat a very large pan or Dutch oven to medium-high heat then add in the olive oil and ground chuck. Brown the beef until almost cooked through (about 7 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn the heat down to medium, push the beef to the edges of the pot, and add the onions in the middle along with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, if needed. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until softened then add the garlic and cook for another ~2 minutes or until lightly golden. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the plum tomatoes and stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and taste test. Season with salt and pepper as required. Add the shells. Cook the shells, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until al dente.
- About 3 minutes before the pasta has finished cooking add the cream and mix well to incorporate. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is a perfect al dente.
- Remove the pot from the heat and mix in the grated pecorino. Taste test and season with salt and pepper if required then add the basil.
- If the pasta gets at all dry before serving simply add a touch of hot stock to loosen it up. Serve with grated Pecorino. Enjoy!
Notes
- Servings. Makes 6 very large servings or 8 normal-sized ones.
- Consistency. If the pasta dries out at all just add a touch of hot beef stock to loosen it up and mix well before serving.
- One pot or not. You can make the sauce and cook the pasta separately if you like. If doing so, decrease the 4 cups of stock to only a 1/2 cup, since the large liquid amount to cook the pasta will no longer be needed.
- Change up the protein. Ground sirloin, pork, lamb, and bulk Italian sausage can all be used as substititutes.
- Leftovers. Creamy beef and shells can be saved for up to 3 days and can be reheated on the stovetop or the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I found this to be a good base but needed more flavor. I added Italian Seasoning, dried oregano, Onion and Garlic powder, spinach instead of basil (because basil was in the San Marzano tomatoes). Added red bell pepper, and spinach, and Boursin cheese and it was a hit! All four grandsons loved it as did the adults. I know, entirely different recipe… don’t shoot the chef!
Brian from Texas again–long time, no see. Y’all have been batting 1000, and this one doesn’t break the streak. Well done.
So glad you enjoyed, Brian!
Instead of cream can I substitute with coconut cream?
Hi Janet, you can though the flavor of the dish will change.
Can’t wait to try this.
Can I use tomato paste instead of the canned tomatoes?
Thank you
Hi there, you can use paste, but not as a 1:1 substitute for the tomatoes. In this case, about 1 6 ounce can of tomato paste could work and you may need to add more stock as well since the canned tomatoes contain a decent amount of liquid where the paste doesn’t.
So good!! Easy to make and delicious!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Mark!
Hi James,
Recipe looks great. Is the nutritional info per serve calculated for 6 large serves or for the 8 regular sized serves?
Thanks,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, it’s for 6 large servings.
Love your recipes! Could water or chicken broth be used instead of the beef broth? If not, do you have a brand of broth that your recommend?
Thank you
Hi Mary, yes, you can definitely use chicken broth or water. For beef broth, we recommend making with Better Than Bouillion beef base, or we’ll sometimes use boxed Cento or Pacific brands.
This looks great, and I’m looking forward to making it. Quick question – can you substitute a large can of puree or jar of passata for the plum tomatoes? Some of family does not like “chunky” sauces (to them, that means any size bits of tomato, unfortunately!)
Thank you!!
Hi Sherie, yes, you can use the same amount (28 ounces) of passata or even crushed tomatoes.
Just made it tonight. Came out great. I added a mix of spinach and greens to the individual bowls when I served it.
Hi Teri, we’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment and for sharing the addition of spinach.