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Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells are creamy, cheesy, and smothered in a rich homemade Alfredo sauce. They’re so good, even the kids won’t mind the spinach!
Stuffed pasta is a fun way to change up your average pasta dinner. This recipe has all the same flavors of Fettuccini Alfredo, with the addition of some spinach and extra cheese.
Cheesy Stuffed Shells
Our family eats a lot of pasta for dinner, so I like to find ways to switch things up every now and then. As much as we love Chicken Alfredo (especially the kids), it can get a little redundant.
That’s where these Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells come in. They have all the right components: pasta, chicken, cheese, a homemade alfredo sauce, and *even* some sneaky green spinach (the kids hardly notice).
When you stuff pasta with tons of cheese, spinach and chicken, you really can’t go wrong. And you REALLY can’t go wrong when you have Ricotta, Parmesan, AND Italian Cheeses in the recipe (told you they were cheesy!)
How to make alfredo Stuffed Shells
SHELLS. Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and drain.
FILLING. While your pasta is cooking, mix ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, spinach and chopped chicken in a medium bowl. Set aside.
SAUCE. Prepare Alfredo sauce by adding garlic to a pan and saute for 1 minute. Add broth, let bubble. Then add half&half, whipping cream, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese. Whisk constantly till combined. Allow liquid to heat up and thicken for a few minutes.
ASSEMBLE. Spread 1 cup of Alfredo sauce in the bottom of a 13×9-inch glass baking dish. Arrange shells on top of sauce. Spoon about 2 tablespoons ricotta mixture into each pasta shell until all shells are full.
BAKE. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Italian cheese blend and bake uncovered for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve your chicken stuffed shells with any of the following sides:
Variations/Additions
- You can use shredded chicken or even leftover rotisserie chicken
- Use premade alfredo sauce for a quicker version
- Sub the Alfredo Sauce with a red marinara sauce
- Top with bacon bits and tomatoes
- Easily double the recipe to feed a larger crowd
Making Ahead & Storing
Make ahead: You can prep the dish a few hours ahead of time (up to 4). Cover it with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it. Be sure to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
You can also FREEZE the dish to be baked later. Once you have covered the shells with the alfredo sauce, wrap the baking pan with plastic wrap and then again with foil. Thaw in the fridge before baking. Make sure that you remove the plastic wrap, and then place the foil back on the dish before baking.
Leftovers: Place leftover shells in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in the oven or microwave.
For more pasta recipes, check out:
- Cheesy Garlic Tortellini Pasta
- Cheesy Ravioli Bake
- Triple Cheddar Chicken Pasta
- Cheesy Spinach Lasagna Rolls
- Taco Pasta Shells
- Lemon and Asparagus Pasta
Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells Recipe
Ingredients
- 18 Large Pasta Shells from a 16 oz package
- 15 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 1 Large Egg slightly beaten
- 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 2 cups Frozen Cut Leaf Spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
- 1 cup Chicken cooked and chopped
- 1 tsp garlic salt (with parsley flakes)
- 2 cups Shredded Italian Cheese Blend
Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 cup Half and Half
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 Tsp minced garlic
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and drain.
- While your pasta is cooking, mix ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, spinach and chicken in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Prepare Alfredo sauce by adding garlic to a pan and saute for 1 minute. Add broth, let bubble. Then add half&half, whipping cream, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese. Whisk constantly till combined. Allow liquid to heat up and thicken for a few minutes.
- Spread 1 cup of alfredo sauce in the bottom of a 13×9-inch glass baking dish. Arrange shells on top of sauce. Spoon about 2 tablespoons ricotta mixture into each pasta shell until all shells are full.
- Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Italian cheese blend and bake uncovered for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.
Just put this in the oven and smells wonderful! I have made several recipes from your site and follow you on Pinterest. Great recipes! Love your white pizza! Thank you !
What do you do with the remaining Alfredo sauce?
You can use any remaining sauce on top of the shells or even just drizzle on top after serving. It also is really yummy to dip bread in… our Olive Garden breadsticks or Garlic Knots are SO yummy dipped! https://lilluna.com/olive-garden-breadsticks/ https://lilluna.com/garlic-knots/
Amazing all the kids loved it 🥰
Yay! So glad to hear that!
Just FYI. You have garlic salt in the ingredients list but not in the instructions. I, unfortunately, made the filling and prefilled the shells before figuring out that garlic salt was left out of the instructions. I’m sure it will still taste fine, but you may want to edit your instructions 😉
Thanks so much for the feedback! We’ll get that updated.
Nevermind. Don’t mind my last comment. Cooking it now lol. 💛💛💛
Oh haha! Just responded to that last comment. I’m glad you were able to find it! Hope you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
There’s no measurements at all for anything. And no list of things needed. Like when did broth even come into play and what type of broth?
Hi Tay! So the full recipe with ingredients and instructions are at the bottom of the post. There is a button on the top that says “Jump to Recipe”. Click on that and it’ll take you right there. Here’s a quick reference of the ingredients. And then full instructions are on the post. 🙂
Ingredients:
18 Large Pasta Shells from a 16 oz package
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
1 Large Egg slightly beaten
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 cups Frozen Cut Leaf Spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1 cup Chicken cooked and chopped
1 tsp Garlic Salt
2 cups Shredded Italian Cheese Blend
Homemade Alfredo Sauce:
1 cup Chicken Broth
1 cup Half and Half
1/2 cup Whipping Cream
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Tsp Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Hello, I’m a vegetarian and, I was wondering if I could just not add the chicken and replace the broth with water?
For sure! You can definitely omit the chicken. You could also try using vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth… might provide a little more flavor than just water.
I have looked at a couple of your recipes and they look delicious.
But I have a problem — too much sodium. Can it be reduced in your recipes.
Joanne
I have not tried reducing the sodium in any of the recipes, so I’m not sure how they would turn out taste-wise. But you definitely could give it a try. 🙂
A different way to serve up pasta. Just as tasty though!
Argh if there’s anything green in a dish my younger kids tend to snub it. Thankfully I have a couple teens whose tastes have grown to enjoy this delicious recipe with.
These are so simple to throw together on a busy night. I love that they are alfredo too! Every family member loves these. Adding this recipe into our dinner rotations more often!
Could you use hamburger instead of chicken in this recipe?
Sure! I haven’t tried swapping it for hamburger, but I imagine it’d still taste great!
These are so easy to serve & so delicious!! My kids actually eat them, so it’s a win for all!
Oh, how I love these!! Creamy sauce with pasta is the best & a crowd pleaser for sure! This has lots of flavor!
This is a tasty dish which is nicely paired with a Caesar salad and fresh garlic bread. I doubled the recipe since I have a rather large crew. Two shells are pretty filling and we still had plenty leftover for another full meal. The ricotta cheese seemed to drown out the flavor of the filling, so I would recommend substituting the ricotta cheese for cottage cheese.
Thanks so much for sharing what you do! I’m so glad you enjoyed the stuffed shells. Thanks for trying it out!
This is absolutely delicious!!!! Only thing I would do different is double the Alfredo sauce. It’s that good and I wanted it slathered on my shells.
LOL..I wouldn’t mind that either! Thank you!
What is the best way to freeze these for another time?
I would stop at step 5, after covering with foil. I would stick in the freezer at that point & when ready to bake, thaw & continue with recipe. Enjoy!!
This was amazing!!! Def make again… i didnt have shells so i was flat pasta sheets and cut in half and read the chicken mixture in and rolled it . also i doubled the sauce put half in bottom of pan put rolled noodles on top then put sauce on top of noodles and baked 45 mins, took out and put cheese and parsley and baked another 20, only thing i would of put chopped mushrooms on top with cheese, but def going to make again !!! my family loved… thank you!!
Thank you for sharing what you did! Sounds perfect! So happy your family loved it!
if u only use one cup of alfredo sauce in the stuffed chicken and spinach shell recipe what do u do with the rest of the alfredo sauce
I like to pour it over the top 🙂 Hope you like it!!
Love this!! My family of 6 all Enjoyed this. Can you make ahead and cook the next day? Thank you
Yay! I am so glad to hear that! I haven’t tried making ahead, but I think it would be ok 🙂
Love ur recipes
Thank you so much!! I am glad you do 🙂
AM REALLY ENJOYING YOUR RECIPES. I HAVE TONS OF RECIPES BUT IT IS SO FUN TO TRY SOME NEW IDEAS. I ESPECIALLY LOVE YOUR CHICKEN AND FRUIT TYPE RECIPES THANK YOU HELEN
P.S. HAVE NOT TRIED THIS RECIPE BUT WILL THIS WEEKEND
You are so sweet! Thank you so much & I hope you like this one!
Oh my, this looks absolutely delicious!!! Anything with that much cheese has got to be delicious!! Can’t wait to make it 🙂
I agree, Crystal!! Cheese always makes a recipe irresistible. Have a great day!!
Gaaaaahhhhhh – I have been dreaming of making this recipe for so long. Like – I think I have been mentioning it to my hubs for at least a couple months now. The craving just went into overdrive. Love this!!!
You’ll have to let me know if you try it out, Gina! I, myself, have been wanting to make this too. 🙂
You know what it is. I am so very sorry!! Yes, you pour remaining alfredo on top, once you have stuffed them. Again, I am sorry I missed that. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will have to add it 🙂