Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells

Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells is an easy dinner recipe you can make with rotisserie chicken, homemade Alfredo sauce and plenty of cheese. Your whole family will love this delicious stuffed shells recipe, and it works great with leftover turkey, too!

Chicken Alfredo pasta is one of my family’s favorite recipes. Because it’s so rich, I usually save fettuccini Alfredo for birthdays. Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo or One Pot Chicken Alfredo are a little lighter and easy enough for a weeknight dinner.

These cheesy Alfredo stuffed shells are the best of both worlds. I make them with rotisserie chicken and a blend of three different kinds of cheese. I also make them ahead of time and heat them up right before dinner — easy!

Many chicken Alfredo stuffed shells recipes use a jar of Alfredo sauce, but I love homemade Alfredo sauce here. It’s super easy and only takes a few minutes.

If you want to save a step — and a dish to wash — you can use a jar of your favorite Alfredo sauce. I love Rao’s — It’s very close to homemade!

Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients for this delicious chicken Alfredo recipe. You should be able to find everything you need in your local grocery store or online:

• Jumbo shells
• Cooked chicken — cubed or shredded rotisserie chicken
• Ricotta cheese
• Shredded mozzarella cheese 
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Garlic powder
• Sea salt
• Italian seasoning
• Ground black pepper
• Butter — room temperature
• Heavy cream — room temperature
• Nutmeg — adds delicious flavor to white sauces, but can be left out

How to Make Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells

First, cook your jumbo shells in a large pot of boiling water. Follow the directions of the package, but cook them until the shells are just al dente — a couple of minutes less than the directions call for.

They will cook a second time in the oven, and you don’t want them too soft. I like to scoop them out of the water and place them on a baking sheet to cool down.

Spray the baking sheet with non stick spray or add a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

Next, mix the chicken, ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and spices in a mixing bowl.

When the mixture is well combined, you can start stuffing the cooked pasta shells. Spray a casserole dish with non stick spray.

Then, take a shell in your hand, and gently fill it with about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture.

Place the stuffed shells into the prepared baking dish, stuffed side up. Then, preheat your oven to 350 degrees f, and get started on making the sauce.

First, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Then, stir in the heavy cream.

Heat the cream until it starts to boil. Add a pinch of nutmeg, and turn the heat down a little and let it simmer, until the sauce starts to thicken — stirring constantly.

Then, stir in 1 cup of Parmesan cheese at a time and stir or whisk until nice and smooth.

The sauce should coat the back of a spoon but not be so thick that it’s not pourable.

Pour the creamy Alfredo sauce over the stuffed shells. You may need to spoon some over any shells that don’t have enough sauce.

Make sure to lift the shells up so that the sauce covers the bottom of the pan. then, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese over the shells.

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with non stick spray. Loosely cover the baking sheet, sprayed side down, and pop them into the oven.

Cooking Time

Bake the shells for about 15 minutes covered. Then, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or so until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

You can top with more mozzarella cheese if you like. If you want a nice golden brown topping, you can broil the shells for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Variations

If you want some extra veggies in your meal, add some chopped spinach or cooked broccoli to the stuffing mixture. Fresh parsley and chopped green onions also taste great with this delicious dinner!

This comfort food dish can easily be made vegetarian– just substitute veggies for meat, or just don’t add meat at all.

Instead of shell pasta, use lasagna noodles and layer the stuffing and noodles as if it were traditional lasagna. You can also turn the recipe into a casserole dish with penne noodles or smaller shells instead of jumbo ones.

For a bit of kick, sprinkle on some red pepper flakes. Use different types of cheeses, such as cheddar cheese or an Italian cheese blend.

If you’re making these delicious stuffed shells after Thanksgiving, make things easy by using leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead of rotisserie chicken or chicken breasts!

How to Store and Reheat

Store any leftover chicken stuffed shells in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

You can premake this dish, store it in the fridge or freeze it in a freezer safe container, and then bake it whenever you’re ready to serve it as well.

Reheat individual portions in the microwave, and bake larger portions in the oven.

Serving Suggestions

What to serve with stuffed shells? Because this is a heavy, creamy dish, I love a tossed green salad with stuffed shells. Broccoli, green beans or peas also go well with Alfredo shells.

I hope you love these shredded chicken Alfredo stuffed shells as much as my entire family does! They are in love with the creamy sauce!

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