But Mom! Everyone else is doing it!
I don’t know who the first person was to come up with the idea of stuffed shells filled with taco fillings, but it’s definitely a good idea. I kept seeing taco shells around the internet, so I had to make some, Budget Bytes style.
I made this recipe affordable by using homemade enchilada sauce (takes less than ten minutes), homemade taco seasoning (takes about two minutes), and beans cooked from dry in my slow cooker (cooked ahead of time and kept in the freezer until used). It took a little thinking ahead, but it definitely saved some bucks.
This recipe ended up being a little more work than I anticipated and I dirtied more dishes than I like to, but in the end it was well worth it. It made a HUGE batch of ten large servings, nearly all of which went into my freezer. I’ve been eating these amazing shells for almost a week now and have yet to get tired of them!
I didn’t realize that the ground beef I bought was in a 1.5 lb. package instead of just one pound, so thats part of why it made so much. You could also do this with just beans and no meat if you want it even less expensive!
I paired this with some cilantro lime rice and I was a happy, happy girl.
Taco Stuffed Shells
Taco Stuffed Shells
Servings 10Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.49)
- 1 1/2 lb. ground beef ($6.09)
- 2 cups black beans ($0.56)
- 2 cups pinto beans ($0.56)
- 1 recipe taco seasoning ($0.34)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 12 oz. jumbo shells ($2.78)
- 1 recipe red enchilada sauce ($0.77)
- 2 cups shredded cheese ($2.50)
- 3-4 whole green onions ($0.19)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large skillet over medium heat with the olive oil until soft and transparent (about 5 minutes).
- Add the ground beef and continue to cook until browned. Mix together the taco seasoning ingredients while the beef is browning. Once the beef is fully cooked through, add the taco seasoning and stir to combine. Drain the beans and add to the skillet. Stir until combined. Taste and season with salt as needed (I used about 1 teaspoon).
- Allow the beef and bean filling to sit while you cook the pasta shells. Bring a large pot to a boil, add the shells and cook just until tender. Be sure not to over cook the shells or they will be soft and difficult to fill. While the pasta shells are cooking, prepare the enchilada sauce.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the shells in a colander and rinse with cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Spray the inside of a 9×13 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray. Fill the shells with the beef and bean filling and place in the casserole dish. It’s okay if they’re not aligned neatly or if they topple over and spill some filling, it will still be good.
- Once all of the shells are filled and in the casserole dish, pour the prepared enchilada sauce over top and then add the shredded cheese. Cook in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through (all ingredients are already cooked, so there is no real danger of undercooking here. You just want to get it all HOT).
- Slice the green onions and sprinkle over top after it comes out of the oven. Serve hot!
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Start by dicing the onion and mincing the garlic. Add them to a LARGE skillet with the olive oil and cook over medium heat until soft and transparent.
Add the ground beef and continue to cook until it is FULLY browned.
While the beef is browning, mix up your taco seasoning (or use a store bought packet).
Once the beef is fully cooked, add the taco seasoning and stir until combined.
Add the drained beans (because WE LOVE BEANS!). Stir until combined. Taste and add more salt if needed (I added about one teaspoon).
Next, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Make sure to not let them get too soft or they’ll be all wobbly and difficult to fill. Also, while the pasta is boiling away, you can quickly prepare the enchilada sauce (because it only takes 5-10 minutes).
Drain the pasta and rinse it with cool water until it’s cool enough to handle. Spray a LARGE casserole dish with non-stick spray. Fill the shells and place them in the casserole dish. I found the easiest way to fill them is to hold a shell in one hand and fill it with a spoon using the other. Now, the shells WILL topple over and spill their guts, but that’s okay because when you serve it you’ll just be scooping everything up anyway.
Pour the enchilada sauce alllll over the whole thing. This is where it starts to get really good. Preheat your oven to 350, too.
Cover that sucker with cheese and pop it in the oven. Cook it at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the whole thing is hot and the cheese is nice and melty on top.
And then you’re in taco shell heaven. Oh yeah, sprinkle the green onions over top after it comes out of the oven.
As usual, I portioned the whole thing out before refrigerating. I actually ran out of containers, that’s how much it made. Most of these containers ended up in the freezer after they cooled in the fridge. I also added a scoop of cilantro lime rice to each container. I’ve been having very, VERY happy lunches ever since! :D
i made this and it was amazing! i need to make more dinner turned leftover for lunch recipes like this. thanks for sharing!
I’ve had this bookmarked since August and finally got around to making it today. My family loved it!! I will definitely be making it again.
I couldn’t find enchilada sauce here so I made your recipe. It was easy & super tasty.
This was delicious! I didn’t have any shells on hand and I didn’t really have time to fill them all, so I just boiled some penne and mixed it all together into a casserole and sprinkled cheese on top. It was sooo good still, and a lot less work. My 10 month olds gobbled it up for dinner and for lunch the next day.
The filling by itself was so delicious though, next time I’m just going to take out the pasta entirely and stuff it in a taco shell.
just made these tonight with ground turkey. PHENOMENAL! I am a medical student and I love discovering high-yield dishes like this that will feed me for a few days and tastes great! :) Thank you, Beth!
Made this tonight, it was soooooo good!! I’ve yet to find something I don’t like on here. Thanks for all the yummy posts!
Anon – Salsa might work, but it would probably be slightly less flavorful.
would salsa work instead of enchilada sauce?
My husband is licking all the pans and spoons! I can’t count how many little tweaks I had to make based on what we had in the pantry, but the end result was incredible – super spicy, with bursts of flavor from the corn (we had some corn from our farm share to use) and beans. You alluded to seeing these shells all over the internet, but I have never seen this idea before your blog. Thank you again for helping me turn out amazing meals night after night!
This one was a WINNER! We added some frozen corn and a green pepper to the onion/garlic stage. It was great! Thanks for the awesome post!
These were absolutely amazing. You were not kidding about it making a lot. My pan was actually too small, so I had to pull out a pie plate for the rest. Thank you for mentioning that you immediately froze most of the batch. Cooking for one always ends with a lot of leftovers that grow mold after I get tired of them. Now they will be in the freezer waiting for when I want them again. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. It was absolutely amazing, and congrats on the cookbook. I can’t wait until it comes out.
Tired it yesterday and absolutely loved it. I used mixed beans instead of black and pinto because of the cost in our store. Soooo Good. Now I have meals for the boys when I cannot be there
I made this last night. It was amazing! Love it. I look forward to getting your book. I love your site! ;)
Oh, I wanted to add that I used a can of refried beans instead of pinto beans, because that’s what I had. SO GOOD!
I made this with a few changes. I sauteed a jalapeno and a red bell pepper with the onion, and I used chicken (from the whole roasted chicken, also from your blog) instead of ground beef. I also stirred in some sauteed shredded cabbage because I had some to use up. This was amazing! I have been eating it all week and I still have at least four more meals to go. Love your blog, and I am so excited about the book!
Made this tonight for dinner and just finished eating it. Delicious! You must have superpowers to have gotten all those shells to fit into a 9×13 pan, though! I ended up putting the excess in a 8×8 dish and freezing it. No complaints though, I’m looking forward to getting to enjoy it again without having to do the bulk of the prep work! :-)