This unique twist on a classic dish like lasagna will make you fall in love with pasta all over again! Your loved ones will crown you as Chef of the Year once you follow the recipe below.
By Jasmine Smith Published March 22, 2023
The Ingredients
2 lbs. of your choice of ground meat. I used beef this time although I'm usually a ground turkey girl. You can do chicken, too!
Jumbo pasta shells. I used the Private Selection brand from Kroger.
Classico tomato sauce (2) flavors used were four cheese + fire roasted tomato & garlic
Parsley. Feel free to use fresh parsley, I usually say, "ain't nobody got time for that," but when I couldn't find dried parsley in the store I sadly had to make time for that.
Green Pepper
Red Onion
Ricotta cheese (15 oz.)
Mozzarella cheese*
White Cheddar cheese*
Minced Garlic (1 tbsp)
Tomato paste (1 tbsp)
Brown Sugar (just a pinch!)
One egg
Butter*
Olive oil*
* The asterisk means to measure with your heart. I definitely don't have any concrete measurements for a lot of the ingredients in my recipes, which y'all will see as more recipes are posted along the way. You know what they say, your ancestors will tell you when to stop seasoning/measuring.
Step 1
Before preheating your oven, if your top rack is closer to the oven lights, lower your rack one space down. Once this is completed, preheat the oven to 400°.
Lowering the rack will allow you to bake your dish uncovered in the oven, but also prevent it from burning on the top layer. Who wants a crunchy lasagna?!
Step 2
Dice the green pepper, red onion, and parsley. If you're going to use whole garlic cloves this would be a great time to mince your garlic, but I like to use store-bought minced garlic for convenience. Gordon Ramsey would probably disapprove, but hey.
Step 3
Season your meat. Feel free to substitute or add any seasonings of your choice, but here's the spice blend I used:
green goddess seasoning (Trader Joe's) | onion salt (Trader Joe's) |
brown sugar | Tony's creole seasoning - no salt |
Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning | ranch seasoning (Trader Joe's) |
butter | olive oil |
Step 4
After adding your butter and olive oil to the pan, fry the minced garlic for about 20-30 seconds. Add the meat and brown it halfway through, then add your pepper and onion. Once cooked all the way through drain your meat & add it back to the pan.
Step 5
Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and your choice of seasonings (yes, again) to the meat mixture. Stir well & cover with the lid. Simmer for at least 15-20 minutes. I personally like to let it simmer for as long as I possibly can because it seems to just get better and better!
NOTE: This is the step where you will want to add the pinch of brown sugar, it will help balance out some of the spicinesses of the cajun/creole and the acidity of the tomato.
Step 6
Add your pasta shells to salted boiling water. You can even add a bit of olive oil if you are worried about your noodles sticking, but the salt will prevent them from sticking, too. I used half the bag and boiled the noodles according to the directions (14-16 minutes). Once they are done, set them aside.
Tip: If your shells get stuck together by the time you are ready to stuff them just sprinkle some cold water over them to loosen them up without ripping them.
Step 7
Mix your egg, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and white cheddar. I used to love using parmesan cheese for this recipe, but it doesn't really melt the way I want it to, so white cheddar was the perfect substitution! If you don't want to use the egg you can omit it from the recipe and your cheese sauce will still be tasty.
Step 8
Once you feel like your bolognese sauce is aged to perfection, it is time to assemble your pie! (Can this be considered a pie? lol).
I used a cast iron skillet for this recipe, but you can use whatever pan you'd like. Put down one layer of meat sauce in the bottom of the pan. Spoon a dollop of the cheese sauce, then a spoon of meat sauce into the shell. Repeat this step until you have filled your pan.
Step 9
Pour the remainder of the meat sauce over the shells & sprinkle generously with the mozzarella and white cheddar. Don't forget to add your parsley to make it pretty!
Step 10
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. This timing should work perfectly if you lowered the rack in the oven! Once the lasagna stuffed shells are out of the oven allow them to cool for about 5-10 minutes before digging in (the incredible aromas will make it difficult, but it's necessary!)
Voila, there you have it!
Sidenote: if you are more of a visual person and wondering, "where are the photos?" rest assured you can expect them in future recipes. This recipe was also my first time recording and editing reels and tik toks (follow my social handles, by the way!) and I completely forgot to take photos of the steps I went through for this meal! I only remembered taking photos when it was time for the final reveal hehe.
As always, feel free to share any thoughts on this dish, or about dishes you'd like to see next time. If you end up using this recipe, don't forget to tag me on Instagram, Tik Tok or Facebook at @themusebyjas. Until next time, lovers. 💋
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