Thanksgiving Stuffed Pasta Shells
Every year I’m always left with the same question of what I should do with all of my Thanksgiving leftovers. Aside from the regular ol’ turkey sandwich or turkey chili, I never really have anything new or exciting planned for the next day’s dinner. All of that is changing however, because these incredibly over-the-top and totally necessary Thanksgiving Stuffed Pasta Shells are here to save the day! You can either make it completely from scratch, as I’ve written in the recipe below, or you can utilize those Turkey Day leftovers, combine them all together and make this super hearty pasta dish for dinner. You can’t go wrong with pasta and homemade cheese sauce, and that is a true fact.
Thanksgiving Stuffed Pasta Shells
These delicious Thanksgiving Stuffed Pasta Shells are a great way to utilize those leftovers without having to resort to a boring sandwich!
Servings: 8
Equipment
- Baking dish
- Skillet
- Mixing bowl
- Saucepan
Ingredients
Filling:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 celery rib diced
- 1 small carrot peeled and diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves chopped
- ½ teaspoon fresh sage leaves chopped
- ½ cup fresh green beans trimmed and chopped
- 1 cup shredded leftover cooked turkey
- 1 ½ cups dried stuffing mix
- 1 cup chicken or turkey stock
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1 pound dried jumbo pasta shells
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
Cheese Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ teaspoon granulated onion
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a large baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt, pepper and the thyme and sage. Stir in the green beans and turkey and cook until warmed through, another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer to a large bowl, and add the stuffing mix, stock and dried cranberries and mix until well incorporated. Set the mixture aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of cold water to a boil. Season liberally with salt and add the pasta. Cook until almost done, not completely, as it’ll continue to cook in the oven. Drain and set aside.
- To make the sauce, add butter to a saucepan over low-medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds or so. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened. Season with the spices and a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheeses until fully melted through.
- Pour half of the sauce into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Fill each pasta shell generously with the filling and placing it in the dish. Continue until the entire filling is used, you might not need all of the pasta shells (especially since some will be damaged through cooking). Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with scallions before serving. Enjoy!
