Instant Pot Stuffed Shells – Creamy ricotta and mozzarella stuffed shells recipe made easily in an Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Stuffed Shells
These stuffed shells come out so perfectly in the Instant Pot! Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan, covered with marinara sauce and more mozzarella. You won’t go back to traditional stuffed shells after you see how easy these are to make!
Stuffing Made Easy
If you have ever made traditional stuffed shells, you know how tricky they can be. Trying to spoon soft ricotta filling into a cooked pasta shell is time consuming and messy. Instead, start with uncooked pasta shells so they hold their shape, and use a gallon size baggie as a pipping tool to stuff the shells.
How to Make Stuffed Shells in the Instant Pot
- Start by combining ingredients for filling, then transfer to gallon size baggie and snip corner.
- Pipe the ricotta filling into uncooked shells and place in Instant Pot.
- Add water followed by marinara sauce. Do not stir.
- Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes followed by Quick Pressure Release.
- Top with additional mozzarella cheese and let melt.
- Instant Pot Tip: If any liquid starts to spray out of pressure release valve, immediately close valve and wait a few minutes before trying again.
Recipe Tips
- I highly recommend Rao’s marinara sauce for all recipes using store bought sauce. It tastes the most like homemade!
- Spray Instant Pot liner with non stick cooking spray before placing shells for easier clean up.
- Like you would with an oven baked stuffed pasta, do not stir shells before or after cooking.
- Use a large serving spoon to scoop out shells.
- If you’d like to add meat to the recipe, add cooked ground beef, turkey or sausage along with the marinara sauce.
- Let the shells cool slightly before serving so they can set up.
Avoiding a Burn Notice
Some Instant Pots run hotter than others and are more temperamental. If you know your pot tends to report a burn notice, try cooking these at low pressure for 15 minutes instead of High Pressure or try the Slow Cooker Stuffed Shells with Meat recipe. In addition, do the following before cooking:
- Use Rao’s marinara. It has a higher fat content than other jarred sauces making it less likely to burn.
- Make sure the Instant Pot inner pot is super clean. Use Bar Keepers Friend to make sure there is no build up in the inner pot.
- Spray inner pot with non stick cooking spray before cooking. This also makes clean up easier.
- Stack the shells on a trivet instead of directly in the pot. You may have to increase cooking time.
Creamy ricotta and mozzarella stuffed shells recipe made easily in an Instant Pot.
- 15 oz ricotta
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese divided
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 12 oz jumbo pasta shells
- 24 oz marinara sauce, Rao's recommended
- 1 1/2 cups water
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In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella, parmesan, egg, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and chopped parsley. Transfer mixture to gallon size baggie and snip corner to fill shells.
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Spray Instant Pot insert with non stick cooking spray. Use gallon baggie to fill uncooked pasta shells with ricotta mixture, transferring them to Instant Pot as they are filled.
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Add water to Instant Pot and remaining salt and pepper. Then top stuffed shells with marinara sauce. Do not stir. Set Instant Pot to cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes via Manual Mode. After cooking, use Quick Pressure Release. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and recover with lid until cheese melts.
Instant Pot Tip: If any liquid starts to spray out of pressure release valve during Quick Pressure Release, immediately close valve and wait a few minutes before trying again.
Note: Some people have reported a burn notice while cooking. See my tips above for avoiding a burn notice.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Barbacoa Beef
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Chicken Enchiladas
Creamy ricotta and mozzarella stuffed shells recipe made easily in an Instant Pot.
- 15 oz ricotta
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese divided
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 12 oz jumbo pasta shells
- 24 oz marinara sauce, Rao's recommended
- 1 1/2 cups water
-
In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella, parmesan, egg, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and chopped parsley. Transfer mixture to gallon size baggie and snip corner to fill shells.
-
Spray Instant Pot insert with non stick cooking spray. Use gallon baggie to fill uncooked pasta shells with ricotta mixture, transferring them to Instant Pot as they are filled.
-
Add water to Instant Pot and remaining salt and pepper. Then top stuffed shells with marinara sauce. Do not stir. Set Instant Pot to cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes via Manual Mode. After cooking, use Quick Pressure Release. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and recover with lid until cheese melts.
Instant Pot Tip: If any liquid starts to spray out of pressure release valve during Quick Pressure Release, immediately close valve and wait a few minutes before trying again.
Note: Some people have reported a burn notice while cooking. See my tips above for avoiding a burn notice.
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Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to try this! TFS!
These are so easy I whipped up a batch to freeze for later!
I love how cheesey these stuffed shells were, also they were super easy to make. A great family dinner!
My family would LOVE these stuffed shells!! SO cheesy and delicious!!
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try this out.
Did you cook the pasta shells before placing In instant pot?
No, the shell go in uncooked.
These sound so good and I love that they’re for the IP. I’m prepping freezer meals before baby #4 gets here… What do you think about freezing the filling to be thawed and piped later? Or piping it into the raw shells and freezing?
I think its a good idea, but it might change the texture! I would probably try freezing it in the shells.
Do you cook the garlic before adding it?
It goes into the filling and along with the it.
Okay I made these tonight. They were really good and a hit with my family and I will definitely make again. I loved how easy it was to fill the uncooked shells, this is a game changer for sure! But I did have a few issues. Any comment or suggestions are welcome. First the pasta was much too al dente. I am assuming that adding another minute or two to the cook time will take care of this issue. Secondly, although I followed the recipe exactly, it was very soupy, more like deconstructed lasagne, cheese mixture didn’t stay in the shells, everything sort of ran together. Mine certainly did not look like the picture. But again everyone enjoyed it and I will make it again. I just need to teak it a bit.
Same! I made this the other week and it turned into soup! Shells lost thr mixture and everything was just blended together. It was yummy, but not what I expected.
I just found this recipe and mine turned out the same. It was watery and my cheese filling didn’t stay in the shells.
I’d like advice on how to fix that because they were otherwise yummy!
Hi! I would try letting them cool for a few minutes before serving, similar to letting a lasagna set before cutting. The liquid will absorb and the ricotta will set up in the shells.
I made these tonight for the first time, and they were good, don’t get me wrong, but we actually joked about it being “pasta soup.” It is definitely al dente at 8 minutes. I did forget to spray the non-stick cooking spray in the bottom and it cost me in the end as the bottom layer of shells were scorched. Letting the batch sit for a bit will, I think, take care of the soupy consistency.
This looks so delicious and tasty! My family is going to love this recipe! I can’t wait to give this a try!
I’ve never made pasta in the Instant Pot before – so cool that this works! How very easy! Oh – and thanks for the great tip on Rao’s marinara sauce. I know my store stocks it – I’ll have to give it a try!
I make these a lot and they’re always really yummy!
So delicious!!!! I did double the ricotta recipe to make it cheesier. Good call on the marinara. Really authentic and amazing!
It was super good. It was a little soupy added some cheese out it back in and my noodles burnt to the pot. Wonder how I could have changed this.
Loved this hack for stuffing shells! I even mixed it in the bag. What a great idea!
I made a quick marinara with a can of organic whole tomatoes, two cloves of garlic, S&P and evoo. Let that simmer while I made my ricotta mixture and piped the shells. Popped it all in the instant pot and bam! It was done before I finished my salad. Could maybe have done 9 minutes. I used a thicker shell pasta. Organic ricotta makes such a difference!
This was extremely easy to make. Everyone liked it– even my daughter who hates pasta sauce. To quote from another reviewer “it was very soupy, more like deconstructed lasagna, cheese mixture didn’t stay in the shells, everything sort of ran together.” I loved this. It was like the best of lasagna and soup and so rich and creamy, Most of the cheese stayed in the shells, but enough came out that is flavored the soup. Everyone asked if they could have leftovers for lunch. Not normal in my family. I am printing it out to keep and make again as I write this.
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! Another great recipe for my instant pot; my whole family loved it! My kind of comfort food!
I love stuffed shells, and these were brilliant! I swear pasta tastes so much better when made in the Instant Pot.
I made these tonight and would definitely make again! Inadvertently cooked them for 10 minutes and then had to let them sit for another 8 as my husband wasn’t home yet, but they were perfect!