These quick and easy vegetarian Taco Stuffed Shells are filled with black beans, corn, red pepper, onion, quinoa, enchilada sauce, and PLENTY of melty pepper jack cheese. Garnish with all your favorite taco night toppings, then sit back and watch as dinner disappears!
You'll Love These
- They're the perfect way to spice up your boring Taco Tuesday. I love tacos as much as the next gal - whether it's crispy black bean tacos, vegan quinoa tacos, or easy chicken tacos - but sometimes you just need something a little different! And these stuffed taco shells are the perfect hearty vegetarian dinner option!
- They're loaded with all your favorite taco flavors - black beans, corn, red pepper, and red onion combined with cumin, chili powder, and enchilada sauce. Stuff that inside jumbo shells and smother them with ooey gooey pepper jack cheese. You can let your family top the shells with their favorites - sour cream, fresh cilantro, diced onion, Pico del Gallo, blender salsa, and tortilla strips.
- They're quick and easy to throw together. The stuffing of the shells IS just a teensy, weensy bit time consuming but if you've got some kiddos that want to help with dinner or a partner whose good with their hands, let them help you stuff the shells! It's a great family activity and a good opportunity for your kids to get their hands dirty and help create a meal!
Instructions
Cook jumbo shells according to package directions until al dente. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
Saute onion and pepper. Then add garlic and cook for another minute.
Add black beans, corn, quinoa, cumin, chili powder, chiles in adobo and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper.
Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of enchilada sauce along with ½ the pepperjack cheese.
Add 1 cup sauce to a baking dish. Fill shells with about 2 heaping tablespoons filling and place in the baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the shells.
Top with cheddar and remaining pepper jack cheese.
Cover and bake for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese starts to get dark golden brown.
Garnish with sour cream, cilantro and jalapeno and enjoy!
Tips
- Salt your pasta water moderately. This is the first chance that you have to season the pasta so it's important to make sure your water is as salty as the ocean. I recommend adding about 2-4 tablespoons of Kosher salt to the water as soon as it comes to a boil.
- Cook noodles just until al dente. I recommend cooking the noodles for the lowest recommended cooking time and then testing them about 1 minute before the timer goes off to see if they're done. Strain the noodles as soon as they are al dente. This will ensure that they don't end up being mushy after baking.
- If your fam isn't into spicy foods, omit the chiles in adobo and/or chili powder. You can add a dash more cumin in their place if you'd like or just leave them out entirely. We like to add just a teaspoon of diced chiles in adobo for some smoky heat but there's plenty of flavor in there without them!
- Split it into two batches and freeze one for dinner later! This recipe makes a TON of shells (about 40 in fact), so I like to separate these taco stuffed shells into two 9x13 pans and freeze one for later! Cover the pan well with a few layers of saran wrap and tin foil and then freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before you plan to bake the shells, then just follow the directions in the recipe card for baking.
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Recipe
Taco Stuffed Shells
These quick and easy vegetarian Taco Stuffed Shells are filled with black beans, corn, red pepper, red onion, quinoa, enchilada sauce and PLENTY of melty pepper jack cheese. Garnish with all your favorite taco night toppings and get ready for your family to ask for seconds!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 40 stuffed shells 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top + Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 12 oz. jumbo shells, cooked al dente
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz.) can corn, drained
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon chiles in adobo
- 8 oz. shredded pepper jack cheese, divided
- 4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
- 28 oz. can enchilada sauce
Garnish:
- sour cream
- fresh chopped cilantro
- sliced jalapeno
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook jumbo shells according to package directions until al dente. Toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper and set aside to cool.
- Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and pepper along with a couple large pinches of salt and pepper.
- Cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add black beans, corn, quinoa, cumin, chili powder, chiles in adobo, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of enchilada sauce along with ½ the pepper jack cheese.
- Add 1 cup sauce to a baking dish. Fill shells with about 2 heaping tablespoons filling and place in the baking dish.
- Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the shells. Top with cheddar and remaining pepper jack cheese.
- Cover and bake for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.
- Broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese starts to get dark golden brown.
- Garnish with sour cream, cilantro and jalapeno and enjoy!
Notes
Salt your pasta water moderately. This is the first chance that you have to season the pasta so it's important to make sure your water is as salty as the ocean. I recommend adding about 2-4 tablespoons of Kosher salt to the water as soon as it comes to a boil.
Cook noodles just until al dente. I recommend cooking the noodles for the lowest recommended cooking time and then testing them about 1 minute before the timer goes off to see if they're done. Strain the noodles as soon as they are al dente. This will ensure that they don't end up being mushy after baking.
If your fam isn't into spicy foods, omit the chiles in adobo and/or chili powder. You can add a dash more cumin in their place if you'd like or just leave them out entirely. We like to add just a teaspoon of diced chiles in adobo for some smoky heat but there's plenty of flavor in there without them!
Split it into two batches and freeze one for dinner later! This recipe makes a TON of shells (about 40 in fact), so I like to separate these taco stuffed shells into two 9x13 pans and freeze one for later! Cover the pan well with a few layers of saran wrap and tin foil and then freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before you plan to bake the shells, then just follow the directions in the recipe card for baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 stuffed shells
- Calories: 204
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 305.8 mg
- Fat: 3.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.3 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 9.4 g
- Cholesterol: 15.6 mg
Keywords: taco stuffed shells, taco stuffed pasta shells, enchilada stuffed shells
Jenna
We loved this! I made the exact recipe and my husband gobbled up half the pan! It was also really easy. I think this will be a staple meal for us.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad to hear that, Jenna!! This is one of our favorites too 🙂 Hope you and the fam are doing well!!! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Sarah
This is a fun way to change up a stuffed shells recipe! Turned out great. Although I think the temp of the oven may be missing from the recipe, but I assumed 350 and that worked well for me! I also used ground beef instead of quinoa and doubled the spices/adobo sauce.
★★★★
Kylie Lato
Woohoo! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Sarah! You are right - I forgot to include the baking temp. Thanks so much for pointing that out; I will get it added right now 🙂 Great idea to double the spices when subbing ground beef for quinoa. Thanks for leaving a review!