Mexican Stuffed Shells

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These quick and easy vegetarian Mexican 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, easy chicken tacos, or slow cooker barbacoa beef tacos – but sometimes you just need something a little different! And these stuffed Mexican shells are the perfect hearty vegetarian dinner option!
• They’re loaded with all your favorite Mexican 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 de 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 1/2 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 Mexican stuffed shells into two 9×13 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.

Family Favorites

• One Skillet Vegetarian Enchiladas
• Easy Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole
• Easy Chicken Tacos
• Baked Crispy Black Bean Tacos
• Mexican Street Corn Flatbread Pizza
• One Pot Mexican Mac and Cheese
• Mexican Chorizo Burgers
• BBQ Chicken Tostadas

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