I made these Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells in my Instant pot and that was just so cool. The pasta held it’s shape, yet it cooked in this rich meaty, tomato sauce. Family devoured it and that is all that counts.

I made Stuffed Pasta Shells before and we loved it, so I was eager to try this recipe in the Instant Pot. I am still learning to work with my Instant Pot and have tried various recipe, some I can share, others not. Every morning, I make a pot of soup to share with those less fortunate and that takes me less than an hour. My Curries are delicious and quick and my Shredded Beef Recipe for Tacos was a sure winner.

I have a thing about meatballs. Love them if they are good and absolutely despise them, it they are rock solid and hard. So I wanted to stuff the shells with my favorite meatballs mix. Kind of like a Spaghetti Bolognaise in Shells.

If you do not have an Instant Pot (yet), do not stress, you can make this in your oven too. So, let’s cook.

Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells

serves 6

Ingredients

For the filling

500 g/ 1.1 lbs ground beef – topside if possible
1  onion – grated
2 slices of white bread – soaked in water
1 T Worcester Sauce
2 t salt
½ cup chopped parsley
1/2 t ground coriander
5 ml coarsely ground pepper

Soak bread in water for about 2 minutes. Squeeze the bread to remove all the water and add, with all other ingredients to the ground beef. Mix with the hands, but do not over-mix. Stuff the dry pasta shells with the meatball mix.

For the tomato sauce

1 x 410g/0.9lbs chopped tomatoes
15 ml/ 1 T tomato paste
1 large onion – chopped
30 ml / 2 T olive oil
1 – 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
2 cups of water – or use 1 cup red wine and one cup water
salt and pepper to taste
zest and juice of a lemon
sugar – we like the sauce to be a little sweet.
125 ml chopped herbs of your choice 0 I prefer parsley, basil or thyme.

To finish off

250 ml / 1 cup – grated moz
to serve – grated parmesan

Method

Set the Instant Pot on Sauté setting and add the olive oil. Add the chopped onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add all the other ingredients and cook the sauce for about 5 minutes. taste until you are happy. No pack the stuffed pasta shells on the sauce, yes, they can be in two layers. Close the lid and put the lock in place. Set the steam release knob to the sealing position.  Set to MEAT STEW, High Pressure, and use the + – buttons and select 20 minutes. At the end of the20 min cycle, switch the pot off and allow the pot to release naturally for about 10 minutes.