Tacos in Pasta Shells

1001 Ratings
  • 5 Rating Star 567
  • 4 Rating Star 320
  • 3 Rating Star 71
  • 2 Rating Star 31
  • 1 Rating Star 12
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This recipe has a Mexican flavor and is tasty and easy to make. It is great anytime; kids and adults will love it. Garnish with sliced tomatoes, lettuce and ripe olives, if desired.

By grannycancook
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Ingredients

Directions

  • In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add cream cheese, salt and chili powder; mix and simmer for 5 minutes.

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  • Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Toss cooked shells in butter.

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

  • Fill shells with beef mixture and arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish; pour taco sauce over shells. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

  • Remove dish from oven and top with Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese and tortilla chips; return dish to oven to cook for 15 minutes more.

  • Top with sour cream and onions; serve.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:
734.68 calories; 35.73 g protein; 47.63 g carbohydrates; 44.24 g fat; 136.28 mg cholesterol; 1053.77 mg sodium.Full Nutrition

Reviews (728)

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Most helpful positive review

FunwithFood
06/15/2009
A wonderfully creative twist and addition to basic Mexican cuisine! This is one creative cook to think of using large pasta shells in a Mexican dish! My hat go off to you Grannycancook! I did follow the advise that quite a few had in using taco seasoning in place of the chili powder and salt. I used an envelope to 1 lb ground turkey. Also added 1/2 tsp minced garlic and 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis (Rotel brand). Instead of taco sauce I substituted red enchilada sauce (28 oz) pouring a thin layer on the bottom of the baking dish before filling with a layer of the stuffed pasta shells and pouring rest of sauce to cover the shells. Once they were baked I topped with chopped fresh cilantro sliced black olives sliced green onions and fresh diced tomatoes. For sides I served refried beans covered with enchilada sauce and melted Mexican blend cheese and Lime Cilantro Rice following recipe from this web site. Excellent excellent meal!
Helpful
(302)

Most helpful critical review

Anonymous
10/04/2011
Don't be fooled by the one star. I had to rate it to submit my review. My real rate is minus 5 stars.
Helpful
(23)
1001 Ratings
  • 5 Rating Star 567
  • 4 Rating Star 320
  • 3 Rating Star 71
  • 2 Rating Star 31
  • 1 Rating Star 12
Reviews:
Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest
FunwithFood
06/15/2009
A wonderfully creative twist and addition to basic Mexican cuisine! This is one creative cook to think of using large pasta shells in a Mexican dish! My hat go off to you Grannycancook! I did follow the advise that quite a few had in using taco seasoning in place of the chili powder and salt. I used an envelope to 1 lb ground turkey. Also added 1/2 tsp minced garlic and 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis (Rotel brand). Instead of taco sauce I substituted red enchilada sauce (28 oz) pouring a thin layer on the bottom of the baking dish before filling with a layer of the stuffed pasta shells and pouring rest of sauce to cover the shells. Once they were baked I topped with chopped fresh cilantro sliced black olives sliced green onions and fresh diced tomatoes. For sides I served refried beans covered with enchilada sauce and melted Mexican blend cheese and Lime Cilantro Rice following recipe from this web site. Excellent excellent meal!
Helpful
(302)
CookinBug
05/20/2009
Fantastic! I did use Neufatchel cheese and a little more than called for. I also added a few more spices. Topped with black olives diced tomatoes and sour cream (as mentioned in the introduction) as well as chopped cilantro. I did spread some taco sauce on the bottom of the dish as I was afraid of the shells drying out during baking. I stuffed the shells early in the day refrigerated then let them sit on the counter to warm up a bit while the oven preheated. Turned out great. We loved these thank you!:)
Helpful
(184)
whatarat
02/12/2003
Yummy! I tweeked the recipe just a little. I substituted a package of taco seasoning for the salt and chili powder and I used speghetti sauce instead of taco sauce. I thought that it could use about twice as much sauce as the recipe calls for. It just didnt seem like there was quite enough to go around. This is the perfect recipe for the crumbs at the bottom of the bag of chips. My bag was about half full but I tipped it to the side and got the crumbs out of the bottom so I didnt have to use any of the "good" chips.
Helpful
(146)
CLOVERDALE1
07/04/2007
We loved this and it was better the next day. I didn't have taco sauce so I whizzed salsa in the processor and I added a little cayenne pepper (I like things spicy). One thing I would do next time is to pour a little sauce on the bottom of the casserole. We found the shells got a little crispy. I mixed the cheeses and (I substituted corn chips) corn chips together then sprinkled over casserole. My daughter suggested that this would be good even without the shells. Will defiantly make again and again.
Helpful
(90)
Dave
08/04/2009
An excellent quickie!! I left out the chips and used manicotti tubes instead of shells. Then I topped with a layer of refried beans shredded lettuce and shredded cheese just before serving.
Helpful
(81)
Valerie Riley
07/29/2009
I'm giving this 4 stars based on the concept. I changed some things to add flavor because I knew it would be too bland for us as is. I used 4 oz cream cheese and added 1 tsp each of oregano cumin and cayenne to the chili powder. I also replaced the taco sauce with salsa slightly covering the bottom of the pan as well to prevent drying and sticking. I omitted the crumbled chips. Next time I will also add refried beans and olives. It was really good with the kicked up flavor!
Helpful
(68)
Lisa Chase Simon
02/10/2009
I subbed a bit because I stubbornly refuse to measure ingredients. I used the full 8 oz of cream cheese ground turkey and threw a can of rotele in with the meat. This gave me enough stuffing for the full box of shells. The entire family really enjoyed this dish and I'll definitely add it to the rotation. Thanks!
Helpful
(60)
q
10/24/2002
I cooked this recipe as is. It easy to prepare and didn't take long to clean up. Everyone ate this meal but all went overboard on the sour cream and salsa because there wasn't much flavor. We eat a lot of Mexican & spicy foods and expected some flavor which this did not have. I didn't really like the cruncy tortilla chips they were distracting. The taste just doesn't justify the high calories/choloestrol etc. in this recipe for me.
Helpful
(47)
LEXI70
03/19/2008
We liked this. I did use taco seasoning in the meat mixture. I think it had great flavor. I added a thin layer of salsa to the bottom of my 13x9 so that the shells wouldn't stick and it was great!
Helpful
(45)
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