Meatball Stuffed Shells
Meatball Stuffed Shells is an easy dish of my favorite comfort food, and using your pellet grill to do the baking not only adds a bit of wood-fired flavor but also keeps you from heating up your kitchen in the warmer months too.
Traeger Meatball Stuffed Shells
Stuffed shells are one of my favorite meals, but typically you'll find them stuffed with cheese. That version is amazing, but I wanted to try something a little different.
We took my typically meatball mix, minus the breadcrumbs and bread, and put it right into par-boiled large shells before getting topped with marinara and copious amounts of cheese and baked off in your pellet grill.
Why You'll Love This Dish
- Meatball Energy In Every Shell - No ricotta blanket, just hearty filling front and center.
- Traeger-Friendly Crowd Pan - One big bake that feeds a lot without babysitting.
- Saucy And Cozy - The shells finish in marinara, so every bite stays tender.
- Cheese At The Right Time - You save the "cheese-fest" for the top where it counts.
- Leftovers Reheat Great - It stays flavorful and doesn't dry out if you reheat with a little sauce.
More Easy Traeger Recipes here!
Recipe Shopping List
Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here's the list of items you'll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Jumbo Pasta Shells - Built for stuffing and holding sauce; cook them halfway so they don't rip.
- Lean Ground Beef (90/10) - Keeps the pan from getting greasy; 85/15 works if that's what's on hand, just drain excess fat if needed.
- Italian Seasoning Blend - Fast flavor without a cabinet raid; make your own with oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary.
- Garlic Powder - Gives that steady garlic note in the filling without burning like fresh can.
- Onion Powder - Adds sweet-savory depth that reads "meatball" right away.
- Salt - Wakes up the beef and sauce; season the pasta water too.
- Black Pepper - Adds bite and balances the marinara sweetness.
- Egg - Binder that keeps the filling from crumbling inside the shells.
- Marinara Sauce - Go with a sauce you'd eat straight; add a splash of water if it's very thick so the shells finish tender.
- Shredded Mozzarella - Stretchy melt and that classic baked pasta pull.
- Shredded Italian Blend Cheese - Adds sharper flavor and better browning; provolone, parmesan, or fontina can sub in.
You need more PASTA in your life.
How To Make This Recipe
This is just the overview so you can see what you're actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you'll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.
- Heat The Grill Or Oven: Preheat to 350°F. On a Traeger, plan to use the top rack for gentler heat.
- Par-Boil The Shells: Boil in well-salted water for about half the package time. Rinse with cold water so they stop cooking.
- Make The Filling: Mix beef, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and beaten egg until evenly combined.
- Stuff The Shells: Pack each shell with meat mixture and line them up in a high-sided 9x13-ish pan. Roll any extra meat into a couple meatballs and drop them in.
- Sauce, Cheese, Bake: Pour marinara over everything, top with mozzarella and Italian blend, then bake 30-45 minutes until bubbly and the meat hits 165°F. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
Make my Marinara Sauce!
Recipe FAQ
Nope! I love using my pellet grills for baking, but if you don't have one you can definitely cook this in the oven and it'll be delicious.
If you do use a pellet grill, you'll get a bit of smoke in the mix. If that isn't your thing and you still don't want to use the oven, just cover the dish tightly while cooking.
I prefer beef for meatballs, or a mix of beef and pork. With these, since the meat isn't precooked in the shells I tend to go ALL beef, and get a lean variety that is 90/10 or 95/5, if you can find it.
I love to whip up my own marinara for dishes like this. It is simple, and SO much better than the average sauce you can buy on the store shelves. A version of this homemade marinara is perfect.
If you want to pick something up from the store, my FAVORITE "fancy" brand of marinara is Victoria Marinara. It is a bit on the pricy side, at $8.99 a jar in my area, but worth it if you love a GOOD sauce.
If you want to buy a more budget-friendly sauce, my favorite lately has been the Simply Ragu line. The traditional and chunky marinara varieties are fantastic.
That is a great question because when it comes to meat covered in cheese and sauce, it is hard to tell just by looks.
For a dish like this, I ALWAYS do a temp to make sure I've got my bases covered and don't overcook it "just to be safe".
My go-to thermometer is the Thermapen. After going through 4-5 Amazon thermometers over the years, and none of them held up, my Thermapen has been going strong for two years running. They are high-quality, accurate, and lightning-fast.
Try my Smoked Meatball Pasta!
Serve This With
So many things! My garlic breadsticks would be the first vote on my list. They are fluffy and the perfect thing to dunk into a vat of that marinara you just made.
A homemade salad with Caesar Vinaigrette would also go really well with this dish.
Featured Reviews
I made the Traeger Meatball Stuffed Shells for dinner last weekend. Everybody just LOVED them! My 4-yr-old grandson kept saying "Ummm" after each bite. All of my grandchildren are picky eaters and they all had seconds. My husband told me to definitely keep this recipe. It's so easy to make and so delicious to eat! Thank you, Nicole, for sharing this recipe!
- Teresa Bass
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Traeger Meatball Stuffed Shells
This hearty delicious stuffed shells recipe skips the usual cheese-fest until the very end, and your shells get stuffed full of a delicious seasoned meatball mix instead!
Ingredients
- 24 large shells
- 2 pounds lean ground beef (90/10 at most)
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- 8 cups marinara sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
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Instructions
- Pre-heat your pellet grill or oven to 350°.
- Par-boil the noodles (meaning, cook them for half the called-for time) in well-salted water. Remove and rinse with cold water.
- Mix together the ground beef, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder, salt, pepper, and the beaten egg well.
- Fill each shell with meat mixture and place them into a large high-sided rectangular baking pan (9x12 or 10x13 works great.) If you have excess meat, make a couple of meatballs and plop them into the pan too.
- Pour the sauce over the stuffed shells, and top with all the cheese.
- Place the pan into the pre-heated grill or oven. If using a grill, place it on the top rack. If you don't have a top rack, get some additional separation between the flame and your pan by setting it on top of another inverted high-sided rectangular cake pan.
- Let bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the internal temperature of the meat reaches at least 165°.
- Remove from grill/oven, let sit for 10 minutes, and serve hot with some fresh cut basil on top (if desired).
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 727Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 1250mgCarbohydrates: 80gFiber: 7gSugar: 10gProtein: 45g
Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate.
I’m trying 2lb ground turkey. I’ll let you know how it is
Please do! We've never tried it with ground turkey before.
Recipe looks great! What kind of pellets do you recommend for this recipe?
Whatever is in your hopper. 😉 We usually run fruit woods or the Traeger Gourmet blend, but really - anything will do here. If you'd like a more mild smoke flavor just steer clear of hickory or mesquite.
They are good, and I put my own spin by mixing in italian sausage and adding ricotta cheese.
Sounds amazing!