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Creamy Beef and Shells

Say goodbye to hamburger helper and serve this deliciously simple, creamy beef and shells for your family. This one-pan meal is sure to have them asking for seconds.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 8 ounces medium pasta shells
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • ½ medium onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon mustard powder
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 15 ounce can tomato sauce
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded about 1½ cups

Method
 

  1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain well.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown, about 3 to 5 minutes, crumbling the ground beef. Drain excess fat and set aside.
  3. Add onion to the skillet, cook stirring frequently until translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning, paprika, and mustard powder then cook about 1 minute.
  5. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
  6. Gradually whisk in beef stock and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer. Stir occasionally until reduced and slightly thickened, about 6 to 8 minutes.
  7. Stir in pasta, beef, and heavy cream, then heat through.
  8. Stir in cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
  9. Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

Shred your cheese from the block rather than buying pre-shredded for this recipe. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating on it and doesn’t melt quite as well as freshly shredded cheese.
Ground beef can be batch-cooked ahead of time and kept in the freezer until you are ready to use it in a recipe. This is a great time saver.
To test your pasta for al dente, take a bite of the pasta a minute or two before the package instructions indicate it should be done. When you bite into it, and your teeth feel some resistance, but the pasta is still tender, your pasta is al dente.