This easy Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells Recipe is filled with rotisserie chicken, bacon and flavored with ranch seasoning. All topped with an oozy, cheesy, Alfredo Sauce it's a great weeknight meal!
Looking for another tasty casserole? Next time try the Cheese Steak Pasta casserole. It's so easy to make and a real family favorite!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
✔️ The best comfort food, this is easy to make, cheesy, and delicious! One of our favorite meals.
✔️ Leftover freeze great.
✔️ Vary the sauce so you're not eating the same meal several days in a row!
BTW I may not have emphasized the BACON enough! Yes - the more bacon the better for meaty, salty flavor and crunch!!
🗒️ Ingredients
For the exact measurements, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Alfredo Sauce - use store-bought or make this extra special by making your own white wine Alfredo sauce, but you can also use Vodka sauce or Marinara as well - delicious!
- I used a box of jumbo shells, but you can also use manicotti or cannelloni pasta tubes as well.
- leftover chicken - cooked chicken breast or thighs. Rotisserie chicken works for this recipe.
- mozzarella cheese - although I often use packaged pre-shredded cheese, freshly shredded mozzarella cheese will melt better and taste better too.
- bacon cooked until crispy and crumbled - more bacon? Always a plus!
- cottage cheese - or ricotta would be a terrific substitute.
- cream cheese - you can substitute Neufchatel or mascarpone cheese, but I think I always have a brick of creamed cheese on hand.
- powdered ranch dressing mix - want and Italian flavor? Try powdered Italian Salad Dressing instead or mix in a teaspoon of Italian seasoning!
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. For the complete directions just scroll down to the bottom!
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare casserole dish by greasing with butter or cooking spray, set aside.
- Cook the pasta shells in a large pot of boiling water to al dente, drain pasta shells well.
- Cook the bacon until it's super crispy, drain well and crumble. Dice the chicken.
- Combine the Alfredo Sauce with 5 ounces of cream cheese in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
- Mix chicken mixture, ½ the mozzarella, 3 ounces of cream cheese, bacon and powdered ranch mix.
- Ladle a small amount of the pasta sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish. Stuff cooked pasta shells and line them up in the pan.
- Pour the remaining Alfredo sauce on top of the pasta shells, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil. Place in the preheated oven and bake until hot & bubbly!
🙋♀️ FAQ's
Yes, the pasta needs to be cooked to al dente, before stuffing with the cheesy mixture.
Again cook it to al dente (because it's going to finish cooking in the oven). Also boil it with well salted water. Using plenty of sauce in the casserole is important as well because you don't want the dish to be dry.
Covering the pasta will help hold in the moisture and keep it from getting dry.
👍 Tips
- Cook the pasta shells according to package directions to al dente. They will finish cooking in the oven.
- To soften the cream cheese and make it easy to incorporate, place in a small bowl and microwave in 10 second intervals until it's soft and mixable.
- Sauce it up! Use plenty of sauce to top the shells and make them extra cheesy!
- If your sauce isn't "saucy" enough, added some milk, heavy cream or even evaporated milk. It will thicken up while baking.
- Finish with fresh cracked black pepper.
- If you're wondering how many shells per person - plan on 3-4 shells for a generous serving.
📓 Variations
This recipe makes a BIG casserole dish and servings for 6-8. However here at the house, it's just Dan and I. And just like you, I don't like eating the same meal night after night.
So to eliminate the redundancy, make two dishes. I actually put half in one casserole dish topped with Alfredo Sauce. The second half, in a separate baking pan, was topped with red sauce and frozen. Two separate dishes, one day of cooking - love that!
Spice up the sauce with a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Oh... and extra cheese? That's something the entire family will appreciate!
Make your own Homemade Alfredo Sauce - this recipe is excellent!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container, or cover casserole with plastic wrap, store in the refrigerator up to three days. Freezes well up to three months.
Serving suggestions
My goodness this is a yummy, rich meal! If you're looking for an easy side dish, serving it with a bagged Caesar salad mix. (I swear this is my go-to lately!).
- If you want a bright fresh garden salad this recipe is perfect!
- For sides, I've served Stuffed Shells Chicken Alfredo with Steamed Brussels sprouts, roasted broccoli, steamed greens beans and asparagus - all are delicious.
- Air Fryer Garlic Bread - delicious! We love this amazlying easy recipe.
- I think keeping it simple with a steamed, roasted or grilled vegetable is perfect because this meal is so rich!
- Of course a loaf of garlic stuffed cheesy bread is a must with this meal!
Still looking for the perfect side dish? Check out what to serve with pasta bake here!
Related recipes
Oh my goodness, I'm all about the pasta! Like this Taco Stuffed Shells, yum! Here are more of my favorite recipes for yummy pasta casseroles.
- This recipe for Copycat Cheesecake Factory Chicken Broccoli Pasta is a must make if you love this meal. It's a quick skillet meal and it's so cheesy and delicious!
- Next time, try the Chicken Pierogi Casserole. It's so rich and cheesy!
- Creamy Pasta Primavera is a great baked pasta casserole. Stuffed with vegetables, it's a great way to enjoy summer veggies!
- Creamy, cheesy and delicious Chicken Spaghetti with Rotel is one of the most popular casseroles on the blog! Add some veggies and make Monterey Spaghetti - YUM!!!
- I have not met a person who doesn't love the Ultimate Chicken Casserole Recipe! It is so creamy and delicious. It's easy to make too and leftovers freeze great!
- Be sure to try this easy recipe for Chicken Casserole with Stuffing - it's so flavorful and delicious!
🤔 What I've learned
Here's one of the best tips for making the BEST casserole.
Here it is... you can never have too much sauce! Pasta absorbs sauce, so make sure there's plenty! It's always better to have too much risk than a dry casserole!
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When you make this please comment below and let me know what you think! I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @bowl_me_over or #bowlmeover - so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating!
Don't forget to check out my Amazon storefront for some of my favorite products! 🛍️
When you make this please comment below and let me know what you think! I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @bowl_me_over or #bowlmeover - so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating!
Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells with Bacon and Ranch
Ingredients
- 22 ounces Alfredo Sauce That's about a jar and a half.
- 12 ounce jumbo pasta shells
- 1 ½ cups cooked chicken breasts leftover rotisserie chicken works great for this recipe
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 6 slices bacon cooked until crispy and crumbled
- 1 cup cottage cheese ricotta cheese is a great substitute
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook the pasta shells to al dente, drain well.
- Cook the bacon until it's super crispy, drain well and crumble.
- Dice the chicken.
- In a medium bowl, combine the jar of Alfredo Sauce with 5 ounces of melted cream cheese. Whisk until you have a creamy sauce, set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, ½ the mozzarella cheese, 3 ounces of cream cheese, cottage cheese, bacon and powdered ranch mix.
- Ladle a small amount of sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish. Stuff the shells with the chicken cheese mixture and line them up in the baking dish.
- Pour the remaining creamy Alfredo sauce over top of the pasta shells, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil.
- Place in preheated oven and bake until hot and bubbly!
- To brown the top of your casserole, remove the foil and place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Notes
- Cook the pasta shells to al dente because they will finish cooking in the oven.
- To soften the cheese and make it easy to incorporate, place in a small bowl and microwave in 10 second intervals until it's soft and mixable.
- Sauce it up! Use plenty of sauce to make them extra cheesy! Adding parmesan cheese on top of the sauce is a nice touch as well.
- If you're wondering how many shells per person - plan on 3-4 shells for a generous serving.
'Cindi
You say it’s good with marinara too. How do I adjust the recipe to make a marinara version without compromising the delishiousness?
Bowl Me Over
I poured marinara over the casserole instead alfredo sauce, then topped with cheese and baked.
Cindy
Can’t find jumbo shells anywhere can I use manicotti shells instead? Also must I cook the shells first or can I stuff them without precooking shells then bake?
Thank you
Bowl Me Over
I'm so sorry you can't find the jumbo shells Cindy, argh! Yes - you can use manicotti shells. You will need to precook the shells prior to stuffing. Enjoy the recipe and happy holidays!
Jessica
Delicious! Doubled the recipe to make an extra pan for the freezer. Used 1/2 cottage cheese and 1/2 ricotta. Added a little extra cottage cheese to make it less dry. Will make this again!
Bowl Me Over
Wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed this meal. Making two batches is super smart!! Thanks for swinging back and posting your review, I appreciate it.
Brady
Where do you put the cottage cheese? I guess in the shell mixture?
Bowl Me Over
Yes, that's correct Brady the cottage cheese goes into the cheese mixture for stuffing.
Amy
Can you use ricotta cheese in place of cottage cheese?
Bowl Me Over
Absolutely Amy - ricotta would be delicious!