Creamy Seafood Stuffed Shells

These Creamy Seafood Stuffed Shells are the perfect pasta dish for your weeknight dinner or meal prep. This meal is loaded with crab meat, shrimp, lobster, and drizzled with a decadent cream sauce and gooey cheese.

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You will always hear me say that restaurant-quality meals can be made at home! This meal is no exception. You will feel like you are dining in a restaurant and going to town on delicious pasta.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Rich Flavor: Seafood, such as shrimp, crab, or lobster, adds a rich and savory flavor to the stuffed shells. The combination of seafood with creamy cheese and aromatic herbs creates a decadent filling that tantalizes the taste buds.
• Variety: Switch it up! This recipe provides a unique twist on traditional pasta recipes.
• Easy to Customize: It’s super easy to swap ingredients to suit individual preferences. You can experiment with different seafood options, cheeses, herbs, and sauces to create unique flavor combinations.
• Comfort Food with a Twist: It’s a comforting and indulgent meal that is sure to satisfy cravings while offering a touch of elegance.

What Type of Pasta to Use

You want to grab jumbo shells. These come in various varieties including whole wheat. Use what you prefer and cook the pasta in accordance with the instructions on the package. Remove the pasta from the boiling water about 2 minutes prior to the allotted time on the package. Because the pasta will be baked in the oven, you don’t want to overcook it. Removing it a little early will result in the perfect texture.

Some pasta brands will include separate instructions and cook time for if you plan to bake the pasta shells. In this case, it may be safe to follow the outlined instructions.

What is Al Dente?

Al dente is the term used to describe perfectly cooked pasta. It means firm to the bite. Most packages of pasta will include instructions on how to get the pasta al dente. Don’t overcook the pasta. This will result in pasta that is sticky, flimsy, and difficult to stuff.

What Type of Seafood to Use

I love to use shrimp, jumbo lump crab, and lobster in this recipe. You can also use scallops, mussels, pretty much whatever you like.

What Type of Shrimp to Use

Shrimp can be found at the grocery store in a few different ways. There is raw, pre-cooked, raw and frozen, deveined, tails on, tails off, etc.

I never use pre-cooked shrimp. There is an obvious difference in taste due to the lack of quality. The shrimp is cooked and then frozen and you have to cook it/warm it up again. This usually overcooks the shrimp. Raw shrimp only takes minutes to make, just buy it raw.

Always look for deveined, that’s my preference. The black vein that runs along the back of the shrimp is the digestive intestinal tract. Is this shrimp poop, yes.

You can buy it with the vein and remove it using a sharp paring knife to make a slit along the back and lift out the vein with the tip of the knife.

Buy large shrimp. Baby shrimp are meant to go in things like soups.

Can You Use Frozen Shrimp? How to Thaw

You should thaw it first. You can thaw frozen shrimp in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes.

What Type of Crab to Use

I use lump crab meat. You can find it in the refrigerated meat section of the grocery store. Lots of people use imitation crab meat, sometimes called krab meat. You can use that if you wish, it’s also sometimes easier to find.

Imitation crab is processed fish meat. It is seafood and comes from surimi that has been deboned and minced into paste. It does not contain crab. Crab extract is sometimes added for flavor.

Use whichever you wish. You can read more about What Imitation Crab Is here.

What Type of Lobster to Use

I like to keep things simple so I use pre-cracked wild-caught lobster claw and knuckle meat from Butcher Box. It’s usually only available as an add-on item. It comes in 8oz packages. Their lobster is sustainably harvested from cold waters.

Crowd Cow is another option for cold cracked lobster. You can check them out here.

You can also use lobster tails. In general, when purchasing lobster, always look for cold water lobster. It usually comes from the East Coast or Canada. Maine lobster tails are a big deal because the water is so cold there.

Cold water lobsters are larger than warm water lobsters and have more meat. Because they live in cold temperatures their meat gets a lot firmer than those from warm water, which will produce tender meat when properly cooked. Warm water lobster is often mushy with a fishy taste, and sometimes has an ammonia smell.

While shopping, if the display isn’t clear, you should always ask if it’s from warm or cold water. If they don’t know, I would assume the worst and try elsewhere. Cold water is more expensive. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for and quality comes at a price.

I also look for wild-caught, which can sometimes be harder to find outside of specialty stores like Sprouts or even Whole Foods (which is why I order from Butcher Box).

How to Make the Cheese Sauce

One of the most important parts of this dish is the cheese sauce. A great cheese sauce starts with a roux. A roux is a combination of butter and flour. It’s used to thicken the sauce and to help bind the dish.

From there you will add milk and heavy whipping cream, along with cheese. You will also need to season it with Italian Seasoning, salt, and pepper. This is important because the cheese sauce is a source of flavor for the dish.

How to Make Seafood Stuffed Shells

Detailed measurements and full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Cook the pasta shells.
2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add in flour and stir until thickened.
3. Add heavy cream, almond milk, and white wine. Stir.
4. Add in garlic, Parmesan cheese, Italian Seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until smooth and set aside.
5. Heat the skillet on medium-high heat. Add in butter. When melted, add in shrimp and lobster.
6. Cook for 3-4 minutes on both sides until cooked through.
7. Add cream cheese, cooked shrimp, lobster, crab, chopped spinach, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan Reggiano cheese, Old Bay Seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste to a large bowl. Stir to combine.
8. Pour the pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
9. Load the seafood mixture into each of the pasta shells.
10. Sprinkle the mozzarella throughout.
11. Cover and bake.

Why Do You Cover it in Foil?

Covering it with foil will prevent the shells from drying out and will keep the shells soft. If you cook them uncovered, the shells will harden.

How Long to Bake

Bake for 20 minutes uncovered and then for an additional 5-10 minutes uncovered until the cheese melts and has browned.

Substitutions and Additional Add-In Ideas

• Bacon
• Chicken
• Scallops
• Caramelized Onions

Can You Make it Ahead

You can assemble this dish up to 8 hours before you bake it. Don’t add the cheese until you are ready to bake. The cheese will lose it’s initial texture. Cover the dish in foil and place it in the fridge until you are ready to bake. You may need to add an additional 10-15 minutes of bake time since the pasta is chilled.

How to Store Leftovers

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, tightly covered, for 3-4 days

How to Reheat

The sauce will thicken a lot as it stands and after it’s refrigerated. You can reheat the stuffed shells in the microwave or in the oven on 350 degrees until warm.

Freezer Tips

You can freeze the dish, tightly covered and sealed for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge. Since this dish has dairy, you will notice separation upon reheating.

What to Serve and Pair With this Dish

Air Fryer Green Beans
Air Fryer Garlic Bread
Grilled Asparagus in Foil
Air Fryer Asparagus
Roasted Ranch Potatoes
Air Fryer Roasted Carrots
Air Fryer Vegetables

More Seafood Recipes

Lobster Mac and Cheese
Smoked Lobster Tail
Seafood Mac and Cheese
Baked Crab Legs
Lemon Pepper Fish
Seafood Lasagna
Air Fryer Scallops
Cedar Plank Grilled Shrimp
Shrimp Crab Quiche
Seafood Pot Pie
Seafood Cornbread Dressing Recipe

More Pasta Recipes

Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Spaghetti Salad Recipe
Shrimp Pho Noodle Soup
Healthy Pad Thai
Instant Pot Ramen
Southern Chicken Spaghetti
Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
Cheesy Taco Pasta
Spaghetti with Sausage