This recipe is a new take on the traditional stuffed pasta shells and it’s made in the Instant Pot! The pasta is cooked in the pot, so all you have to do is mix up the cheese and pepperoni and stuff it into some pasta shells.

You can also make this dish gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta shells or gluten-free spaghetti noodles.

Ingredients:

Uncooked jumbo shells

Ricotta
Egg
pepperoni, chopped as finely as you can

Shredded mozzarella
Grated parmesan
Italian seasoning

Red pepper (leave this out if you don’t like heat)
Salt
Black pepper

Italian sausage (substitute sweet Italian sausage or ground anything you prefer)
Medium onion, chopped
Garlic cloves, minced

Dried basil
Canned crushed tomatoes
Water

Preparing the Filling

To make the filling, properly combine all of the ingredients until the mixture is fairly smooth.

To pipe the filling into each shell, use a piping bag or a plastic bag with the tip clipped off. If the shells are too small or twisted to be filled with a pipe, use a spoon.

Making the Sauce

Prepare the sauce. Saute the sausage in the Instant Pot until it is no longer pink.

Add the onions and simmer for 5 minutes or until they are soft.

Add basil, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for an additional 60 seconds or so.

Add the crushed tomatoes and mix thoroughly.

Take most of the sauce out and set it aside, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sauce in the bottom of the instant pot.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water and stir, scraping up any browned bits that have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Making the Stuffed Pasta Shells In The Instant Pot

Stack the stuffed shells in two layers without adding the sauce in between.

Pour the reserved sauce over the shells, but DO NOT stir! Just make sure the sauce touches each shell.

Close the lid and cook for 10 minutes on manual/high. After that do a quick pressure release.
Spread mozzarella over the top, cover the pot with a lid but don’t lock it, and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes so the cheese can melt from the residual heat.

Instant Pot Stuffed Pasta Shells with Cheese and Pepperoni

Ingredients

12 oz uncooked jumbo shells

For the filling:

15 oz ricotta

1 egg
4 oz pepperoni, chopped as finely as you can
6 oz shredded mozzarella

3 oz grated parmesan
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp red pepper (leave this out if you don’t like heat)

½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

For the sauce:

1 lb hot Italian sausage (substitute sweet Italian sausage or ground anything you prefer)

1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp dried basil

½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes

1½ cups water
4 oz shredded mozzarella

Instructions

To make the filling, properly combine all of the ingredients until the mixture is fairly smooth.

To pipe the filling into each shell, use a piping bag or a plastic bag with the tip clipped off. If the shells are too small or twisted to be filled with a pipe, use a spoon.
Prepare the sauce. Saute the sausage in the Instant Pot until it is no longer pink.
Add the onions and simmer for 5 minutes or until they are soft.

Add basil, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook for an additional 60 seconds or so.
Add the tomatoes and mix thoroughly.
Take most of the sauce out and set it aside, leaving 1 12 to 2 cups of sauce in the bottom of the instant pot.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water and stir, scraping up any browned bits that have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Stack the stuffed shells in two layers without adding the sauce in between.
Pour the reserved sauce over the shells, but DO NOT stir! Just make sure the sauce touches each shell.

Close the lid and cook for 10 minutes on manual/high. After that do a quick pressure release.
Spread mozzarella over the top, cover the pot with a lid but don’t lock it, and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes so the cheese can melt from the residual heat.