How To Make Easy Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells - With Spinach

Name: How To Make Easy Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells - With Spinach
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: For the alfredo sauce:; 3 tbsp margarine or butter.; 3 tbsp flour; 3 cloves garlic (chopped fine); 1 tsp Italiano seasoning; 1/4 tsp salt; ⅛ tsp pepper; 1 cup heavy cream (anywhere between 18% to 30%); 1 cup 1% milk (or milk of your choice); 1/2 cup parmesan cheese; Stuffing ingredients:; 2 cups cooked chicken (shredded); 1 12 oz box jumbo pasta shells; 1.5 cups broccoli (fresh or frozen. Steam or bake first, then chop.); 1/2 to 1 cup spinach (chopped.); 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

These chicken alfredo stuffed shells are so delicious, you won't believe how easy they are to make! They are filled with tender cooked chicken, broccoli, and spinach, and mixed up with a delicious homemade alfredo sauce, and topped with a layer of shredded cheese. This meal comes together so quickly, and your kids won't even know there are healthy vegetables in there.

Pasta shells stuffed with chicken alfredo and broccoli in a casserole dish.

This is one of our favorite meals to have as a family for dinner. I like to make this when I have leftover chicken from the night before. It is so easy to mix up some homemade alfredo sauce, mix in the chicken, broccoli, and spinach, fill in the shells, cover with cheese and bake! It is super easy!

If you are short on time, you can always pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, grab a jar of bottled alfredo sauce (I won't tell anyone), and a bag of shredded cheese. But... homemade alfredo sauce is a million times healthier for you.

Stuffed alfredo shells with chicken, broccoli, and spinach in homemade alfredo sauce

Jump to:

Ingredients
How to make stuffed shells
Frequently asked questions
If you like this recipe, check out these:
📋 Recipe
💬 Comments

Ingredients

Alfredo sauce: To make homemade alfredo sauce, I used:

3 tablespoon margarine. You can also use butter.
3 tablespoon flour
3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.
1 cup of heavy cream (anywhere between 18% to 30%)
1 cup of 1% milk (or milk of your choice)
½ cup of parmesan cheese.

For the stuffing:

2 cups of shredded cooked chicken. You can use a rotisserie chicken. I use leftover chicken and shred it with a fork.
One 12 oz box of jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cups of broccoli, fresh or frozen. Steam or bake first, then chop.
½ to 1 cup of spinach, chopped. We love spinach so I used 1 cup. It disappears quite quickly once it's heated up.
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded

How to make stuffed shells

To begin with, fill a large pot with 5 L of water and bring it to a boil. Add some salt if you like. Prepare shells according to package directions. Add a few jumbo shells at a time and cook in the pot, uncovered, for about 14-16 minutes. You want them to be al dante.
Drain well in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and so you can handle them without getting burned.
Next, place the shells on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Meanwhile, steam or bake your broccoli until tender. You want to be able to pierce it with a fork. I used frozen broccoli and placed it on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and baked it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. You could also bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the broccoli for about 4 minutes, or until tender.

Now to make the homemade alfredo sauce:

First of all, in a saucepan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoon of butter and the chopped garlic cloves. Let the garlic cook for about 1 minute. Next, add in 3 tablespoon of flour. Use a whisk to mix everything together. Finally, add in 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 cup of milk, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. The sauce should start to thicken up rather quickly. Stir continuously with a whisk so it doesn't burn. When the sauce has thickened up, remove it from the heat and add in ½ cup of parmesan cheese and ½-1 cup of chopped spinach.
Secondly, in a large bowl, add shredded chicken and cooked broccoli. Add 1 cup of alfredo sauce to the chicken mixture and mix it together to combine.
On the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 baking pan, add a spoonful of alfredo sauce and move it around to cover the bottom of the pan.
Fill each cooked pasta shell with a spoonful of chicken and broccoli mixture, and place it on the baking dish.
Finally, spoon the remaining alfredo sauce evenly over the top of the stuffed pasta shells, and cover the pasta shells with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Frequently asked questions

What goes with stuffed shells?

To make this a complete and balanced meal, serve with a simple green salad and garlic bread or Grandma's Homemade Air Buns or Homemade Whole Wheat Bread.

How many jumbo shells are in a 12 oz box?

A box of jumbo shells contains approximately 46 shells.

How many stuffed shells are in a serving?

Surprisingly, these stuffed shells are really filling. I usually estimate about 6 shells per person and 7-8 for larger appetites. My family is a bunch of huge eaters, and I had quite a few leftovers, which hardly ever happens around here.

Can I freeze stuffed shells?

Absolutely. Simply cover the shells with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and allow them to freeze completely. Once they are frozen, transfer the shells to a large freezer bag. Return the shells back to the freezer, and you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

How do I reheat frozen shells?

Place frozen shells into a casserole or baking dish. Add alfredo sauce as above. Cover and bake for 50-60 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven. On the other hand, if they were thawed in the fridge prior to baking, reduce oven time to 25-30 minutes.

Baked chicken alfredo stuffed jumbo shells with broccoli and spinach baked until cheese is bubbly and brown on top

If you like this recipe, check out these:

📋 Recipe