I'm going to have to make a new grouping consisting of recipes including taco seasoning since I just can't stop!! Here's another one for you Mexican food loving fools!
On my instagram stories this week, I showed my jar of taco seasoning that I keep full. It's 10 batches of my taco seasoning recipe and prepping it ahead of time makes dinner time less hectic, and that's what's most important around here. 🌟
This recipe is admittedly VERY similar to my enchirito recipe, swapping out the tortilla for pasta!
I saw a similar recipe while scrolling through Pinterest one day and it really peaked my interest. After trying it once, I was hooked. I've made this probably 5-6 times now, trying to get it perfect for the whole family. I wanted it to be flavorful, but not too spicy!
One of the main reasons I love this recipe so much is because of how it reheats. I know this isn't the most glamorous priority for most recipes, but for me, it's important! We are a leftovers family and all of our lunches throughout the week are from dinner the night before (or 3 nights before). So if a dish reheats great, it's a winner!
I also love that this recipe can include the kiddos! After the filling has been made and the noodles have been boiled, little ones can help stuff the shells. It's going to be messy no matter if a 26 or a 6 year old does it, so might as well have some fun with it!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Below the recipe are changes to customize this dish to your liking
Taco Stuffed Shells
- ½ box large shells (21-22 shells)
- 1 pound ground beef (93% lean)
- 1 ½ tablespoon taco seasoning
- ¼ cup water
- 1 can black beans (no salt added), drained and rinsed
- 1 can mild Rotel (see note 1)
- 1 ½ cups Mexican cheese, divided (see note 2)
- 1 can enchilada sauce (10 oz)
- Boil ½ box of large shells according to box, drain
- Preheat oven to 350
- While boiling the shells, start browning the ground beef, crumbling as beef is cooking.
- Once beef is cooked through, drain any grease and add taco seasoning, water, and black beans (drained and rinsed)
- Cook down on medium-low heat for 5 minutes
- Add in can of Rotel and cook for another 3-5 minutes. (*note: to reduce spice from dish, drain liquid from Rotel before adding to beef and add in ¼ cup water)
- Add in ½ cup cheese to dish and turn off heat completely.
- In a 9x9 or 8x8 baking dish, add ⅓ cup enchilada sauce, covering the whole bottom of the dish.
- One at a time, fill each of the shells with the taco filling, about 2-3 tablespoons filling per shell until all shells have been filled.
- If any filling is left over, just spoon it over the filled shells to make sure you don't waste any filling. It's too good to waste!
- Top with a light drizzle of enchilada sauce. I usually have ¼ cup left over in the can. (see note 3)
- Top with 1 cup cheese
- Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered, or until cheese is completely melted.
- Enjoy alone or with avocado slices or corn!
Notes:
1- You can substitute original Rotel instead of mild Rotel for more spice. In the opposite direction, you can drain the mild Rotel before adding to meat mixture and then add in ¼ cup of water to reduce spice
2- You can substitute pepper jack for more spice
3- I use the leftover enchilada sauce for reheated leftovers throughout the week, so although it's not used in the original recipe, it doesn't get wasted.
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