Every year I’m always left with the same question of what I should do with all of my Thanksgiving leftovers. Aside from the regular ol’ turkey sandwich or turkey chili, I never really have anything new or exciting planned for the next day’s dinner. All of that is changing however, because this year I’ve teamed up my friends over at Go Bold With Butter to bring you these incredibly over-the-top and totally necessary Thanksgiving Stuffed Pasta Shells! You can either make it completely from scratch, as I’ve written in the recipe below, or you can utilize those Turkey Day leftovers, combine them all together and make this super hearty pasta dish for dinner. You can’t go wrong with pasta and homemade cheese sauce, and that is a true fact.
Let’s start with the base of the filling. It starts with a mirepoix which is a mixture of carrots, celery and onion. Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Season with a pinch of kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and chopped fresh thyme and sage.
Stir in the green beans and turkey and cook until warmed through, another 2 to 3 minutes.
**Tip: The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it completely from scratch as I’ve written it, or you can utilize your Thanksgiving day leftovers! Just warm up in a skillet with a bit of butter and you can add a splash or two of chicken stock to loosen it up.**
Transfer to a large bowl, and add the stuffing mix, stock and dried cranberries and mix until well incorporated. Set the mixture aside to cool.
**Tip: At this point you can give it a taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding a pinch of salt or pepper as you see fit.**
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of cold water to a boil. Season liberally with salt and add the pasta. Cook until almost done, not completely, as it’ll continue to cook in the oven. Drain and set aside.
To make the sauce, add butter to a saucepan over low-medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds or so.
Slowly whisk in the milk and cook, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened. Season with the spices and a pinch of salt and pepper.
**Note: If you want to speed the process up, you can warm up the milk before you add it to the roux. This will create a silkier more smoother sauce, and it will allow it to thicken much faster!**
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheeses until fully melted through through and the sauce is smooth and silky.
**Note: I’m using a mixture of shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheese but you can use all cheddar or all jack or even pepper jack if you’d like. Mozzarella or gruyere would be great as well!**
Pour half of the cheese sauce into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Fill each pasta shell generously with the filling and placing it in the dish, snuggly next to each other.
Continue this process until the entire filling is used, you might not need all of the pasta shells (especially since some will be damaged through cooking) but that’s okay.
Spoon the remaining cheese sauce over the stuffed pasta shells and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 25 minutes in a preheated 375°F oven. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions or chopped fresh parsley right before serving.
I love this dish because it’s a new and (hopefully) exciting way to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers or you can make it completely from scratch if you’d like. Although, I really think you can’t go wrong with pasta and homemade cheese sauce. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
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Thanksgiving Stuffed Pasta Shells
Ingredients
Filling:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 celery stick diced
- 1 small carrot peeled and diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves chopped
- ½ teaspoon fresh sage leaves chopped
- ½ cup fresh green beans trimmed and chopped
- 1 cup shredded leftover cooked turkey
- 1 ½ cups dried stuffing mix
- 1 cup chicken or turkey stock
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1 pound dried jumbo pasta shells
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
Cheese Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ teaspoon granulated onion
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a large baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt, pepper and the thyme and sage. Stir in the green beans and turkey and cook until warmed through, another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer to a large bowl, and add the stuffing mix, stock and dried cranberries and mix until well incorporated. Set the mixture aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of cold water to a boil. Season liberally with salt and add the pasta. Cook until almost done, not completely, as it’ll continue to cook in the oven. Drain and set aside.
- To make the sauce, add butter to a saucepan over low-medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds or so. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened. Season with the spices and a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheeses until fully melted through.
- Pour half of the sauce into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Fill each pasta shell generously with the filling and placing it in the dish. Continue until the entire filling is used, you might not need all of the pasta shells (especially since some will be damaged through cooking). Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with scallions before serving.
This looks so good!