To Die For Creamy Venison Stuffed Shells

Pasta is always a good idea with your ground venison, and these creamy venison stuffed shells are a tasty way to switch up pasta night! Made with a homemade silky alfredo style sauce, and stuffed with venison and mushrooms, these shells are absolutely perfect.

Pasta is one of the most made dinners in our home. There are a million different ways to switch up pasta with different flavours and it’s always filling and delicious. If you enjoy pasta with a creamy style sauce, then you have to try this one.

To make these creamy venison stuffed shells, you start by making a filling with ground venison, mushrooms and ricotta cheese. You then stuff that into cooked jumbo shells and smother them with a homemade alfredo sauce. Top it all off with cheese and bake until golden and bubbly!

These shells are made with a hearty meat filling to pack in lots of protein while still tasting incredible. You can swap out the mushrooms for spinach, or add in some bacon or simply enjoy them exactly as they are! Whether you have ground venison or any other ground wild game meat, this pasta dish needs to be on your list to make.

Tips for Making Creamy Venison Stuffed Shells

1. Chop the mushrooms smalls and break the ground meat into small pieces as it cooks. This will make the filling easier to stuff in the shells and give you a nicer bite.
2. After boiling the shells, I like to rinse them under cold water. This can help get some of the starch off them and prevent them from getting all stuck together before you filling them.
3. When stuffing your shells, you want to fill them as full as you can. Doing so will ensure that you get a meaty bite every time and give you more protein per serving.

Creamy Venison Stuffed Shells Ingredients

Jumbo Shells– You can find these at most grocery stores in the pasta aisle.

Ground Venison– This can be ground venison or any ground wild game meat like elk, moose, sheep etc.

Mushrooms– I love the addition of mushrooms with the alfredo sauce. If you do not like mushrooms you can sub with sautéed spinach, or some cooked bacon.

Garlic– You need lots of fresh garlic in this recipe.

Parmesan Cheese– Fresh grated is always best.

Ricotta Cheese– This adds a creaminess to the filling and helps bind it together.

Italian Seasoning– Additional bit of flavor for the meat filling.

Milk- Whole milk is best but 2% also works. I use milk instead of cream to keep the sauce lighter.

Butter– Salted or unsalted is fine.

Flour– You can use regular flour of gluten free 1 to 1 flour. It just helps thicken the sauce.

Parsley– Fresh chopped parsleys adds a great freshness to finish it off.

Lemon– I love a fresh squeeze of lemon juice over the top for some acidity to balance out the creamy sauce.

The steps

Prep the Filling & Sauce

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
2. Start by adding the ground meat to a skillet with a tbsp of oil over medium heat. Brown for 1-2 minutes, then add in the mushrooms and garlic.
3. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat until the meat is cooked through and the mushrooms are tender.
4. Next, add that meat mixture to a large bowl, along with the ricotta cheese, italian seasoning and 1/2 cup shredded parmesan. Mix until combined.
5. Then, boil the pasta shells in a large pot of salted water until tender. Strain and rinse.
6. While the pasta cooks, add 1/4 cup of butter and the 3 cloves of minced garlic to a pan over medium heat.
7. Once the butter is nicely melted, add in the flour and whisk until smooth.
8. Let that cook for 1-2 minutes, then slowly pour in the milk, whisky constantly.
9. Allow the milk to come to a gentle simmer, then remove from the heat and stir in the shredded parmesan a handful at a time, until smooth.
10. Season with salt and pepper until it is to your liking, and if the sauce seems quite thick, you can stir in a bit more milk.
11. Take about 1/4 cup of that sauce and stir it into your filling mixture.

Stuff the Shells & Bake

1. Finally, Take a couple spoonfuls of the sauce and spread it over the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
2. Take one shell at a time and stuff it with a large spoonful of the filling so it is nice and full. Repeat this with all 20 shells and place them tight in rows, filling the baking dish.

1. Spoon all of the remaining sauce over top of the shells, then top with 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan or mozzarella (I like to do a mixture of both).

1. Bake for 20 minutes or until melted and bubbly.
2. Garnish with fresh chopped parsely and serve with a fresh squeezed lemon wedges over the top. Enjoy!

If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment or a recipe review below!

Looking for more venison pasta recipes to try?

https://cmbarndominium.com/easy-flavourful-cowboy-butter-steak-pasta/

https://cmbarndominium.com/homemade-crispy-venison-parmesan/

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