I love classic Italian comfort food, and these Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells combine two of my favorites into one dish! Hearty chicken and croutons that mimic breading give you the flavors of chicken parmesan while the ricotta cheese and jumbo pasta shells are traditional to stuffed shells. All those elements are smothered in pasta sauce as well as Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses, so there’s definitely a lot to love. Plus, three shells is a very filling serving and it’s only 381 calories or 8 Green, 7 Blue or 7 Purple Weight Watchers SmartPoints! To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
This recipe comes together pretty easily because it uses cooked chicken. Don’t forget to check out my Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken post- the perfect way to make shredded chicken for this recipe! You could also use rotisserie chicken, or grilled or baked or however you prefer to cook it ahead of time. Whatever is easiest for you!
These Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells combine two Italian favorites into a hearty, flavorful pasta dish!
Yield: 6(3 shells) servings
Ingredients
18jumbo pasta shells
2 ¼cupspasta sauce, divided
1cupfat free Ricotta cheese
2ozfinely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (I used the smallest hole side of my box grater)
3ozshredded 2% Mozzarella cheese, divided
1teaspoonItalian seasoning
Salt, to taste
10ozchopped cooked boneless skinless chicken breast
1.5ozcroutons, partially crushed (leave a few larger pieces)
Instructions
Cook the pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain and rinse shells and allow them to cool before handling.
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Spread ½ cup of the pasta sauce across the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish (such as a 7x11) and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta with 1 ounce of the Parmesan, 1 ounce of the Mozzarella, the Italian seasoning and a sprinkling of salt. Stir together until well combined. Add the chopped chicken and ½ cup of the pasta sauce to the cheese mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
When the pasta shells are cool enough to handle, use a spoon to stuff them full of the chicken/cheese filling. Lay the stuffed shells in a single layer in the prepared casserole dish, open side facing up. Pour the remainder of the pasta sauce over the top of the stuffed shells and spread it around to coat evenly. Sprinkle the remaining ounce of shredded Parmesan and the remaining 2 ounces of shredded Mozzarella over the top of the dish and follow with the crushed croutons. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Notes
To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!Nutrition Information per (3 shells) serving:381 calories, 40 g carbs, 10 g sugars, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 33 g protein, 4 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)MyWW SmartPoints per (3 shells) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 7 SmartPoints/ Purple: 7 SmartPointsWeight Watchers Points Plus: 10 per (3 shells) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition information below)
Author: Emily Bites
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: Chicken Parmesan Pasta, Pasta Bake, Ricotta Cheese, Weight Watchers, WW Pasta