These Turkey and Pumpkin Stuffed Shells are exactly what you want out of a Fall comfort meal! Creamy, delicious and full of pumpkin goodness.
It’s Fall and that can only mean one thing in this house – pumpkin is slowly (maybe not so slowly) making its way into our meals. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts have all included pumpkin lately and we are technically only in the second week of Fall. I may start turning orange before this season is over.
Let’s be honest though. Pumpkin is always around despite the season. It’s just more frequent now.
While I love pumpkin sweet treats, savory pumpkin recipes are just as delicious! That’s especially true when pasta is involved in the recipe! I mean, how can two things I love put together not be amazing?
The Turkey and Pumpkin Stuffed Shells recipe I am sharing today is one of my favorite savory pumpkin recipes! The pasta shells are filled with the most delicious ground turkey, pumpkin puree and ricotta cheese mixture and then baked up in a creamy Parmesan sauce.
It is creamy and satisfying and I am drooling all over again just thinking about them!
If you have yet to try pumpkin in a savory dish, I really hope you give these a go because I am sure you will be converted! They are seriously delicious!
This dish can also be frozen for future meals (which is what I do- half of the recipe is cooked the same day and half of the recipe is frozen for a future meal)!
What you need to make Turkey and Pumpkin Stuffed Shells
For the shells:
- jumbo pasta shells
- olive oil
- ground turkey
- ricotta cheese
- pumpkin puree
- Parmesan cheese
- egg
- sage
- nutmeg
- salt and pepper
For the sauce:
- butter
- flour
- milk
- Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
How to make Turkey and Pumpkin Stuffed Shells
While stuffed shells recipes can seem like a lot of work compared to a simple pasta dish, these are not too difficult and definitely worth the extra work!
1. Prepare the pasta shells. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain. Drizzle a baking sheet with oil and set pasta shells on it to cool.
2. Cook the ground turkey. Heat oil in a sauté pan and add ground turkey. Cook, stirring often. When cooked completely, remove from heat.
3. Prepare the filling. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix ricotta, pumpkin puree, Parmesan, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked turkey and finally an egg until well combined. [Tip: Before adding the egg, mix all of the ingredients together and taste. Adjust the seasonings and when satisfied, mix in the egg.]
4. Make the cream sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to create a roux. Whisk in milk and Parmesan cheese until sauce thickens. Season from salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
5. Assemble the shells! Spoon half of the sauce onto the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Arrange cooled pasta shells in the baking dish. Spoon pumpkin mixture into each shell. Top with additional Parmesan cream sauce.
6. Bake! Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Serve.
Can you prep these in advance?
If you are planning to make these for a dinner party of special event like Thanksgiving, you can certainly make life easier by prepping the shells in advance. You have a few choices here.
- You could just cook the turkey meat and prepare the filling the night before so they are ready to go the next day.
or
- Prepare and assemble the entire dish and then all you have to do is bake it the next day. [If you are opting to do this, I recommend using an aluminum baking dish. I don’t use ceramic or glass dishes in the oven after they have been in the fridge out of fear of them shattering with the temperature change.]
Can you freeze Turkey and Pumpkin Stuffed Shells?
The good news is this dish can be frozen for future meals! To freeze it, I make the stuffed shells without the sauce. Then I freeze them in a freezer safe container. On the day I want to serve them, I prepare the sauce and then bake it all up in the oven until warmed through.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do in our house!
-Cathy
You may also like:
Pumpkin Fettuccine Alfredo
Pumpkin and Vegetable Lasagna
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce
Creamy Squash, Spinach & Turkey Cannelloni
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you try it and love it as much as I do, I would love to hear about it! Leave a rating and/or comment below to let me know!
Turkey and Pumpkin Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 250 g jumbo pasta shells
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon sage finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cream Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain. Drizzle a baking sheet with oil and set pasta shells on it to cool.
- Heat oil in a saute pan and add ground turkey. Cook, stirring often. When cooked completely, remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix ricotta, pumpkin puree, Parmesan, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked turkey and finally an egg until well combined. [Tip: Before adding the egg, mix all of the ingredients together and taste. Adjust the seasonings and when satisfied, mix in the egg.]
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to create a roux. Whisk in milk and Parmesan cheese until sauce thickens. Season from salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Spoon half of the sauce onto the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish.
- Arrange cooled pasta shells in the baking dish. Spoon pumpkin mixture into each shell. Top with additional Parmesan cream sauce.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Serve.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.