Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells

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!

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!

If you’re looking for more Italian comfort food recipes like these Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells, take a look at my Beef and Sausage Manicotti, Sausage Tortellini Skillet, Eggplant Parmesan Casserole, Chicken Parmesan Quinoa Bake, Bubble Up Pizza Casserole, Spaghetti Pie, Slow Cooker Meatballs & Marinara, Four Cheese and Sausage Stuffed Shells and many more in the Italian section of my recipe index!

Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells

Yield: 6 (3 shells) servings

Ingredients:

• 18 jumbo pasta shells
• 2 ¼ cups pasta sauce, divided
• 1 cup fat free Ricotta cheese
• 2 oz finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (I used the smallest hole side of my box grater)
• 3 oz shredded 2% Mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Salt, to taste
• 10 oz chopped cooked boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1.5 oz croutons, partially crushed (leave a few larger pieces)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain and rinse shells and allow them to cool before handling.
2. 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 7×11) 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.
3. 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.

MyWW SmartPoints per (3 shells) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 7 SmartPoints/ Purple: 7 SmartPoints

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
10 per (3 shells) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition information below)

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)

an Emily Bites Original