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This lemon chicken stuffed shells recipe is easy, cheesy, and delicious. Three different kinds of cheeses and flavorful lemon chicken are baked to melty perfection. This recipe makes an awesome comfort food dinner!
What can I say? Jumbo shells stuffed with chicken and cream cheese seemed like a good idea, and it worked.
The 3 cheeses in here are cream cheese (makes a great tangy filling and keeps the chicken moist), parmesan, and mozzarella.
I used rotisserie chicken in this recipe to save some time. You can use any kind of cooked chicken… this is a great leftover chicken recipe. You could even make this with leftover turkey meat after Thanksgiving.
I considered making a cream sauce to go along with these, but I thought it might be overkill. Delicious for sure, but definitely rich.
If I were going to do this, I would add around a 1/2 a cup of heavy cream along with some seasonings (e.g. Italian seasoning and some garlic) to the bottom of the skillet/baking dish before adding the shells. The cream will reduce and thicken a bit as everything warms through. So if you want a cream sauce, there ya go. 🙂
How to make chicken stuffed shells
- Cook the shells.
- Mix the cooked chicken, cream cheese, parmesan, lemon juice, and seasonings together.
- Stuff the shells and sprinkle them with mozzarella.
- Bake for 400F for 20-25 minutes. (Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below)
Love shell pasta? Try myEasy Creamy Beef and Shells.
These chicken stuffed jumbo pasta shells actually reheat pretty well. I took them to work for lunch the next day and really enjoyed them.
I think this recipe will become a hit in your house if you give it a try. 🙂
More lemon chicken recipes you’ll like:
- Easy Chicken Piccata
- Honey Lemon Chicken
- Lemon Butter Chicken
- Easy Creamy Lemon Chicken
- Crockpot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Lemon Parmesan Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Questions?
Ask me in the comments below.
4.80 from 5 votes
Lemon Chicken Stuffed Shells Recipe
By Natasha Bull
This lemon chicken stuffed shells recipe is easy, cheesy, and delicious. Three different kinds of cheeses and flavorful lemon chicken are baked to melty perfection.
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 35 minutes mins
Total: 45 minutes mins
Servings: 4
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Ingredients
- 2 dozen jumbo pasta shells (see note)
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken e.g. rotisserie chicken
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tbsp)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup grated mozzarella
Instructions
Boil a large salted pot of water and cook the pasta shells al dente according to package directions.
Preheat oven to 400F and move the rack to the middle position.
Add the chicken, cream cheese, lemon juice, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and salt & pepper (I'm quite generous with it) to a bowl and stir it together until you've got a smooth mixture.
Grease the inside of an oven-proof skillet or baking dish with the olive oil to minimize the shells/cheese sticking on.
Drain the shells once they're cooked, and then spoon the mixture into each shell (I like to use a teaspoon to do this).
Arrange the shells in the skillet or baking dish. Sprinkle the mozzarella over top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If you want the cheese to brown, broil it for a few minutes on high (watch that it doesn't burn). Serve immediately.
Notes
- I fit about 20 jumbo shells into my 10 1/4" cast iron skillet. It'll vary depending on what you use to bake them in.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Calories: 644kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 38g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Cholesterol: 148mg, Sodium: 604mg, Potassium: 382mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 1088IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 354mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi! I’m Natasha.
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