Cluck & Squeal Crab Stuffed Pasta Shells

Roasting & baking
Written By Marc Cardinali

These Cluck & Squeal Crab Stuffed Pasta are a perfect baked pasta dish. We like a dish that we can prepare ahead of time and then baked before dinner. Baked dishes are great for entertaining!  The best part of this baked dish is when you pull out that bubbly, hot perfectly cooked pasta dish from the oven.

Recipe by Marc Cardinali. From Cluck & Squeal.

Cluck & Squeal Crab Stuffed Pasta Shells

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 40 min
Serves: 4
Cook temp: 350°F / 175°C
Method: Oven

Ingredients

The Shells

  • About 20 jumbo pasta shells
  • About 2 cups of your favourite tomato sauce

The Crab Stuffing

  • 1 cup snow crab meat (or crab, lobster, shrimp or crawfish)
  • 1 cup grated 2-year aged white cheddar (or a mildly sharp cheese)
  • ½ cup mascarpone
  • ¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • ¼ cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbsp Cluck & Squeal All Purpose Seasoning & BBQ Rub
  • ⅛–¼ tsp Cluck & Squeal Tasty Hot (optional)

The Onion

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • ¼ cup minced red onion
  • ¼ cup white wine

Directions

1. Sauté the Onion

Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat and sauté the red onion for 3–4 minutes. Turn the heat to high, add the white wine and cook until it evaporates. Set aside to cool.

2. Cook the Shells

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, and cook the shells until just al dente. Slightly firm is better, since they'll finish cooking in the sauce in the oven.

3. Mix the Stuffing

Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. In a wide bowl, combine the crab, cheddar, mascarpone, Parmigiano-Reggiano, breadcrumbs, parsley and Cluck & Squeal All Purpose. Add the cooled onions last and mix well.

4. Stuff the Shells

Carefully fill each shell with the stuffing, using a small espresso spoon or your hands.

5. Sauce the Dish

Spread your favourite tomato sauce in a baking dish that holds all the shells snugly, then nestle them in. Keep the sauce no higher than ¼ inch below the tops of the shells. Too much sauce mellows out the flavours.

6. Bake

Reduce the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Bake covered for 10 minutes, then uncovered for about 20 minutes, until bubbly and a little browned and crispy on top. Serve and enjoy!

Tips & variations

Best crab. Fresh or frozen precooked crab is best. If using canned, rinse it in cold water and add 1 tbsp lemon juice to the stuffing to balance the sodium.

A touch of heat. Add ⅛–¼ tsp Tasty Hot to the stuffing, depending on your heat preference.

Make ahead. Stuff and assemble the dish ahead of time, then bake it before dinner. Great for entertaining!

More recipe notes

A bubbly, make-ahead baked pasta for entertaining.

These Crab Stuffed Pasta Shells, seasoned with Cluck & Squeal All Purpose Seasoning & BBQ Rub, are a perfect baked pasta dish for Good Friday. Prepare them ahead, then bake right before dinner.

The best part is pulling that bubbly, hot, perfectly cooked dish out of the oven.

Marc Cardinali