We don’t do things small in our household. I don’t just mean overstuffed chairs or oversized sweaters, which I adore. When we decided to move up from our old house, we didn’t buy the next size up nearby; we purchased a large Amish farm an hour away that had no electricity, plumbing, or interior walls, and then we put in the work to make it ours.
By “we did the work,” I mean my husband handled the heavy lifting while I offered encouragement, hot coffee, and toasted hot dogs over a kerosene heater until we had propane and a stove.
Have one son? We went for five boys. Need a new couch after years of use by the kids? Instead of shopping for something fragile, we built a massive, durable couch that takes up a good portion of our den.
When I say “we built it,” I mean my husband did the building while I supplied cookies and applause.
So it should come as no surprise that when I make pasta, I go big. Take this recipe as an example.
This dish is currently the most requested dinner at our house. It’s easy to see why everyone loves it: tender jumbo pasta shells stuffed to the brim with pulled pork tossed in barbecue sauce, topped with plenty of melted, bubbly cheese, and served with coleslaw and pickled onions. When I pull this from the oven, forks are poised and plates are ready.
By “we make this,” I mean I do the assembling while my husband offers moral support and asks, “When will it be ready?”
In all seriousness, it’s one of his favorite meals I prepare.
Cook’s Notes:
- This recipe calls for one full box of jumbo shells. Check your box for broken pieces—if many are damaged, consider cooking a few extras so you have enough intact shells to stuff.
- Boil the shells only until they’re pliable, not fully cooked. They’ll finish cooking in the sauce while baking. For the shells I used, 8 minutes was perfect; the package time of 12 minutes would have been too soft. Test readiness by picking one up and gently opening it—if it flexes without breaking, it’s ready.
- After draining, rinse the shells thoroughly with cold water. This cools them so you can handle them and stops the cooking process so they won’t overcook in the sauce.
- After baking covered, you can either melt the cheese briefly or return the pan to the oven until the cheese is bubbly and browned. We usually go for the browned, bubbly finish.
- If you’d like more sauce, pass a bottle of barbecue sauce at the table. The shells are saucy enough for our tastes, but extra sauce is a welcome option.
- These shells are excellent on their own, but they really shine alongside pickled onions and coleslaw. Quick pickled red onions or a longer canned variety both work well, and a bright cranberry or classic coleslaw is a perfect accompaniment. Don’t skip them if you can help it.
BBQ Pulled Pork Overstuffed Shells
Rebecca Lindamood
Ingredients
- 1 box jumbo shells
- 8 cups fully cooked pulled pork You can use homemade, slow-cooker, or store-bought pulled pork
- 2 1/2 cups plus 1 cup barbecue sauce divided
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ cup grated Cheddar cheese
Optional Garnish:
- sliced green onions
- additional barbecue sauce
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the jumbo shells and cook just until they are pliable; do not fully cook them. They should still have some bite. Drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water to stop the cooking and cool them for handling.
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In a bowl, toss the pulled pork with 2 1/2 cups of barbecue sauce. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Fill each shell with the barbecue pulled pork until well-stuffed and place them open-side up in the prepared dish. When all shells are filled, pour the remaining 1 cup of barbecue sauce over them and add 1 cup of water to the dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the shells, and return to the oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly browned in spots.
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Serve hot or at room temperature with coleslaw and pickled red onions. Garnish with sliced green onions and extra barbecue sauce if desired.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. Calculate nutrition using the exact ingredients you use with your preferred nutrition calculator.
did you make this recipe?
Tag @foodiewithfam on Instagram and use #foodiewithfamily so I can see your take on it!