This is the perfect holiday appetizer – crispy stuffed pasta shells
This is honestly one of the BEST and easiest recipes you will make this holiday season. I stuffed my shells with taco meat but you can stuff them with anything you like and just add cheese! The next step is to cook these in the air fryer to get that crunchy crispy shell. This is a twist on the viral pasta chip trend. I hope you like it, let me know in the comments below.
Happy Holidays!
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History of Pasta Chips
Pasta Chips first hit shelves in September 2013, and are now in retailers from Roundy’s and Shoprite to Safeway, Target, Von’s, Albertson’s, Harris Teeter, Winco, and Randall’s. The key was getting the texture right!
However one of the first viral TikTok posts seems to have come from food blogger Emily Chan, also known as @bostonfoodgram, who posted her video on April 16, 2021. “I didn’t think this recipe would be popular at all,” Chan told “Today.” “I think people love new dishes they can pop into the air fryer.”
Air Fryer Tips – from a professional chef
- Remember to preheat your air fryer.
- Choose the right fryer for your kitchen and lifestyle – Air fryers come in all shapes and sizes, from supersized units meant for batch cooking to compact fryers that you can perch almost anywhere.
- For extra crispy results, coat your food with additional oil halfway through cooking
- But don’t mist food with oil cooking spray while it’s inside the air fryer
- Shake the fryer basket throughout the cooking process – Moving your food around a little can help it crisp properly in the air fryer.
- When cooking meat in an air fryer, be sure to check the temperature of it- It’s important that meat is cooked thoroughly enough to kill bacteria — and, in some cases, the crispiness imparted by air-frying can disguise undercooked meat.
- Position your air fryer under your stove’s hood. – Most air fryers actually release some amount of smoke or steam, so you don’t want to leave them tucked under a cabinet or shelf while they are in use.
- Use a slice of bread to soak up grease – Environmentally conscious air fryer owners can actually swap aluminum-foil liners for a slice of 100% compostable bread. Put a slice of bread on the bottom of your air fryer, it’s a green alternative to foil for catching grease and drips for easier clean-up.
- On hot days, use your air fryer instead of your oven.
- Skip the microwave — use your air fryer to reheat leftovers.
Substitutions
In this recipe, I use Yves veggie grounds but I also love to use Beyond sausage. If you eat meat, ground beef, or ground turkey would be great! Alternatively, you could use shredded chicken or even a spinach and ricotta mixture. There are a plethora of options for this recipe and I would highly recommend making it more than once with different fillings to see which one turns out the best.
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crispy stuffed pasta shells
Equipment
- air fryer
- saucepan
- frying pan
- cutting board
- knife
Ingredients
- 1 box, jumbo shell pasta
- 1 package, veggie grounds yves, beyond meat or ground turkey or beef
- 1 small can, salsa verde sub for taco seasoning
- 1 tbsp cooking oil of choice
- ½ white onion, diced
- ½ bell pepper, diced
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, cut into small chunks
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup green onions or chives, diced
Instructions
- preheat air fryer to 400°F, spray cooking rack with oil
- In a saucepan, boil water and cook your shell pasta per package directions, until al dente, drain and set aside.
- In a frying pan, add oil onion and bell pepper saute until tender, 2-3 minutes.
- add veggie grounds and salsa, cook for 5-10 minutes to let all of the flavors absorb into the grounds. Remove from heat and set aside.
- assemble your shells, place about 1 tbsp meat into the shell add a chunk of cheese, place another shell around the top of the stuffed shell to form a cocoon, and place into the air fryer.
- cook for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway so that both sides are extra crispy.
- for the dip, in a small bowl add sour cream and taco seasoning, mix and top green onions
- serve and enjoy!
Video
@bold.carly Crispy taco stuffed pasta shells ! So good! Thank you @Amy Shaba #pastachips #stuffedshells #stuffedshellsrecipe #vegetarianrecipe
♬ Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Frank Sinatra
