These reverse stuffed shells turn your favorite comfort food into a handheld appetizer! They’re a fun twist on a classic and ideal for entertaining.

If you like these reverse stuffed shells, you’ll love my pull-apart meatball sliders too! They have all the flavors of a classic meatball sub, but in a 2-3 bite slider form.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

Saucy, cheesy comfort food at its best! Jumbo pasta shells get inverted to form a cup shape, filled with seasoned ricotta, marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, and baked!

Enjoy all the flavors of classic baked stuffed shells, but with no silverware required! These handheld pasta cups are the perfect finger food for your next gathering, or a great family dinner served alongside a simple side salad!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Jumbo shells
Ricotta
Shredded mozzarella- divided
Grated parmesan
Egg yolk
Italian seasoning
Salt
Marinara sauce

Reverse stuffed shells take all the classic stuffed shell ingredients and serves them in a inverted cup shape for a super fun appetizer or snack!

These reverse stuffed pasta shells are easy to make and great for serving to a group! Plus, they’re so cute, I can assure you they’ll be the talk of the party!

How to make the best reverse stuffed shells:

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and drop in the pasta shells. Add in a couple extra in case some of them tear. Boil according to box instructions.
While the pasta cooks, combine ricotta, ½ cup shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan, an egg yolk, Italian seasoning, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, then rinse the cooked pasta shells with cold water so they’re no longer too hot to touch.
Flip each shell inside out to create a cup shape, then place one inside each muffin tin cavity.
Divide the ricotta cheese filling among the pasta cups, then top each one with a tablespoon of marinara sauce and the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the filling is warmed through!
Stuffed shells are a popular dish for good reason! They’re cheesy, saucy, and totally satisfying!
In under 30 minutes, you can have an ultimate appetizer full of cheesy goodness that everyone will love. This is the perfect hot appetizer for parties, holidays, and every occasion in-between!

My top tips:

COOK EXTRA PASTA: I recommend tossing a few extra pasta shells into the boiling water, so you’ll have a couple backups in case some tear when you invert them into the cup shape later. Don’t forget to salt your pasta water to flavor the shells too!
RINSE THE PASTA SHELLS: Rinsing the cooked pasta shells with cold water not only stops the cooking process, but it also cools the shells off and makes them easier to handle with your fingers.
INVERTING THE PASTA SHELLS: To flip the pasta shells inside out, I recommend holding the shell where the opening is facing downwards, then pressing down on the backside of the shell so that it easily inverts without tearing. To get a better look at how I do this, watch the video in this blog post!
FILLING THE SHELLS: Using store-bought marinara sauce is a great time saving shortcut in this recipe. The higher-quality sauce you use, the better these reverse shells will taste! Rao’s and Marzetti make some of my favorite readily available marinara sauces.
BAKING: You’ll only bake these reverse shells for 8-10 minutes to warm them through and melt the cheese. Avoid cooking these much longer to prevent the exposed edges of pasta from drying out and/or becoming crunchy.
LEFTOVERS: Any leftovers can be transferred to an airtight container and kept in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, just place in a microwave for 30 seconds or until warmed though.

Looking for more easy appetizers? Try these out!

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