Chicken Alfredo is so good, isn't it? But even some of the best things in life have room for a little sprucing up. That's just what you'll get in the recipe below. It's all the creamy goodness you love in chicken Alfredo, but there's something a little different about the pasta: It's not the wide noodles you might be accustomed to.
Instead, all of the delicious toppings are stuffed inside jumbo shells. In addition, because cottage cheese steps in for some of the regular Parmesan cheese, it may even be a little lighter in calories. It will taste so good, however, you'll never know the difference.
Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells Casserole
Ingredients1 box jumbo pasta shells
1/2 cup butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1-1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 egg
2 cups chicken, cooked and cut into a small dice
Salt
Ground black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
Directions1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Boil the pasta according to the package
3. While shells are cooking, make Alfredo sauce. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When melted, add garlic and cook for about 1 minute, just until they begin to brown.
4. Add heavy cream, season with salt and pepper, and let sit for about 10 minutes to thicken slightly.
5. Add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, stir, and remove from heat to cool slightly.
6. Put remaining 1 cup Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese in a small bowl. Place half of it in a larger bowl and set the rest aside. To the large bowl add cottage cheese, egg, chicken, salt and pepper. Mix well.
7. Grease a 9-by-13 casserole dish and spread a thin layer of Alfredo sauce on the bottom.
8. One by one, stuff the pasta shells with about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture. As you're done filling them, lay them side by side in the prepared casserole dish.
9. Pour the remaining Alfredo sauce on top of the shells. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese in the small bowl.
10. Place shells in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese on top has melted. Turn on the broiler for a minute or two to get some charred spots.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
