This stuffed shells sausage soup is creamy, delicious and a lot less work than stuffing shells!
This one pot stuffed shells and sausage soup delivers all the nostalgic comfort of a baked pasta dish without any of the tedious assembly. By browning the sausage with diced onion and garlic directly in the pot, you create a savory foundation that eliminates the need for extra pans.

The beauty of this recipe is that you don’t need to stuff shells to make stuffed shells soup. Instead of laboriously filling each pasta shell by hand, you simply let them cook in the seasoned broth until tender.

Each bowl is topped with a creamy scoop of a ricotta mixture made from ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh basil. As the cheese hits the hot soup, it begins to melt and swirl into the broth, creating that iconic cheesy center in every spoonful.

It’s the ultimate weeknight hack providing the gourmet taste of a traditional Italian dinner with the ease of a simple, one pot meal.

If you like this recipe, you will also love my Tuscan Tortellini Mushroom + Sausage Soup or my Roasted Vegetable Stuffed Shells.

Thank you for stopping by Hungry Happens! If you create this dish or any other from our site, we would greatly appreciate you taking the time to comment and rate the recipe! LOVE YOUR LIFE!

One Pot Stuffed Shells + Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb (0.45 kg) sweet Italian sausage , casings removed
- 1/3 cup (40 g) sun dried tomatoes, oil drained + chopped
- 2 tbs tomato paste
- 1/4 cup (30 g) flour
- 7 cups (1.66 l) low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp each salt, garlic powder, onion powder + paprika
- 1 tbs Italian herb blend
- 9 oz (250 g) pasta shells
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- 2 handfuls (60 g) baby spinach, rough chop
Ricotta Scoop Topping:
- 1 cup (250 g) ricotta cheese
- 1 cup (110 g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup (30 g) grated parmesan
- 2 tbs fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium and sauté the onions for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds. Add in the sausage and using a wooden spoon break up the meat until no longer pink (drain any excess fat from the pan). Stir in the sun dried tomatoes and tomato paste until all is well coated. Stir in the flour until well coated. Then, gradually add in the chicken broth 1 cup at a time and stir. Add in the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Italian herb blend. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the pasta shells. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and cook for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Turn off the heat and stir in the heavy cream and spinach.
Ricotta Scoop Topping:
- While the soup is cooking. In a medium bowl, add in the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, basil and mix together until combined. Serve soup with a scoop of this mixture.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 4 days.
- You can use any ground meat instead of sausage.
- To make this VEGETARIAN, simply sub in chopped mushrooms in place of the sausage.
I normally do not review recipes. Most of the ones we try we have to fix them in some way or another. But this recipe is amazing! I made as directed and everyone loved it! Thank you! I look forward to trying more of your recipes soon!
Hi Teri and Welcome! I’m so glad it was a winning recipe for everyone!
Thank you for coming back and leaving your feedback – I do appreciate it.
Cheers!
Stella
This was a great meal. I thought I had shells but couldn’t find them, I subbed in elbow. I had an open can op cannellini beans which I added. Gave it a squirt of EVOO in the bowl.
HI Bill, sounds delicious! Yes that type of pasta isn’t super common and I also sub in what I have in the moment that is close to the shape and size! Thanks for the kind rating!!
I followed the recipe to the T and it was delicious!! My very picky brother even liked it, which is saying something. Super creamy and flavorful!
Hi Sarah, that’s awesome – I’m glad it was a hit with everyone and your bro!!
That was really fantastic! Thank you so much
Hi Chris, its my pleasure and I’m so glad you loved the soup!
Incredible flavor, and I added some dried habinaro pepper for heat….delicious!
HI Sandy, OHHH sounds awesome with the habinaro! thank you for trying the soup!
Made this and it was DELICIOUS!!
Thank you for trying the soup Kathy! I’m so glad you loved it
I made this recipe as instructed, except I left out the sun dried tomatoes (bc I don’t care for them). This recipe is still absolutely delicious and well loved by myself and my family, my only observation was mine was NOT a soup. More like a pasta dish with sauce, which I’m not mad about just an observation. It also could have been because I purchased larger shell noodles and they may have absorbed the broth? But overall I will def be making this again!
Hi Kari, Yes that’s probably what happened. Next time add in more broth or water if you’d like a soup. But yes, that’s happened with pasta soup recipes with me too! Thank you for the feedback and I’m glad the whole family enjoyed <3
Easy peasy and delicious! Enjoyed the simplicity and the great taste.
Hi Scott, that’s perfect! thank you for coming back to share your feedback with us!
Just made this, still eating.. I feel like I’ve dreamt of this soup and I’ve never even made it. 10/10. Had to sub the cream for coconut based whipping cream. The ricotta, parm and mozzarella are all must have though. Still with the coconut, delicious AF.
Hi Faith, that’s awesome! Thank you for trying the soup and coming back to share your experience with the recipe. Cheers!
easy and delicious
Thank you for the kind feedback Suzanne!
Such a great recipe! I used spicy Italian sausage and skipped the tomato paste. I used Barilla medium shells and adjusted second cooking time to 8 minutes (instead of 15-20). Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’ll be making it again and again.
Hi Lucie, that’s great! Thank you for coming back to share your feedback with everyone!
This recipe is AMAZING!!! I used Barilla Medium Shells and adjusted the cooking time in step 2 to 8 minutes (instead of 15-20 min). I used spicy Italian sausage. It turned out so perfect, tasty and comforting. The cheese mixture on top is decadent. Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe! I’ll be making this again and again.
Delicious! This soup was easy to make and such a cozy, comforting meal. Perfect for chilly nights and definitely going into our regular dinner rotation. Will be making this again and again!
Hi Meagan, I love to hear that! Thank you for trying the soup recipe!
We really enjoyed this dish. It’s going into our dinner rotation. I forgot to buy spinach so I will have to add that the next time. It was still great without it!
Hi Kayla – that’s great! Thank you for trying the soup and sharing your feedback.
Amazing recipe, very satisfying to make!!
Thank you for trying the soup Brett! I’m glad you liked it!
I am proud to be the first to review this (I think). Soooo good. I did everything the same but I bought the sun dried tomatoes in the bag but it still worked. The cheeeeeeeese adds so much. Highly recommend.
Hi Jared, That’s awesome! Thanks for coming back to share your kind feedback!