Cheesy Jalapeño & Chicken Stuffed Pasta Shells

These stuffed pasta shells are packed with chicken and jalapeños, topped with a creamy greek yogurt sauce, and sprinkled with cheese.

I know what happens at five o’clock in houses all around the world.  Exhaustion.  Chaos.  Craziness.  Screaming.  Oh…is that just my house?  There is a lot of screaming at five o’clock at my house.

Kai has recently discovered a new octave.  And it’s a high one.  The kind that could shatter mirrors, send dogs howling, and drive me completely crazy.

He gets particularly ‘screamy’ around dinner time, when he is over-tired and super cranky.  Which makes cooking and eating dinner a bit of a gong show.  Hopefully this phase won’t last too long…my eardrums won’t survive!

These cheesey-gooey-spicy-creamy stuffed pasta shells make dinner much more relaxing.  For very little effort, you are rewarded with a seriously delicious dinner.

So good it actually {almost} drowns out the screams.

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Lately we’ve been loving the enchiladas.  We’ve had lots and lots and lots of enchiladas…chicken, beef, stuffed with a rainbow of peppers, smoky chipotle.

I decided to do a twist on the ole enchilada.  A pasta version!

These stuffed pasta shells contain chicken, jalapeños and cilantro.  Smothered in a spicy, creamy {lightened up} sauce.  Sprinkled with Monterey Jack and baked until it bubbles and browns and gets all round gooey and delicious.  Scattered with avocado pieces.

Devoured waaaay too quickly.

I made sure this stuffed pasta shells recipe is as simple as possible.  There is no need to break out the frying pan…there is nothing to sauté!  The filling consists of diced rotisserie chicken, chopped cilantro, and canned pickled jalapeno peppers.

There is no need to cook up any sort of enchilada sauce, either.  Just toss together Greek yogurt {which I subbed for sour cream to lighten things up}, with milk, flour, fresh jalapenos and seasonings.  Taste your sauce and decide if you want to up the spice factor with more jalapenos…one was perfect for us.  When poured over the pasta, the sauce seeps into the shells, making them creamy, flavorful and a little bit spice-ay!

All together, the prep for this dish was around 30 minutes.  Bake for 20-25 more.  This recipe is simple, delicious, and totally do-able for a week night dinner.

More healthy pasta recipes:

• this One Pot Healthy Cajun Chicken Orzo is ready in 30 minutes
• this Almond Broccoli Pesto Pasta Recipe makes broccoli the star of the show
• and this One Pot White Bean Pasta is perfect for vegetarians

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Cheesy Jalapeño & Chicken Stuffed Pasta Shells

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

55 mins

 

These stuffed pasta shells are packed with chicken and jalapeños, topped with a creamy greek yogurt sauce, and sprinkled with cheese.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: southwestern

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Fillings

• 3 cups diced rotisserie chicken
• 1 can {4 oz} pickled sliced jalapenos {drained & diced into small pieces}
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Sauce

• 1 1/4 cup Greek yogurt {I used 2%}
• 3/4 cup milk {I used 1%}
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 diced jalapeno {fresh; to taste}

Other

• 2/3 package of jumbo pasta shells {around 30 cook more in case some break}
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 avocado cubed
• scallions {to garnish}

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. While pasta is cooking, combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients.
5. Grease a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Spoon filling into cooked pasta shells and arrange in dish.
6. Pour sauce evenly over stuffed shells. Sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until cheese bubbles and browns.
8. Serve with avocado cubes and scallions

Recipe Notes

Different brands of canned jalapeños pack a different punch, so make sure to taste and decide how much spice you would like to add to both the fillings and the sauce.

• Sauce inspired by this BHG recipe