I absolutely love combining two of my favorite dishes in one. It happens a lot in this house and on this blog. When I was growing up, I would only eat broccoli if my mom smothered it in cheese, preferably with chicken. It was and still is one of my favorite flavor combinations. I also grew up eating a lot of stuffed shells at my Nana Lulu’s house, which I lived for. So when I was craving some serious comfort food this week, I decided to bring those two favorites together in one yummy dish. These creamy chicken broccoli stuffed shells really had it all.
When it came out of the oven all bubbly and gorgeous, I was one happy woman. The first bite made me even happier. These creamy chicken broccoli stuffed shells were everything I wanted in comfort food. There was pasta, béchamel, chicken, broccoli and loads of flavor all in one bite. Hope you all love it too! xoxo
Creamy Chicken Broccoli Stuffed Shells
Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
These are such amazing creamy chicken broccoli stuffed shells with loads of flavor. The smoked cheddar white sauce just makes the whole dish.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Chicken and Broccoli Stuffed Shells, Stuffed Shells
Servings: 6
Calories: 490 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 dash olive oil
- 1 head broccoli cut into bite sized florets
- 1 whole onion diced small
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 6 whole fresh sage leaves coarsely chopped
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken diced small
- 1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 25 whole jumbo pasta shells
- 8 ounces freshly grated smoked white cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Get out a large skillet with deep sides and heat the olive oil in it over medium high heat. Cook the broccoli, onion, garlic and sage in it for 3-4 minutes to let them start to soften. Then add in the diced chicken and let it cook through completely for another 3-4 minutes. While it cooks, season the mixture generously with salt and pepper. When the chicken is cooked, add in the white wine and let everything simmer in the wine for another 4-5 minutes. The wine should almost cook off completely with just a little left in the bottom. Remove everything from the pan and transfer it to a plate. Set it aside and start on the sauce.
- Add the butter and flour to the pan and whisk them together until you have a thick, golden paste. Slowly add in the milk while you keep whisking until you have a smooth sauce. Then whisk in the mustard, nutmeg and an extra pinch of salt. Let the sauce gently bubble and thicken for 10 minutes, whisking it occasionally. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta shells in it until tender, about 7-8 minute. Drain them and lay them out on a clean surface to let them cool enough to handle.
- When the sauce is done, take half of the grated cheese and whisk it in until smooth. Take the pan off of the heat. Get out a large 9 x 13 pan and pre-heat the oven to 350. Spread half of the cheesy sauce into the bottom of the baking pan. Then pour the chicken and broccoli mixture into the skillet of remaining sauce and stir it all together well to make the filling. Generously fill all of the shells with the filling and lay them out in a single layer in the baking dish. Then take the remaining half of grated cheese and sprinkle it evenly on top of each shell. Bake the shells just to melt everything and make it bubbly for 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Creamy Chicken Broccoli Stuffed Shells
Amount Per Serving (4 stuffed shells)
Calories 490 Calories from Fat 253
% Daily Value*
Fat 28.1g43%
Saturated Fat 16.8g105%
Cholesterol 124mg41%
Sodium 493mg21%
Potassium 280mg8%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Fiber 1.8g8%
Sugar 7.3g8%
Protein 34.1g68%
Calcium 350mg35%
Iron 1.8mg10%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
I absolutely love stuffed shells! I would have never thought to do chicken and broccoli! I will be pinning this for later. Also, myself and two other ladies run a weekly link up for posts just like these called Domestic Dayz, we would love it if you would join us with this post this week! 🙂 Happy Friday!
Hi there, thank you so much!! That would be wonderful to join your link up, let’s connect via e-mail to set it up :-).
Oh my, these look absolutely delicious! And honestly super easy to make, especially with leftover chicken! Going on my meal list for sure! 🙂
Thank you so much!! Oh, leftover chicken would definitely be absolutely wonderful in this, or even leftover turkey from Thanksgiving :-).
I bet my boyfriend would love this recipe.
I hope he does! Thank you so much!
I am always looking for pasta recipes to try because my kids love pasta! I will absolutely try this!
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Fantastic, I hope you and your kids love this one!!