• Recipes
  • Equipment Reviews
  • Taste Tests
  • How to Cook
  • Videos

Reduced-Fat Stuffed Shells With Meat Sauce

From

October/November 2010

Reduced-Fat Stuffed Shells With Meat Sauce

Fat-free cottage cheese mimicked the smooth texture of full-fat ricotta in our Reduced-Fat Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce. We found that part-skim mozzarella offered plenty of flavor with fewer calories. Our calorie-cutting changes left the filling for our Reduced-Fat Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce thin and runny. Ground-up saltines bound the filling without adding extra fat or unwanted flavors. Although healthier than higher-fat options, 93 percent lean ground beef still needed help in terms of texture and flavor. Whirring the meat in the food processor helped tenderize it, and a shot of glutamate-rich soy sauce boosted the beefy flavor.

Traditional recipes have 860 calories, 49 grams of fat, and 25 grams of saturated fat per serving (four stuffed shells). Our changes brought the numbers down to 510 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 7 grams of saturated fat.

Serves 6

You'll need a 24-ounce container of fat-free cottage cheese (don't use whipped). If it appears watery, drain it in a fine-mesh strainer for 15 minutes before you use it. Separate the shells after draining them to keep them from sticking together.

Ingredients

The recipe you requested is for
Members Only.

Start Your 14-Day Free Trial Membership

Every Recipe. Every Rating. Every Video from
Every Magazine & Every Episode!
  • 8 years of Cook’s Country Foolproof Recipes
  • Complete Cook’s Country TV Video Library
  • 2,900+ Equipment Ratings and Ingredient Taste Tests
  • Step-by-Step Technique Photos
  • Save Favorites, Create Menus, Print Shopping Lists
How we use your e-mail address
Christopher Kimball, Founder and Publisher

Dear Home Cook,

If I were new to CooksCountry.com, I might think, "It's easy to get free recipes on the Internet. What makes your recipes different?" Well, unlike recipes from blogs, message boards, and other recipe sites, our recipes are exhaustively tested by our team of full-time test cooks until they offer consistently great results. That means fried chicken with a crunchy coating and moist meat, a low-fat recipe makeover for macaroni and cheese that’s as creamy and cheesy as the full-fat version, and fork-tender slow cooker pot roast.

We're obsessive in our quest to find and foolproof the best of American home cooking, from fuss-free weeknight dinners, to updated, simplified versions of regional specialties, to slow cooker and make ahead meals. CooksCountry.com is the only place you can find every foolproof recipe published in Cook’s Country magazine since 2005, plus objective ratings and test results from both Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated for cookware and supermarket ingredients.

Let me make a simple, no-nonsense offer. Try out our website FREE for a 14-Day, No-Hassle Trial Offer. I’m pretty confident that CooksCountry.com will quickly become an invaluable resource for everything from a quick Tuesday supper to your next get-together with family and friends.

Thanks for your consideration,

Christopher Kimball

Christopher Kimball
Founder and Publisher

How we use your e-mail address
Related Content
© 2013 America’s Test Kitchen. All rights reserved.