Stuffed Mexican Chicken Shells {Freezer Meal}

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Questions & Reviews

1. Eric Pepple says:

   What a fantastic idea! Definitely giving this a try :)
   
   Happy Blogging!
   Happy Valley Chow
2. blueberrykitchen says:

   This looks and sounds so delicious, thank you for the recipe!
3. amber whitehead says:

   These look yummy ! Can't wait to try them and love the new picture =)
4. Candace Karu says:

   Oh my goodness! I love this dish. Can't wait to share the recipe with our Cabot Facebook friends. PS The picture is really, really adorable.
5. Jan Bright says:

   Wonder if you could just mix the stuffing with cooked pasta instead of stuffing the pasta?
6. Nancy says:

   What size cans of tomatoes did you use?
7. Six Sisters says:

   You totally could- that is actually a pretty good idea! I think that I would use a smaller sized shell though.
8. Six Sisters says:

   14 oz cans! Sorry about that.
9. buttons says:

   We had this for dinner last night and it was delicious! I've tried a few different taco stuffed shells recipes and this is by far my favourite. I halved it because we don't have room in our freezer at the moment (it's in dire need of a cleanout!) but next time I definitely will, I love doing this style of freezer cooking! Also, a trick I learned for incorporating cream cheese is to use a potato masher and just smash it in there, it works relaly well! Thanks for the great recipe! It's definitely going into the make again file!
10. Heather Henderson says:

    This comment has been removed by the author.
11. Heather says:

    This recipe was very good!!!! The only thing I changed was, I did not have chicken broth or cumin. So I used water and taco seasoning in place of those items. I'm sure it didn't make much of a difference, it was delicious!
12. LincolnLounger says:

    I made this for a group meal, and it was a HUGE hit. Since I was making such a large quantity, I did it a little differently. I cooked the chicken with the Rotel, cumin, black beans, and taco spices in a slow cooker. I then shredded the chicken and folded in the cream cheese. It got rave reviews, and I thank you for the recipe.
13. Danica says:

    I made this last night and it was delicious! I used the 1/3 fat cream cheese and couldn't tell a difference.
14. Chelsea Peterson says:

    Thanks for the shout out! It was fun!
15. April says:

    I made this over the weekend for a girlfriend who just had twins. I baked one and left the other as a freezer meal for her to cook later. It was a big hit! I left out the green onions and green pepper since I didn't have those on hand, but everything else went in to my pasta shells. I added some fresh cilantro on top of each shell, just for prettys-sake! My husband and I used the leftover filling as a taco dip the next day, so yummy!
16. raheel says:

    Can I replace the cream cheese with yogurt?
17. Claudia says:

    I was wondering what I could use instead of the cream cheese?
18. Cyd says:

    I know Greek Yogurt is sometimes used as a substitute for cream cheese, and so is hummus. It comes in a lot of flavors. Just a few ideas! It will alter the taste from what the recipe calls for.
19. Cyd says:

    Yogurt is used as a substitute for cream cheese. :)
20. Amy says:

    I want to try this in the crock pot on Sunday while we're at church. What do you think?
21. Cyd says:

    You would have to adjust the recipe for the crock pot. Not even sure what to tell you. Boil the pasta shells before putting into the crock pot. Let us know how it turns out. Sorry we can't help you much. We have only made it as the recipe directs.
22. Cat says:

    Made this tonight. Used low -fat cheese and cream cheese. Added chopped, fresh cilantro to the cream cheese mixture. It was OUTSTANDING. So, so yummy!!!
23. Leona says:

    this was very good! I think this will get added into our normal rotation. I chopped the chicken really fine -- thinking that would work better for my picky toddlers -- and proved to make for a god texture. However, I'm not sure if it was the salsa I used but it had some KICK! That was great for my husband and I but too much for the kids. This makes a ton -- so be prepared to freeze!
24. Ryan Adkins says:

    About how many chicken breasts equals 4 cups. I know it will vary depending on size but I just wanted to make sure I had enough. Thanks :)
25. Cyd says:

    1/2 pound of chicken is equal to about 1 cup. Chicken breasts vary in size. I would use about 5 chicken breasts. A little extra is fine.
26. siobhan says:

    What is the best way to cook the chicken?
27. Cyd says:

    Just boil it or grill it.
28. jessica says:

    Could you use foodsaver bags to freeze it instead of baking pans?
29. Cyd says:

    That should work fine if it's a freezer bag.
30. LMH says:

    We made these tonight - so delicious! I used 3 cups of shredded chicken. Can't wait to make them again!
31. Cayla says:

    Any suggestions for a substitute for the cumin? My husband hates that flavor and the smell.
32. Cyd says:

    It's just 1 teaspoon, so probably just leave it out.
33. Johanna says:

    YUMMILICIOUS!!!! I was looking for something new and flavorful for my sort of picky hubby. I loved this recipe, easy to make, no special fussy ingredients, not a lot of time to put together. I cut in half and still have another meal for the two of us in the freezer! (I didn't use cumin - didn't affect flavor at all). So, getting back to my fussy eater. Let me just say, he didn't go back for seconds, oh no, he went back for third helping!! He loved it and told me to thank whoever gave me the recipe. Definitely a keeper Than you Six Sisters!!
34. Steph says:

    I substituted fat free refried beans for one of the blocks of cream cheese. And I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese for the other two blocks. It turned out great! Next time, I think I'll leave out the chicken broth, it wasn't really necessary for me.
35. Mama3 says:

    Made this today with ground turkey instead of chicken! Froze one big pan and had the other for dinner. My husband loved it, kids didn't like the black beans, but they ate the rest!
36. Mrsmrs22 says:

    How long do you suppose this would keep in the freezer? A few months?
37. Cyd says:

    It should last for a month if wrapped well or in an airtight freezer container. Could last longer, but we have never frozen them for longer than a month. So we don't want to mislead you by telling you longer.
38. Kelly S. says:

    Made this tonight - but used small 1" shells and just mixed everything together, topped with cheese and baked (more casserole like). Kids loved it. Great flavor! Used two boxes of shells and followed the amounts for everything else (except cream cheese, because I misread how many boxed were needed, so substituted sour cream for the rest). It was enough to make for dinner with left overs AND put one in the freezer!
39. Jessica says:

    I liked these a lot will definitely be making again. I halved the recipe I did everything the same except I added a whole packet of medium taco seasoning & it came out yummy :)
40. Deana says:

    Reading your comment about the hummus or greek yogurt as substitutes for cream cheese, got the wheels turning in my head. I love greek food and was thinking of using the yogurt and perhaps chick peas in place of black beans. Maybe add some greek olvies and feta instead of cheddar... I'm not a cook so not sure if this would work. What do you think?
41. Laura says:

    How would I make this a freezer meal?? Would I put it all together and everything and then just freeze it all in a casserole dish?? I'm sorry, I'm new to freezer meals so I'm just use to seeing it all poured into a gallon size ziploc bag. lol
42. Cyd says:

    I put one pan in the oven to bake for dinner and then wrapped the other uncooked pan with foil and threw it in the freezer for another night. When you are ready to eat it, pull it out of the freezer 24 hours in advance and let it thaw in the fridge. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
43. Andreanne T says:

    I did a freezer meal prep day with my mother and we tried out this recipe as a first time to be added to the others. The recipe prep was simple and fun to do. The best part of this recipe.. is eating it. It is soooo delicious!
44. Lissette says:

    I was wondering has anyone ever tried using ground meet instead of chicken.? (Replace chicken stock with beef too)
45. brooke says:

    How many people does this feed?
46. Cyd says:

    Fills about 40 pasta shells. Most people eat more than one. So around 15 servings.
47. Miranda says:

    Can it go from freezer right to the oven? if so how long would you bake it for?
48. Cyd says:

    You'll want to thaw it first in the fridge.
49. Elizabeth says:

    I usually double this recipe and put it in 8inch square pans then vacuseal the whole thing before freezing. Makes like 9or 10 pans and they've stayed very well like that for many months. Wouldn't recommend doing it with just airtight containers or foil covering since air can still sneak in....but otherwise good keeper. Love this recipe! Make huge batches at a time and freeze (as described above) and besides throwing in a can of corn for additional color I have no complaints!
50. Elizabeth says:

    I've taken it straight from freezer to oven (only thawing while sitting on counter while oven preheats), needed to add about 10-15 minutes but otherwise perfect!
51. Cyd says:

    So glad it worked out well. Thanks for the update on the cooking time out of the freezer to the oven.
52. Carrie w. says:

    I make this recipe a LOT. It is favorite for work potlucks and freezer meals for families with new babies. I've found some ways to make it faster and I thought I'd share. Hint, use your Cuisinart! 1. I often make this with a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store (save the carcass for bone broth!) But have also made it with (thawed) grilled chicken slices from the grocery freezer section. Either way, I throw the chicken in the Cuisinart and give it a few pulses to chop it up. 2. I chop the green onions and peppers in the Cuisinart. 3. Instead of trying to do the cream cheese mix by hand, I put the cream cheese in the Cuisinart with 1 can of the tomatoes. Let it go until it is just combined. Then you can Mix in the other can quite easily by hand. I haven't noticed a texture difference. 4. I totally skip the extra chicken broth since I don't need it.
53. Eevie says:

    Made this tonight and it had some really good flavor! I did add more spices though. I found it difficult to mix the cream cheese and tomatoes to make it smooth. I ended up having to microwave it a little after removing the cream cheese. Then, I used my immersion blender and it worked great. I think next time I will just use a different noodle as it was tedious to get the filling in the shells. Still, great idea and very tasty!
54. abby says:

    So good!! I halved the recipe and just mixed everything with small pasta shells and it fit in a 9x13. Worked perfectly!!

    
55. Meghan G. says:

    So sorry to ask, since it's covered above in the directions. But I do wonder since I'm making this for someone else 🤔 If freezing, can I/do I FULLY assemble (salsa on bottom of pan and on top of shells, then cheese), or do I have to leave her the directions to do that before baking? Salsa and cheese needing to be added on top right before baking are not deal-breakers for me, but I'd like to think I could at least put the salsa on the bottom of the pan when assembling for the freezer. The more 'fully ready' this is as a give-away meal, the better 🥰 Thank you VERY much, in advance, for the recipe and for your time in answering this!!
56. Momma Cyd says:

    To freeze a pan of these shells, prepare as directed except leave off the salsa and shredded cheese topping. Use an air-tight covered container, a disposable aluminum pan that comes with a lid, or you can even place the shells in a gallon-sized resealable bag. When you are ready to eat, remove shells from freezer. Pour the salsa in the bottom of the pan, add the shells to the pan, then top with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake as directed.