Cheesy conchiglie pasta al forno (baked pasta shells).

Cheesy conchiglie al forno (baked pasta shells).

5 from 41 votes

Cheesy conchiglie pasta al forno (baked pasta shells).

This delicious Italian baked pasta shells recipe is made with bechamel sauce, fontina and grated grana! This Italian mac and cheese is so creamy and cheesy and easy to make! Perfect for weeknights and entertaining.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Northern Italy

Keyword: baked pasta recipe, bechamel, conchiglie, fontina, pasta shells

Servings:

Calories: 735kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

14 ounces pasta shells conchiglie
6 ounces fontina cheese grated or vegetarian melting cheese
3.5 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano or grana grated or vegetarian hard cheese
2 eggs
17 ounces béchamel (white sauce) if using ready made
salt for pasta and to taste
black pepper to taste
butter as required

If making your own béchamel

3.5 ounces butter
3.5 ounces all purpose flour
1 pinch salt
2 pints milk

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Homemade white sauce (béchamel)

In a saucepan let the butter melt over a moderate flame. Add the flour a little at a time, stir carefully and make sure any lumps of flour dissolve until you have a smooth roux. Then pour in the milk a little at a time, continuing to stir until it starts to thicken. Add a pinch of salt. Continuing stirring until the béchamel is thick enough. If it gets too thick you can add more milk. Set aside and allow to cool.

Cook the pasta

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta a little less than al dente, according to the instructions on the packet. When the pasta is ready, drain and rinse under cold running water so that it doesn’t continue cooking.

Finish the dish

Put the cooled (or ready made) béchamel in a bowl with the eggs and ⅓ of Parmigiano Reggiano/grana, add salt, pepper and mix with a whisk. Add the cooked pasta shells to the bowl and mix gently.
Coarsely grate the fontina; butter your oven dishes/dish and make a layer of the pasta with sauce in the bottom. Cover with grated fontina and add another layer of pasta and then fontina. When you have used up all the pasta and fontina, cover the top with the remaining grana or Parmigiano. Add a few flakes of butter to the top.
Bake at 180 ° C (356°F) for 25 minutes, until a golden crust has formed on the surface of the pasta. Serve immediately while the sauce is creamy.

Notes

If you want to use a different type of pasta to make this cheesy baked pasta, then I’d recommend pasta tubes like mezze maniche or penne.

If you can’t find fontina, you can use another good melting cheese such as mild provolone, gruyere or gouda! For US readers: apparently the fontina available in US is mostly Danish and is milder than Italian fontina!

To make this recipe vegetarian replace the Parmigiano or grana and the Fontina with a vegetarian cheeses as the former are made with animal rennet. Vegetarian versions are available on the market.

Nutrition