This Creamy Ground Beef and Pasta is the perfect upgrade from boxed dinners, using simple pantry staples like evaporated milk and cheddar cheese. It’s a quick homemade beef and shells recipe that the whole family will love!

6 servings

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What makes this recipe great

If you’ve got a box of pasta and a pound of ground beef in the kitchen, you’re about thirty minutes away from a pot of creamy beef and shells. This is my “better than the box” stovetop mac and beef — the kind of meal that makes my kids actually stay in their seats and eat without a struggle. It’s creamy, it’s savory, and it’s pure comfort in a bowl!

The “No-Split” Sauce. We’ve all been there where the cheese sauce turns grainy or oily. This recipe uses a little trick with evaporated milk that keeps things silky smooth every single time.
Budget-Friendly Lean. I’ll show you how to get that lean, premium-meat finish even if you’re using the “on-sale” higher-fat ground beef from the back of the freezer.
The “Cling” Factor. This isn’t a watery sauce that pools at the bottom of the bowl. It actually sticks to the shells so you get a perfect bite every time.

Let’s see how we make this:

Ingredients we’re going to use

This is about swaps and notes – jump to the ingredient list for the measurements etc.

The Pasta: I love shells because they act like little scoops for the meat and cheese, but elbows or even penne work just fine. Just cook them a minute less than the box says; they’ll finish softening in the sauce.

Evaporated Milk: This is the “secret sauce” ingredient. Don’t swap it for regular milk if you can help it — evaporated milk is much more stable and gives you that rich, velvety texture without needing a heavy roux. If you want a very rich sauce, you can use heavy cream instead – but be careful not to boil it, or it may split.

Cornstarch: This mixes into the cold evaporated milk to add thickness to the sauce AND to keep the evaporated milk and the cheddar stable! Don’t skip it.

The Beef: If you have ground turkey or even venison (for my rural neighbors with a full deep-freeze!), this works perfectly. Just add a tiny bit more bouillon to beef up the flavor.

Cheesy Ground Beef and Pasta Ingredients with text labels.

Recipe walkthrough

This is about tips and hints, and the process photos if you need a visual guide. Jump to the instructions for the precise steps.

1: Save some pasta water!

Before you pour the pasta into the colander, grab a coffee mug or measuring cup and scoop out some of that cloudy pasta water. It’s full of starch, and it’s the best “fixer” if your sauce ever gets too thick!

2: Drain your meat if needed.

If you’re using a cheaper, higher-fat ground beef, don’t sweat it. Just push the meat to one side of the skillet, tilt the pan, and use a wadded-up paper towel with tongs to soak up the grease. It’s way easier (and safer for your pipes) than trying to drain it in the sink.

3: The sauce secret.

Whisk that cornstarch into the cold evaporated milk before you add it to the pan. If you add cornstarch straight into a hot pan, you’ll get clumps. Doing it this way ensures a glossy, professional-looking sauce.

4: The mix.

When you first mix the pasta into the sauce, it might look a little loose. Don’t panic! Give it two or three minutes on low heat. The pasta will drink up some of that liquid, and the sauce will tighten up and start “clinging” to the shells.

5: Time to serve!

This is a hearty meal on its own, but I usually throw a bag of steam-in-bag broccoli or a simple salad on the table to balance out the richness. If you have leftovers, a splash of milk helps loosen it back up when you reheat it the next day!

Tl; dr: All the important stuff at a glance

If you read nothing else in this post, this is what you need to know:

Save the water: Keep 1 cup of pasta water just in case.
Don’t boil the dairy: Once the milk and cheese are in, keep the heat low so it doesn’t separate.
The slurry is key: Mix cornstarch and milk while they’re cold.
Rest for a minute: Let the finished dish sit for 5 minutes before serving to let the sauce thicken.
Quick recipe rundown: Cook pasta. Brown and drain beef. Make the cream sauce. Toss with pasta. Let sit briefly, then serve!

FAQs

Can I use pre-shredded cheese?
You can, but for the smoothest sauce, grating your own from a block is better. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in potato starch to keep it from sticking in the bag, which can sometimes make homemade sauces feel a little “gritty.”

What if I don’t have beef bouillon?
You can use a splash of Worcestershire sauce or even a little extra salt and garlic powder. The goal is just to deepen the “beefy” flavor of the sauce.

Is this freezer friendly?
Cream-based sauces can be a little finicky in the freezer, so I recommend eating this fresh.

Looking for more “crowd-pleaser” comfort food dinners? Try my One Pan Chicken and Biscuits, my Shortcut Spaghetti and Meat Sauce or my Ground Beef and Potato Casserole!