Cheesy Skillet Shells with Air Fried Broc
Broccoli and cheddar just pair so perfectly together, don't they? I made my super simple, cheesy skillet shells, and topped the skillet off with some crisp, air fried broccoli, toasted Ritz cracker crumbs, sour cream, and green onions. The garnishes are in the Notes section.
PREP TIME
30 minutes
COOK TIME
40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
27
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 5 cups5 cups5 cups Pasta Shells, Large
- 2 Tbsp2 Tbsp2 Tbsp Butter, Unsalted
- 1 clove1 clove1 clove Garlic, crushed & minced
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Crackers - Ritz, A couple good handfuls, crushed in to crumbs
- .25 tsp.25 tsp.25 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, More To Taste
- 1 pinch1 pinch1 pinch Himalayan Pink Salt, To Taste
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Extra Virgin Olive Oil, See Recipe
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Himalayan Pink Salt, To Taste
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Red Pepper Flakes, To Taste
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Black Peppercorns, Ground Fresh, To Taste
- .25 cup.25 cup.25 cup Butter, Unsalted
- 2 cloves2 cloves2 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
- .5 tsp.5 tsp.5 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Yellow Onion, finely diced
- 2 Tbsp2 Tbsp2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup1 cup1 cup Heavy Cream (Whipping Cream), room temperature
- 0.666 cup0.666 cup0.666 cup Milk, 2%, room temperature
- 1 tsp1 tsp1 tsp Dry Mustard Powder
- 3 pinch3 pinch3 pinch Nutmeg, Ground, a few dashes
- .5 tsp.5 tsp.5 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt, More To Taste
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Black Peppercorns, Ground Fresh, To Taste
- 1 cup1 cup1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
- 1 cup1 cup1 cup Cheddar Cheese, marbled, shredded
- 1 cup1 cup1 cup White Cheddar Cheese, extra old, shredded
Ritz Crumb
Air Fried Broc
Cheesy Sauce
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Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results
- RITZ CRUMB - Heat the butter until bubbly and melted. Stir in the garlic and pepper flakes and let that bubble away in the butter for a couple minutes without burning. Stir as needed. Fold in the Ritz crumbs and continue to stir the crumbs over the heat until they get golden and fragrant. Once they're golden and perfect, season with a pinch of salt, stir, and transfer them to a bowl and set aside.
- AIR FRIED BROC - Preheat your Air Fryer to 350 F. Once heated, add toss your florets together with EVOO, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Transfer them to the frier basket and put them in the air fryer. The florets will take approximately twenty minutes depending on the size of your florets. Make sure to flip them halfway and monitor them afterwards for any scorching. The stalks will still have a little crisp while the tops will be slightly charred and perfectly cooked.
- SKILLET SHELLS - Bring a large pot of cold, heavily salted water to a boil and once boiled, add your shells and cook to al dente. In the meantime, begin heating the butter, pepper flakes, and garlic, in a large skillet set to just about medium. Once heated, continue to stir for 30 seconds - 1 minute without burning. Add the onions and a good pinch of salt and pep. Reduce the heat if needed to allow the onions to cook without scorching.
- Let the onions cook about 5 - 7 minutes, then, sprinkle in the flour and stir until a nice, light golden roux is formed. Continue to stir and simmer another minute or so to cook out the flour flavour. You do not want the roux to brown. Whisk together the cream & milk, and slowly whisk in the cream / milk until combined. Bring your sauce to a boil and once boiled, season with dry mustard, 1/2 tsp. salt, some cracked pep, and a few dashes nutmeg. Reduce to a simmer, whisk to combine, and let simmer 4 - 5 minutes until the shells are ready. Be prepared to add small ladles of pasta water to keep the sauce simmering until the shells are al dente perfection.
- Reserve 1/3 of the cheeses. Add the rest in batches to the creamy sauce along with a small ladle of pasta water. Make sure to turn off the heat to the skillet once you add the cheese! Whisk and stir until your sauce is thick and creamy, adding additional pasta water if needed. Once the noodles are ready, strain them directly in to the pot with the cheesy shells and stir until all of the noods are coated and cheesy. You may need another ladle of pasta water to get that thick, creamy sauce to coat all of your shells. Taste and adjust salt / pepper if desired at this point. Next, top with the reserved cheese, and set under the BROILER at high / 500 F until the cheese is melted and blistered.
- Set the skillet on to a wire cooling rack. Pile the air fried broccoli in the center of the skillet. I added my sour cream to a squeeze bottle so I could drizzle it over the skillet. If you don't have one, you can either dollop it around the skillet, or serve your portions with a little dollop. Finish with some sliced green onions and a generous sprinkling of the Ritz crumble.
- Serve each portion and if desired, top with any remaining Ritz crumble and ENJOY!
Notes
- Garnish your skillet with the toasty Ritz crumble, drizzle / dollops of sour cream, and heaps of green enjoys. 🙂
Add a Note
My Notes:
About This Recipe
Show nutritional information
Coconut Free Egg Free Nut Free Other Pescetarian Shellfish Free Sugar Alcohol Free Vegetarian| This is our estimate based on online research. | |
| Calories: | 1424 |
| Fat: | 78 g |
| Carbohydrates: | 108 g |
| Protein: | 63 g |
| Cholesterol: | 256 g |
| Sodium: | 1205 mg |
| Fiber: | 5 g |
| Sugars: | 7 g |
| Sugar Alcohol: | 0 g |
| Calculated per serving. | |
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