The Best Stuffed Peppers Without Rice (Low Carb) (2024)

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Make the best cheesy stuffed peppers without rice using both ground beef and Italin ground sausage. Cauliflower rice makes a terrific swap for the classic white rice, making this the ultimate keto and low carb comfort food dinner.

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Our stuffed bell peppers without rice are so good!

Traditional stuffed peppers include ground beef, tomatoes, rice, seasoning, and cheese. Since we're following a low carb eating plan, we still wanted to keep the flavors of traditional stuffed peppers but wanted to make them keto-friendly and with no rice.

With a rich comforting filling using both beef and Italian sausage, a flavorful low carb tomato sauce, and gooey cheese, you won't ever miss the carbs. Each pepper has just 7 net carbs per serving!

Our popular recipe was written in 2019 and most of the photos were updated in 2024.

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Ingredients you'll need

  • Bell peppers - use green, red, orange, or yellow or a mix of all of these. Green peppers have 1 less carb than the other varieties.
  • Ground meat- We used ground beef and ground Italian sausage. Any ground meat would be great here like all beef, ground turkey, all Italian sausage, Italian chicken sausage, ground pork, or ground chicken.
  • Cauliflower rice- Raw riced cauliflower or even riced broccoli would be good.
  • Onion - white, yellow, sweet, or red
  • Marinara sauce- We used a chunky marinara sauce so the filling wouldn't get too liquidy.
  • Cheese- Our recipe used a shredded Mexican cheese blend, you could also use cheddar cheese, or Colby cheese. Shredding cheese from a block will have less carbs than pre-shredded cheese, plus it melts better.
  • Seasonings - fine sea salt, ground black pepper, minced garlic, basil. We used fresh basil since we had it in our garden, feel free to use dried basil instead. 1 tablespoon of fresh equals 1 teaspoon dried.

This is just an overview of the ingredients and recipe steps, the full instructions are at the bottom in the recipe card.

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How to Make Stuffed Peppers Without Rice

Wash the peppers and cut them half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and white membrane.

Whether you want to remove the green stem piece is optional, as you can see I have some peppers with the stem and others without.

Coat an oven proof dish with cooking spray, and place the bell pepper halves in the dish. Season with salt and pepper.

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Saute the ground beef (and/or Italian sausage or ground turkey) until browned, which takes approximately 5 minutes. Drain the grease and set the meat aside in a small bowl.

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Saute the olive oil, onion, chopped garlic, and riced cauliflower for 4-5 minutes on medium heat, until softened.

Add chunky marinara sauce, chopped basil, sea salt, and ground pepper and simmer for 2 minutes.

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Stir in beef and Italian sausage mixture and cook until heated through.

Turn off the heat and stir in ½ cup of 3 cheese blend shredded cheese.

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Spoon meat mixture equally into the peppers. Pile the filling nice and high into the stuffed peppers, it's not going to spill over the sides.

Add a little more marinara sauce on top and a sprinkle of cheese. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

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Remove foil and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes more until the pepper is soft, starting to bubble and easy to cut through. Enjoy!

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Freezing and reheating

Yes, you can freeze leftover stuffed peppers! The ice crystals do add a bit of moisture to the peppers, so for best results, bake them from frozen and don't defrost them first.

Add 15 minutes to the recipe cooking time if they're frozen. If you need the peppers quickly for a lunch on the go, I'd recommend microwaving them from frozen for 3 minutes at 50% power. Increase the microwave time in 1 minute increments if your peppers aren't fulled heated after 3 minutes.

More stuffed pepper recipes

  • Philly cheese steak peppers
  • Tuna stuffed peppers
  • Italian stuffed bell peppers
  • Stuffed pepper soup
  • What to serve with stuffed bell peppers
The Best Stuffed Peppers Without Rice (Low Carb) (10)

Recipe

The Best Stuffed Peppers Without Rice (Low Carb) (11)

Keto Stuffed Peppers Without Rice

Jen @ Whole Lotta Yum

Easy and delicious stuffed peppers without rice make a comforting low carb and gluten free dinner.

4.55 from 153 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 38 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 413 kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 bell peppers any color
  • 1 lb ground beef Italian sausage or ground turkey or mix two meats
  • ½ cup yellow onion chopped
  • 3 teaspoon minced garlic cloves
  • 2 cups raw riced cauliflower
  • 1 ¼+ cup chunky marinara sauce sugar free like Rao's
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ ground black pepper
  • ½-1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese not pre-shredded, see note below

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  • Wash bell peppers, cut them in half, and remove the membrane and seeds.

  • Place peppers in a baking dish, cut side up, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper

  • Cook ground meat in a pan for 6-7 minutes until cooked through. Drain the grease and set the meat aside in a bowl.

  • Saute chopped onion, garlic, and riced cauliflower for 4-5 minutes, until softened.

  • Add the marinara sauce, dried basil, sea salt, and ground black pepper to the same pan. Mix together and simmer on medium-low for 2 minutes until heated through. Stir in ground meat and ½ cup shredded cheese.

  • Spoon the meat and sauce mixture into the peppers, add a small spoonful of marinara on the top, and more shredded cheese to the top of each bell pepper.

  • Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Garnish with green onion slices or fresh parsley. Remove the foil and finish baking until the pepper is cooked through to your liking (10-15+ more minutes). Enjoy!

Notes

We do not recommend pre-shredded cheese, please shred your cheese from a block. Pre-shredded cheese doesn't melt as well due to the potato starch, it has more carbs than block cheese, and it doesn't melt as well.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/2 pepperCalories: 413kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 43gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 149mgSodium: 786mgFiber: 2g

Keyword no rice, without rice

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

The Best Stuffed Peppers Without Rice (Low Carb) (2024)

FAQs

Which bell pepper has the least carbs? ›

While sweeter red bell peppers contain about six grams of net carbs per cup (chopped), green bell peppers weigh in at just 4.38 grams of net carbs. Though milder in flavor, green bell peppers still pack notable nutrition—and are especially high in vitamin C, says Brown.

How many carbs are in stuffed peppers with rice? ›

Green bell peppers, stuffed with beef, rice and cheese (1 each) contains 22.8g total carbs, 19.5g net carbs, 12.1g fat, 18.9g protein, and 270 calories.

What peppers are keto friendly? ›

Red, orange, and yellow bell peppers are awesome for adding much-needed vitamins to your keto diet, and satisfy a desire for crunch without the carbs of most snack foods,” such as potato chips, crackers, pretzels, and cookies, Fear says.

Are bell peppers good for diabetics? ›

Reduced risk of diabetes.

High-fiber foods, such as bell peppers, slow down how quickly sugar is absorbed into your bloodstream. Vitamin C may also help reduce blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, though this was studied with supplements and not with bell peppers.

What color bell pepper has the most carbs? ›

How many carbs are in mini bell peppers?
Serving SizeTotal CarbsNet Carbs
1 medium bell pepper (average, any color)6.2g4g
1 large green bell pepper7.6g4.8g
1 large red bell pepper9.9g6.5g
1 large yellow bell pepper11.8g10.1g
1 more row
Jun 24, 2021

What is the healthiest bell pepper for weight loss? ›

Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers have similar amounts of nutrients. However, red bell peppers are considered the healthiest because they have more lycopene.

Is Stuffed Peppers good for you? ›

Stuffed peppers are healthy. Lean protein, veggies, and whole grains: the gang's all here!

Can you eat red peppers on low carb diet? ›

“At just 5.5 grams of carbs per 1 cup, raw, sliced red bell peppers are one of my favorite low-carb vegetables because they can be eaten in so many delicious ways,” says Catherine Karnatz, a Rhode Island-based dietitian and owner of Nutrition Education RD.

Are green and red peppers low-carb? ›

Red peppers are a decent increase in carbs from green peppers, with 3.9g of net carbs per 100g. They are still fairly low, but you need to keep a closer eye on these — especially at the front end for your initial transition into ketosis.

What foods can I eat unlimited on keto? ›

Foods you can eat on the keto diet include fish and seafood, meat and poultry, non-starchy vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, and zucchini, avocados, berries, nuts and seeds, eggs, high-fat dairy products, olive oil and other oils, and high-cocoa chocolate.

How many carbs a day on keto? ›

The ketogenic diet typically reduces total carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams a day—less than the amount found in a medium plain bagel—and can be as low as 20 grams a day. Generally, popular ketogenic resources suggest an average of 70-80% fat from total daily calories, 5-10% carbohydrate, and 10-20% protein.

Do peppers spike blood sugar? ›

Anyone with diabetes might be surprised to learn certain foods minimally impact sugar levels, including: Carrots. These are considered non-starchy (as are string beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, asparagus and cauliflower) and good in a diabetes diet. High-fiber grains.

Which bell pepper has the least sugar? ›

Generally, the darker the pepper, the more nutrients you'll get. This also means that green peppers are lower in sugar and carbohydrates, though not enough that it makes a significant dietary difference, Crumble Smith says. Yellow and orange peppers fall somewhere in the middle with sweetness and nutritional content.

Is cheese ok for diabetes? ›

Cheese can be included as part of a healthy, balanced diet if you have diabetes. However, people with diabetes should opt for cheeses that are low in saturated fat and sodium while high in protein. If you have diabetes, combine higher-GI foods with cheese to help regulate blood sugar and prevent spiking.

Which color bell pepper has the least sugar? ›

Generally, the darker the pepper, the more nutrients you'll get. This also means that green peppers are lower in sugar and carbohydrates, though not enough that it makes a significant dietary difference, Crumble Smith says. Yellow and orange peppers fall somewhere in the middle with sweetness and nutritional content.

Do mini bell peppers have carbs? ›

Pero Mini Sweet Peppers (3 peppers) contains 8g total carbs, 5g net carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, and 35 calories.

What is the lowest carb vegetable? ›

List of the best low carb vegetables
  • Iceberg lettuce. Perhaps one of the most popular — though least nutritious — vegetables, iceberg lettuce has only 2.97 g of carbohydrate per 100 g. ...
  • White mushrooms. Mushrooms contain only 3.26 g of carbs per 100 g. ...
  • Spinach. ...
  • Broccoli. ...
  • Zucchini. ...
  • Cauliflower. ...
  • Asparagus. ...
  • Radishes.

Are bell peppers and onions low-carb? ›

One cup of peppers contains about 4 net grams of carbs and one cup of onions contains approximately 12 net grams. For this reason, you'll notice I usually add more peppers than onions to my dishes. I've found that adding a little bit of peppers and onions gives dishes awesome flavor and keeps the carb count down.

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