These keto stuffed peppers are filled with hearty ground beef, ricotta, spinach, and cheese. It’s a fabulous way to enjoy lasagna without all the carbs!
Stuffed peppers are really kind of brilliant, when you think about it. The hollow interior of a pepper is the perfect vessel for containing any number of wonderful fillings.
Like lasagna! Minus the pasta, of course, because this is a keto recipe blog after all. Keto stuffed peppers are a great way to indulge those lasagna cravings.
And stuffed peppers have a distinct advantage over recipes like zucchini lasagna or keto lasagna skillet. They come neat little edible containers that make for a wonderful presentation.
Not to mention, they are absolutely delicious!
From my keto cookbook
I originally wrote this recipe for keto stuffed peppers for my first cookbook, The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen.
The goal of that book was to provide a well-rounded guide to keto cooking and baking for the everyday cook. I wanted people to see that keto need not be difficult or intimidating. And that with a little ingenuity, you can still enjoy all your old favorite flavors.
So including some sort of keto lasagna recipe was paramount. But I wanted it to also be simple and accessible, without having to purchase specialty ingredients or make some sort of keto pasta.
I flatter myself that I succeeded with these keto lasagna stuffed peppers. And once you taste them, I am sure you will agree!
How to make keto stuffed peppers
It’s easy to make keto friendly stuffed peppers and you can really fill them with all sorts of delicious things. Consider taco meat, chili, keto pulled pork, etc.
Here’s the lowdown on these lasagna stuffed peppers:
- Brown the ground beef. The meat won’t cook through properly if you put it into the peppers raw, so always cook it until no longer pink.
- Squeeze out the spinach. Frozen spinach introduces a lot of moisture into recipes and can make these stuffed peppers soupy, so be sure to squeeze it out properly.
- Mix up the filling. Whisk together the ricotta, Parmesan, spinach and then stir in the ground beef.
- Halve the peppers. You can do this lengthwise or straight through the middle. I like to do it lengthwise and keep the stems intact.
- Remove the seeds and ribs. Because they don’t taste very good!
- Stuff the peppers with the filling. Mound it at the top because it will shrink a bit as it cooks.
- Add a little tomato sauce. You could use a commercial tomato sauce but they tend to have unnecessary carbs. I like to whisk a little tomato paste with water, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle on some cheese. Melty mozzarella makes these keto stuffed peppers extra enticing.
- Bake until tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. Any ground meat, including pork and sausage, works well in keto stuffed peppers.
Medium to large sweet bell peppers work best and any color will do. Green peppers have a slightly lower carbohydrate count but it’s really not enough to change the carbs per serving significantly.
I recommend glass or ceramic for this recipe. Metal heats up too quickly and can brown the bottoms of the peppers before they are cooked through.
Yes, you can easily cut this recipe in half to make only 4 servings. Just use half a pound of ground meat and freeze the rest for another time. There is a nifty feature on my recipe card where you can adjust the servings and it will change the amount of all the ingredients.
Because the ground meat is cooked first, you can prepare these peppers in advance and bake them later. Simply follow the instructions through step 5, then cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking.
The fully cooked peppers reheat well too. Simply store in the fridge in a covered container for up to 4 days.
I can’t see why not! The preparation of the peppers will be the same, up to the point of baking. They will take about 4 to 5 hours in a slow cooker, and 10 to 15 minutes in an Instant Pot.
More keto ground beef recipes
Ground beef is a staple in our house and I have so many wonderful keto ground beef recipes. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Keto Korean Beef
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- French Onion Meatloaf
- Easy Taco Pie
- Keto Tamale Pie
- Cheddar Jalapeno Meatballs
Keto Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef or ground pork
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt divided
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 ounces frozen spinach thawed and drained
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 large bell peppers
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beef and sprinkle with ¾ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Cook until no longer pink, about 10 minutes, breaking up any clumps with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook another minute.
- Squeeze the spinach to remove the excess moisture. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, and parmesan. Add the cooked beef and stir to combine.
- Cut each bell pepper in half and remove the seeds and ribs. Set the pepper halves in a 9×13 glass or ceramic baking dish. Spoon the beef/ricotta mixture into each half, mounding the tops.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, water, garlic, and remaining half teaspoon of salt. Spoon over the tops of the peppers and sprinkle with the mozzarella.
- Bake 30 minutes, then turn the oven to broil and and broil the pepper 6 inches from the heat for 1 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped basil.
Sharon says
This was heavenly. I made it recently. Big time lasagna flavor , without the guilt. Hearty, easy to make too. Thanks again. I’ll definitely make again.
Oh and I’m so excited to own three of your cookbooks now. Looking forward to trying your recipes!
Carolyn says
Thanks so much, Sharon!
COLEEN HUFF says
I just showed my husband the post. He said ” Sweet!” I can’t wait to try this. You grabbed my attention with those yellow peppers.
Valerie says
Excellent flavor and great warmed up as a leftover!
Elizabeth Godfrey Ford says
These are SO delicious! I have a 5 year old who has been obsessed with bell peppers and sweet peppers since his first ever solid food experience. We grow our own in the garden and he is SO excited everytime I tell him we’re making this dish because he grabs his “puppy knife” that’s safe for little hands, and he cuts all the peppers in half for me and scrapes out all the seeds, which we save for next year’s garden! I sometimes make a little batch of yellow rice on the side for the kids, but they really couldn’t care less because this dish is SO flavorful!
It’s really one of the best “leftover” dishes according to my kids (17, 13, and 5).
Carolyn says
THAT is ridiculously adorable!
Basil says
This is an amazing recipe, thank you!
For the extra kick I decided to lightly oil the skin on the peppers, before placing them in the dish, to avoid any excess juice flow and keep them crispy. It was yum!
Carolyn says
Sounds delicious!
Christina Crise says
Which brand of whole milk ricotta cheese do you recommend? I use cottage cheese, but would like a good ricotta cheese. You always pick flavorful products. I trust your opinion, as they are always great.
Carolyn says
I just got the Whole Foods brand.
Martine says
This was delicious and really a bit like eating lasagna. Got a thumbs up from the hubby.
I didn’t have enough tomato paste for the sauce, so used half tomato paste and half sundried tomatoes pesto.
It was excellent and I will make it again.
Deborah M Kloss says
Just made these for dinner….so very good. Lovely leftovers as well! Thanks for the great recipe!
Kristyn says
Love stuffed peppers, especially when it tastes like lasagna!! Great & delicious idea!!
Betsy says
Oh, wow! These are so good! Love this filling! Such a wonderful, welcome change from the traditional rice and meat mixture! My new favorite filling!
katerina @ diethood.com says
Oh wow! This looks incredibly delicious!! The perfect weeknight meal!
Josie says
We’ve enjoyed this recipe a couple of times now and we both agree it’s terrific!
This week’s version, however, I used cottage cheese since we didn’t have ricotta on hand. I also used fresh spinach and just mixed it into the hamburger mixture to wilt before adding the cheese. Both substitutions worked very well.
It’s a great way to use up those peppers from the garden–and we’ve not had a problem freezing them in vacuum bags.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Carolyn says
Great to know about the freezing!
Susanna Weimar says
Absolutely love it!
kelsey says
6 eggs total, 6 slices turkey, and 1 bag popcorn everyday is this acceptable for keto?
Carolyn says
I am sorry… why are you asking this?
Rita Slaten says
I have made my stuffed bell peppers like this without the cheese. So good. I will have to try it with cheese.
Gina says
Made these today and just finished eating dinner. Delicious! My whole family LOVED them! I made these exactly as written, except I used a combination of ground meat and bulk Italian hot sausage. Heavenly! I received thumbs up etc., from my family, and didn’t divulge to my non keto crew that these were in fact keto until everyone was done eating. Only then did I get the eye rolls, haha!
Carolyn says
I am delighted to hear that!
Mare says
Super delicious and easy. I subbed butcherbox Italian sausage and added a chopped onion. I used fresh chopped up baby spinach instead of frozen. I also used no sugar added spaghetti sauce (instead of making my own). Loved it and will make again!
Carolyn says
Happy to hear it!
Delores Hanten says
can these be frozen? I have as question….I have several bags of frozen fruit…can I use them in desserts if I just use Swerve to sweeten them? Thank you for any help you can give me.
Carolyn says
I don’t really recommend freezing these because it softens the peppers too much and makes them mushy. As to your fruit question, that all depends on the fruit and the way you plan to use it.