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.
Jody Spivey says
Delicious..the only change I made was adding Italian seasoning to the meat and a small sprinkle on top before putting it in the oven. This will now be a regular in my recipe box. Thank you for such a yummy and easy meal.