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Italian Keto Stuffed Peppers, A Crowd Pleaser

Creating keto recipes that my whole family will enjoy is what makes this girl’s soul sing. My recipe for keto Italian stuffed peppers is an inviting dish that everyone at the table is sure to enjoy.

My recipe for Italian keto stuffed peppers makes for an ideal keto meal. It’s not only delicious, but it’s also very nutritious.

This recipe for keto stuffed peppers gives you all the classic Italian flavors minus the high-carb rice that the traditional recipe carries. It’s a keto-friendly meal that won’t threaten to kick you out of ketosis.

These flavorful Italian stuffed peppers are so colorful and enticing that they will be hard to resist. In fact, even your non-keto family will insist on a serving.

It’s keto for a crowd!

Keto Stuffed Peppers Italian Style

BEST Italian Keto Stuffed Peppers
Italian keto stuffed peppers

Although traditional stuffed peppers make a great meal, they are usually loaded with regular rice making them too high in carbs to fit a ketogenic diet.

Rather than stuffing with white rice, this recipe uses a combination of ground beef mixture, Italian pork sausage, and plenty of cheese for a low-carb dinner that also satisfies lasagna cravings.

These low carb Italian stuffed peppers are a great recipe to feed a crowd or add to your meal prep plan

Ingredients Needed

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The following are the ingredients you’ll need o make low-carb stuffed peppers. Note that the full printable recipe card and nutritional information are at the bottom of the page.

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  • Large bell peppers (can be green bell peppers, red peppers, or whatever color of bell pepper you like)
  • Lean ground beef (can also use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork)
  • Sweet Italian sausage (can also use hot Italian sausage or other types of sausage with the casing removed)
  • Dried oregano
  • Dried basil
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Italian seasoning
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Chopped onion 
  • ​Minced garlic
  • Crushed tomato sauce (no sugar added)

Cheese Filling

  • Grated parmesan
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Whole ricotta cheese
  • Egg
  • Dash of nutmeg
  • Sea salt

Cheese Topping

  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Grated parmesan cheese

How To Make Keto Italian Stuffed Peppers

Colored bell peppers being prepped for stuffing
Colored bell peppers being prepped for stuffing

To make this low-carb meal, begin by browning the ground beef and sausage over medium-high heat in a large skillet.

Add all the spices to the ground meat mixture and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Next, add the crushed tomatoes and allow the meat sauce to simmer on low for ten minutes, and then set aside to slightly cool for five minutes before stuffing the peppers.

Proceed to make the melty cheese filling by combining the three kinds of cheese with the egg and spices in a small bowl and setting it aside.

Assembling The Stuffed Peppers

To make stuffed bell peppers, start by adding a small layer of meat sauce to a large baking dish or pan. Then, arrange the sliced peppers side by side and stuff each pepper with the meat sauce.

Next, add the cheese ricotta filling to each pepper. Finally, sprinkle the tops of the peppers with the remaining cheese (parmesan and mozzarella cheese topping).

Cover the dish lightly with a sheet of parchment paper and bake for 60 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Afterward, uncover and allow the cheese to brown lightly for another 10 minutes.

Feel free to garnish with fresh herbs, like fresh parsley or fresh basil, before serving.

You can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze them for up to three weeks in an airtight container.

Recipe Substitutions

keto stuffed peppers process pictures
keto stuffed peppers process pictures

If you want to change the flavor of this low-carb recipe, you can swap out the mozzarella cheese for cheddar cheese. This will give your dish a different taste.

Add extra spice by doubling the red pepper flakes.

Additionally, if you prefer a vegetarian option, you can swap out the meat sauce for a keto-friendly marinara sauce.

To add some texture and substance, you can also add one cup of cauliflower rice to the dish. 

Easy Keto Family Meals

Spicy Italian Keto Stuffed Peppers
Spicy Italian Keto Stuffed Peppers

Sitting down for a family meal seems like a lost art in our modern world. However, this girl is determined to change that. Because as far as I am concerned, few things bring a family together like a good meal.

And when you know that what you’re serving is a ketosis meal like these Italian stuffed peppers, well, it only makes those moments more meaningful.

A Mama’s Legacy

My mother-in-love was a genius at gathering her family. The way her children and their spouses clamored around her kitchen table was a thing of pure beauty.

Every Saturday, without fail, we were all at Mama’s and Papa’s house. And once there, ALL her daughters and sons naturally gravitated to her kitchen to help create an easy dinner.

How the whole lot of us would cram into that tiny kitchen table is still a mystery. The funny thing is that we all had access to her dining room table, which was just a few short feet away. But somehow, no one ever wanted to sit there.

That formal table just felt kind of distant and cold. Sure, it was pretty and shiny, but the magic happened at the little-worn-out kitchen table that was snuggled at the end of her kitchen.

I can’t tell you how many meals we all enjoyed there.  It was the most welcoming place where we found love, laughter, and comfort.

Keto Meals That Bring The Family Together

keto Italian multicolored stuffed peppers baked in a white casserole dish
keto Italian multicolored stuffed peppers baked in a white casserole dish

Mama left before I was ever able to share one of my low-carb keto meals with her. I have no doubt that she would have loved my keto Italian stuffed peppers.

Most Sundays after church service, I try to share a meal together with our children, it’s not always a home-cooked one, but when it is, I try to go the extra mile for them.

All with the hope that they will linger a little longer at the table. Hoping to recreate the same warmth that Mama offered us.

It appears I’ve learned some lessons well from her, and others I need time to master.  

But if there is one thing I am sure of, it’s that I have her approval when I make an attempt to bring the family together, even with a humble bell pepper dish like this Italian stuffed peppers.

Sharing A Keto Meal

Because of the low carb, the keto kitchen gives us ample opportunity to produce tasty, satisfying meals. You’ll never feel like you have to choose between taste and health when it comes to eating keto.

As a keto food and lifestyle blogger, sharing my dishes with my family makes me feel like I am making a difference in their lives for generations to come, all without sacrificing taste.

More Keto Italian Recipes

Be sure to check out some of our other low-carb Italian recipes for more delicious options.

How Are You Making Family Meals Special?

It’s my prayer that you will be encouraged to share a meal with a loved one. That you remember that perfection shouldn’t be the goal but the time in the presence of each other.

Do stop by and leave a comment or tag me on Instagram if you decide to make these Italian Keto stuffed peppers for your family. I would love to hear how you are making memories that will be passed down.

Grab Our Books!

In case you don’t know, we have authored two books for you, Essential Keto Bread and Essential Keto Desserts , both inspired by your requests over the years. It’s my prayer these keto cookbooks will help make keto a delicious breeze for you.

Join Our Jesus And Keto Movement 

Looking for an online support system to help you stay the course on keto? As a family, we came to the keto diet looking at it from a Christian perspective. As believers, we live our lives supported by God’s grace.

So when the Holy Spirit led us to combine our Christian faith and the keto diet, we did so in hopes of finding lasting transformation.

When we followed the Holy Spirit’s prompting, we got on the path to real transformation. 

Knowing firsthand the benefits of this decision, we have created a closed Christian group that is using the keto diet to transform their lives. 

We invite you to join our Private Facebook Group and see if it’s not the key you have been missing.

Be sure to request our FREE Jesus and Keto E-Book (First 7 Days) We hope it blesses you.

Fittoservegroup Keto App

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Fit To Serve Group App

Looking for a fast way to access our keto recipes? We got you covered. There’s an app for that. Yup, there’s a Fit To Serve Group App, and it’s going to make your keto diet a delicious breeze!

Access hundreds of recipes that are all sugar-free, gluten-free, and keto-friendly.

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Search recipes by title, ingredients, keywords, and categories, and of course, every recipe shows complete nutritional facts.  Get the Fit to Serve Group App for easy-to-follow keto recipes made with easy-to-source ingredients. 

The app is loaded with hundreds of yummy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even desserts!

Learn more by visiting our Fit To Serve Group App Page.

A Recipe For Low Carb, Keto Italian Stuffed Peppers

Keto Italian Stuffed Peppers

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

This recipe for keto Italian stuffed peppers is sure to become a family favorite. Enjoy all the flavor of this classic Italian dish minus the high carbs.

Ingredients

  • 6 large bell peppers

Spaghetti Meat Filling

  • 2 pounds of lean ground beef
  • 1/2 pound of Italian sausage (casing removed)
  • 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon of black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
  • 2 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 tablespoons of diced red and green peppers (I used the tops of the 5 peppers)
  • 28 ounce can of crushed tomato sauce

Cheese Filling

  • 1/2 cup of grated parmesan
  • 1 cup of mozzarella cheese
  • 8 ounces of whole ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • dash of nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Cheese Topping

  • 1 cup of mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Slice the bell peppers in half and remove the seeds and set aside.

Meat Sauce Filling Instructions

  1. Brown the ground beef and sausage over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
  2. Add all the spices to the ground meat and sauté.
  3. Next, add the 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes.
  4. Allow the meat sauce to simmer on low for 10 minutes, then set aside to slightly cool for 5 minutes.

Cheese Filling Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine all three kinds of cheese, egg, and spices until perfectly blended. Set it aside.

Assembling The Stuffed Peppers

  1. Add a small layer of meat sauce to a large baking dish or pan, and then arrange the sliced peppers side by side.
  2. Stuff each pepper with the meat sauce.
  3. Next, add the cheese ricotta filling to each pepper.
  4. Lastly, sprinkle the top of the peppers with the parmesan and mozzarella cheese topping.
  5. Cover the dish lightly with a sheet of parchment paper and bake for 60 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Then uncover and allow the cheese to brown lightly for another 10 minutes.
  6. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze for up to three weeks in an airtight container.

Notes

Recipe Substitutions

If you want to change the flavor of a dish, you can swap out the mozzarella cheese for cheddar cheese. This will give your dish a different taste.

Add extra spice by doubling the red pepper flakes.

Additionally, if you prefer a vegetarian option, you can swap out the meat sauce for a keto-friendly marinara sauce.

To add some texture and substance, you can also add one cup of cauliflower rice to the dish. 



Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 395Total Fat: 16.7gSaturated Fat: 8.5gCholesterol: 143mgCarbohydrates: 7.9gNet Carbohydrates: 6.8gFiber: 1.1gSugar: 4.3gProtein: 52.9g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

 

imsen

Saturday 5th of February 2022

Healthy and delicious. Also they freeze well for a make ahead meal.This is delicious! This will be made often!5 stars

Quick and Easy Family Recipes

Hilda Solares

Monday 7th of February 2022

Glad you enjoyed it!

txgrandma

Tuesday 2nd of April 2019

I made this last week and it's a keeper! I did not have ricotta cheese and so substituted whipped cream cheese and it was very good. I did add a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom and cut the recipe in half. Other than that, I made the recipe per directions. My husband and I love stuffed peppers but since most of my family does not but don't really mind peppers in recipes, for future family dinners, I am thinking of slicing the peppers and making a base of peppers before layering the meat and cheese mixture. I think they would like the flavor profile overall.

Thanks for all these great recipes!

Hilda Solares

Wednesday 3rd of April 2019

Wonderful to hear. Glad you enjoyed them.

Carly

Sunday 24th of March 2019

Would you recommend freezing them for meal prepping & later use? Would I assemble and then freeze before baking? Or would that ruin the integrity of the peppers?

Hilda Solares

Monday 25th of March 2019

Hi Carly, you could freeze after you assemble or after baking. Personally, I would prefer assembling and then baking.

Ellen

Thursday 7th of March 2019

The serving size says 12 with 1 per serving, but you only use 6 peppers? Are they cut in half?

Hilda Solares

Thursday 7th of March 2019

Hi Ellen, Yes the peppers are cut in half.

Emily

Monday 21st of January 2019

What temp do you cook this at?

Hilda Solares

Monday 21st of January 2019

Hi Emily, Not sure how I forgot to mention this but I've updated the recipe thanks to you. It's 350 degrees. Thanks!

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