Italian Keto Stuffed Peppers {Low-Carb and Gluten-Free}
These keto stuffed peppers are both colorful and tasty. Packed full of cheese and Italian sausage, these are perfect for a low-carb lunch or as a side at dinner.
Usually, stuffed pepper recipes call for rice and ground beef, but this recipe is perfect for a ketogenic or even paleo diet (just remove the cheese for paleo) because of it's low-carb, rice-free ingredient list. It also swaps the ground beef for Italian sausage for your ultimate high-fat keto recipe.
Carbs in Bell Peppers
Many people wonder whether bell peppers are keto, and it's true that the carb count of your typical bell pepper can make stuffed peppers a higher carb option.One cup of red bell pepper contains about 9g of carbs, with about 3g of fiber, totaling 6g of net carbs.
If you want to keep the carb count down while still enjoying this keto stuffed bell pepper recipe, you can swap the red, yellow or orange pepper out for green peppers.
One cup of green bell pepper contains about 7g of carbs, and 2.5g of fiber totaling 4.5g of net carbs making this a slightly lower-carb option.
However, most people have little to no issue with the carbs in bell peppers because of the fiber.
This recipe is: keto-friendly, low-carb, gluten-free, grain-free, no added sugar
Other keto-friendly sides you may like:
New to Keto? Check out our Top Keto Acronyms and Glossary.Looking to jumpstart your Keto diet? Take THE KETO 30 Challenge!
Ingredients:
- 4 bell peppers, cleaned with seeds and tops removed
- 4 Italian sausage links, hot or mild
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 cup low carb tomato/marinara sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- pinch of salt and pepper
Preparation:
- Slice the tops of the peppers off and remove and discard the seeds and white membrane from inside. A bit can be trimmed from the bottom of the pepper as well, if it does not sit evenly flat on a surface. Place peppers on a sprayed/greased sheet pan or a shallow baking dish.
- Remove Italian sausages from the casing and set aside. (Note: The recipe can be prepared with 1 pound of ground Italian sausage instead of 4 links). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet at medium-high heat on the stove. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes until it begins to soften. Add the Italian Sausage and cook until browned, stirring continuously, for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese and tomato/marinara sauce; stir together thoroughly for about 2 minutes until melted and fully incorporated. Turn off the heat on the stove and add half of the two cheeses to the mixture. Taste the mixture and add more seasoning if needed.
- Spoon the mixture into the peppers, and cover the pan with foil. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the remaining cheese. Bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the peppers are soft. Turning on the broiler for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking can help to brown the cheese.
- Yield: 4
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