These low carb stuffed peppers are the perfect family friendly healthy dinner! Full of lasagna flavor without a bunch of carbs!
Friends, I’m officially home from my trip to Destin and I’m back to cooking real food and trying to eat healthy.
It’s always such a rough transition going from vacation to real life again, isn’t it?
Especially when you’re trying to lose a bit of weight and get back into the low carb life for a bit after completely ignoring nutrition labels and eating all the french fries you ever wanted. <— Kill me.
Anyway. I got a little lucky with the transition this time around, because a book from my friend Carolyn, who blogs at All Day I Dream About Food, happened to show up at my door step the day I returned home from our trip. It was fate, I tell you.
Her book, The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen, is absolutely FULL of low carb and keto recipes. Like, full of them. More than 150 of them.
These recipes are inspired, y’all. Not only is the book full of recipes, but there is a whole section on keto ingredients. It’s just awesome.
And, I’m pretty sure that her baking chapter is the largest chapter of the book, which hello. You are my soul mate.
So, I needed a dinner recipe the other night and I flipped through her book and settled on the lasagna stuffed peppers. How could I not make those, you guys? It was impossible!
Low carb stuffed peppers are a healthy low carb dinner option!
These peppers were really easy to make. Just a simple mixture of ground beef, spinach, and cheese stuffed inside some bell peppers. You don’t even have to cook the peppers before stuffing. They come out nice and tender from the oven. Hello, low carb lasagna. Let’s be friends.
Carolyn’s recipe called for frozen spinach, but I forgot to grab some at the store so I used a bag of baby spinach and it worked great! If you watch my video, you’ll see how it looks like way too much spinach when I load it all in the pan, but it cooks down into tiny little bites that even my kiddos didn’t mind. 😉 I love how that happens.
I topped my low carb stuffed peppers with fresh parsley instead of basil, because I’m one of the few who do not enjoy the taste of basil. I think it tastes like black licorice which is probably strange, but it’s a big ol’ nope for me. (I do love cilantro though and can’t understand people that don’t. Ha!)
Give this recipe a try and be sure to snag a copy of Carolyn’s book. It’s a keeper if you’re on a keto or low carb diet! I think you’ll love the book!
Lasagna Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt divided
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 4 large bell peppers any color
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and crumble as it cooks. Drain the grease when meat is cooked through.
- Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and pepper to the skillet and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the baby spinach to the skillet and let cook until wilted, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ricotta and parmesan to the cooked beef and stir well to combine.
- Cut each bell pepper in half length-wise and remove the seeds and ribs.
- Place the peppers in a 9x13 baking dish and fill each half with the beef mixture.
- Stir together the tomato paste, water, garlic powder, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl. Spoon evenly over the peppers.
- Top each pepper wiht mozzarella.
- Bake for 30 minutes and then turn the oven to broil. Keep a close eye on the peppers and broil for 1-3 minutes or until cheese has lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley (or basil, if you prefer).
Cecilia says
I love this easy and delicious recipe.
Karly says
Thanks, Cecilia!
Sharyn says
I just started the Optavia 5:1 plan. I’m wondering if I tweaked this recipe if it could be used as a Lean & Green meal. Anyone ever try who’s familiar with Lean & Green
Kaitlin says
One half pepper doesn’t seem like very much. What else do you serve it with?
Thanks
Karly says
The filling is pretty hearty. We also serve with salad or steamed veggies. You can always eat the other half of the pepper if you like. 🙂
Kathleen says
Yum! Quite easy, and will absolutely make again, but we would like a little more seasoning. Would it significantly change the stats to use the Italian herb seasoned tomato paste, or to add dry Italian seasoning? We really enjoyed it but it doesn’t quite hit the lasagna craving without the herbs.
Karly says
It shouldn’t change the macros much to add dried herbs. Maybe a couple carbs for the entire recipe. 🙂
Kathleen says
Thank you!
Nick says
If I were to add an onion to this, which one would be best? And when should it be added after the drain of the beef?
Karly says
I normally cook with sweet onions, but whatever you like should work fine. I would add it once the beef is starting to brown, before draining, so that it has a bit of time to soften.
Jen says
Is the serving size one half of a pepper?
Karly says
Yes, that’s correct.
Vasi says
Hi! I am from Romania, and this kind of food is very common at us, but what you bringnew to it, is the cheese that you put in the meat mixture. I like this and I will try it too.
Tammy says
Can you freeze them
Karly says
I think these would freeze fine, though I haven’t tried.
Bryn says
So much yum! My family will love these, however, I have one child whose belly cannot handle peppers. What do you think this filling would be like in a tomato?
Karly says
I’ve never made stuffed tomatoes before, but flavor-wise, I think it’d be great!