Stuffed Pepper Casserole has the flavorful ingredients of the classic comfort food combined in a baking dish. One of our favorite low carb casseroles!
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As many of you know, I’m big on casseroles because they can be such big time savers. And they are dishes that can be prepared ahead and frozen for easy meals later.
For example, I came up with a baked dish for a lazy man’s keto unstuffed cabbage rolls. And now I’m sharing a stuffed bell pepper casserole as an easier way to make keto stuffed bell peppers.
Making a Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole
It’s so easy to make this low carb dish. You simply brown the ground meat with seasonings then stir in uncooked riced cauliflower and tomatoes.
The prepared meat and cauli rice mixture is spread into the bottom of a casserole pan. Then it’s topped with cheese and baked for about a half hour.
That’s all there is to making an undone stuffed pepper casserole!
Bell Pepper Nutrition and Color Differences
You’ve probably seen bell peppers in the grocery store in a variety of colors. Green, yellow, orange and red are the most common varieties.
Do you know that all those bell peppers are actually the same plant, just at different stages of ripeness? Green bell peppers are the least ripe, yellow and orange are half ripe and red bell peppers are completely ripe.
Aside from the different colors and varying levels of ripeness, there are some other differences between bell peppers:
- Nutrition: Because they have had a chance to ripen and mature, red peppers have the best nutritional value of the four. One red bell pepper has up to nine times more beta-carotene and twice the amount of vitamin C than a green bell pepper. However, this doesn’t mean that green peppers are a slouch in the nutritional department. One serving of green bell pepper provides nearly 200% of your suggested daily intake of Vitamin C.
- Taste: Green bell peppers, being the least ripe, are less sweet than the others and have a slightly bitter taste. The bitter flavor is preferred by some people and works better in some recipes, like recipes for stuffed bell peppers. The red bell peppers are the sweetest of the four. Since the green ones have the least amount of natural sugar, they are the best for low carb!
- Price: Generally, green bell peppers are the least expensive because technically, they are not fully ripened vegetables.
Is riced cauliflower better for you than rice?
You will notice that I use riced cauliflower in this stuffed pepper casserole recipe, whereas many recipes for stuffed bell peppers use traditional rice. Using riced cauliflower is the key to making this stuffed bell pepper recipe low carb!
There are only 25 calories in 100g of cauliflower (as opposed to 130 calories in 100g of white rice). You’ll also only be getting 5g of carbs in that 100g of cauliflower while the same amount of rice has 28g of carbs.
Cauliflower rice also has 10% of the suggested daily intake of Vitamin B6 and a whopping 80% of the suggested daily amount of Vitamin C!
Can I make the stuffed pepper casserole recipe ahead of time?
Yes! This casserole would be great to have in your freezer for those busy days or weeks when you don’t have time to create a meal from scratch but you still want to eat healthy.
Cook the casserole as directed in the recipe, but don’t top it with the mozzarella cheese. Add the mozzarella before you reheat the casserole.
Let the casserole cool before wrapping it tightly, first in plastic wrap and then foil. The cooked casserole will keep well in the freezer for up to five months.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover stuffed pepper casserole can safely be left in the refrigerator for up to five days. If you don’t plan on using it during that time, it’s best to freeze the leftovers for future use.
Divide the leftover casserole into meal-sized portions and place them into airtight freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags. Cooked stuffed peppers casserole can be kept in the freezer for up to five months.
How do I thaw a frozen casserole?
There are several ways to thaw your frozen stuffed pepper casserole.
- Overnight. This is the preferred method. Place the frozen casserole in your refrigerator and allow it to thaw overnight.
- In the oven. You can cook the casserole from frozen, but you’ll need to add extra cooking time – approximately 30-45 minutes (or more).
- In the microwave. If you don’t have time thaw the frozen casserole overnight, use your microwave for a “quick thaw”.
- Unwrap the frozen casserole and cover it with a piece of microwave-safe plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in the plastic.
- Use your microwave’s defrost setting to thaw the casserole.
- Halfway through the thawing, test the casserole by sticking a knife into the middle. If it doesn’t go all the way through easily, replace the plastic wrap, put the casserole back into the microwave and continue defrosting.
Other Low Carb Casseroles to Try
If you love this easy low carb casserole recipe, you should try these too:
- Chicken Vegetable Casserole (Low Carb, Gluten Free)
- Keto Low Carb Eggplant Lasagna Casserole
- Low Carb Paleo Buffalo Chicken Casserole with Ranch Sauce
- Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground sausage or ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 medium green bell peppers chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups riced cauliflower
- 28 oz diced tomatoes two 14.5oz cans drained
- 8 ounces mozzarella sliced
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Heat olive oil in pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, beef, peppers, onion, and seasonings. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned; about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Stir in the riced cauliflower and drained tomatoes. Spread mixture evenly into a 9×13-inch casserole pan. Top with sliced mozzarella.
- Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is beginning to brown. If needed, the casserole can be placed under the broiler for a minute or two to brown the cheese quickly.
Notes
- basil
- thyme
- rosemary
- oregano
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Nutrition
Additional Info
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
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Lisa MarcAurele has been creating low carb recipes for herself and sharing them with others since 2010. She enjoys experimenting in the kitchen. The results are low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites!
Jean Choi says
Love a good casserole! This is so addicting and comforting.
Tarah says
Stuffed peppers are a fav and I love that this recipe turns them into a casserole. With tidbits and tips on how to freeze and re-heat this is a keeper for busy weeks!
Megan Stevens says
Such great classic flavors, yum! My family will LOVE this casserole.
paleoglutenfreeguy says
Yum. This is proof you don’t need bread in a casserole for it to be hearty and delicious.!
shobee says
I love healthy meals and this casserole fits the bill of my kind of healthy meal. I will certainly add this on my meal plan rotation.
ChihYu says
Delicious! Great for dinner and lunch the next day!
Raia Todd says
Sounds like a delicious meal!