Stuffed Pepper Casserole (Keto, Gluten-Free)

Stuffed Pepper Casserole has the flavorful ingredients of the classic comfort food combined in a baking dish. One of our favorite low carb casseroles!

Jump to:

• Making a Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole
• Bell Pepper Nutrition and Color Differences
• Is riced cauliflower better for you than rice?
• Can I make the stuffed pepper casserole recipe ahead of time?
• How do I thaw a frozen casserole?
• Stuffed Pepper Casserole

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
• Buffalo Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

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