Sausage, cream cheese and shredded cheese mixes together to create an excellent low-carb filling for green bell peppers!
This keto sausage and cream cheese stuffed bell pepper recipe is an easy dinner recipe that our whole family enjoys and I love trading the sandwich bun for more vegetables!
If you like this recipe you may also enjoy Bell Pepper Taco Dip with Meat and Sausage and Cream Cheese Dip.
Keto Stuffed Green Peppers
Every bite is meaty, cheesy, creamy and has a slight crunch from cooked green peppers that leaves you enjoying the savory and fresh flavors. I love that one half of a stuffed pepper will often fill me up, unless I’ve been working really hard, then a whole pepper makes a great meal.
We love recipes like this that combine ground meat and vegetables like our Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, Old Fashioned Sausage, Potatoes and Green Beans, and Ham, Egg & Asparagus Casserole.
When friends called to share the keto meatball recipe they developed I was inspired to stuff those delicious meatballs in green peppers. My friends are pig farmers so they like to use ground pork or sausage.
I like to make or buy Italian Sausage which is ground pork with the flavorings already included. I find that splitting the meat half plain ground pork and half flavored sausage works well for our family’s tastes.
We have made this recipe with all ground pork and sausage as well as with half ground pork and half ground beef. Using all pork has a juicer, richer flavor. Mixing the meats half and half gives a leaner flavor this is delicious, but a bit lighter.
Our kids enjoy rice pilaf or pasta on the side, but as adults, we find the stuffed peppers are really satisfying as a stand-alone one-dish meal.
I typically use green peppers over colored peppers because they are cheaper. Using red, yellow or orange peppers is also fine. Colored peppers will likely be sweeter and may look a bit prettier, but we’re about utility and budget here.
My family has spent more time prioritizing our health and we’ve found it is easier to drop weight when we eat fewer carbs. So while we don’t follow a strict keto diet, we do have several keto recipes that we love adding to our meal rotation. A couple of our favorites are Crock Pot Keto Cauliflower Casserole and Easy Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Casserole.
Should Meat Be Cooked Before Stuffing a Pepper?
I find that cooking the ground meat, whether it’s sausage or hamburger before stuffing into a raw pepper is safest. I can see that all of the pink is gone before stuffing the pepper which makes the rest of the cooking process easier and more worry free.
Always wash the peppers and remove the stems and seeds and rinse again before stuffing. Be sure that the peppers are well drained prior to stuffing.
The cream cheese and tomatoes help provide plenty of liquid that keep the meat moist as the peppers soften during the baking time.
This batch of stuffed peppers has all pork, which was cooked prior to stuffing, and a whole block of cream cheese which make it more of a chip dip consistency.
How to Cut Stuffed Peppers
As someone who cooks, but hasn’t made a lot of stuffed peppers I like the cut the peppers in half horizontally because it’s easier for me. I also find that it’s easier to see that all of the cheese is melted and determine how soft the baked peppers are.
Any shape of pepper can be cut in half and laid on its side to fill. Peppers with the top cut off must have more balance, uniformity and the right size pan to remain standing upright during the baking process.
Since I want to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible I cut the peppers in half and keep on rolling.
How to Make Sausage Stuffed Peppers
Cook the ground meat in a skillet over medium high heat. We like to use meat masher to stir because it saves time and makes the cooking process a bit easier.
While meat is cooking I like to clean the peppers and prepare them for stuffing.
Drain meat well.
Depending on the size of your skillet return meat to skillet with the heat off and mix in other ingredients OR put in a mixing bowl and use your mixer to blend all ingredients except the mozzarella cheese together.
Divide stuffing evenly among pepper halves and bake at 400° F for 15 minutes.
Add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese to the top of the peppers and bake for an additional 10 minutes at 350° F.
There is enough stuffing for 6 whole peppers in this recipe.
Tips for Making the Best Stuffed Peppers
- Know what you like and choose more of those flavors for the stuffing
- Use your favorite combination to get 2 pounds of meat, substitutions are welcomed!
- We prefer Colby or cheddar cheese to mix in with the meat and mozzarella on top
- More cream cheese means the mixture is creamier, less cream cheese means the mixture is firmer
- Adding tomatoes is optional, we just like a few more vegetables added to the meat and cheese mixture
- If using tomatoes tiny pieces mix much better and ensure that canned tomatoes are well-drained or you may have soup
- We learned that more cream cheese makes more of a chip dip texture like our Fiesta Sausage Dip, so sometimes we use the whole block of cream cheese and serve with tortilla chips
- I like to cover the peppers with foil for the first 20 minutes to help trap in heat and soften the peppers without drying out the meat
- Wait to add mozzarella cheese on top until the last 10 minutes of baking time or that cheese will burn
- Bake uncovered so the cheese can melt and lightly brown for the last 10 minutes
Crock Pot Version
I’ve also made this recipe in the crock pot on low for two – three hours and then turn up to high for about 15 minutes after adding the parmesan and mozzarella cheese at the end. The cheese will melt, but it will not brown.
The meal is still very delicious!
Other Easy Family Meal Ideas
- Smoked Sausage, Peppers, Onions & Potatoes Skillet
- Taco Meatloaf
- Copycat Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli
- Smoked Sausage & Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Turkey, Cheddar and Bacon Sliders
- Instant Pot Chicken Carbonara
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Printable Keto Sausage & Cream Cheese Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipe
Sausage & Cream Cheese Stuffed Bell Pepper (Keto)
Ingredients
- 6 green peppers
- 1 pound sausage ground beef can be substituted
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 teaspoon Lowry's seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon minced onion or 1/2 cup freshly chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese Colby can be substituted
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9×13 baking pan and a smaller square pan – I use an 8×8 baking dish.
- Brown meat and drain.
- Wash, clean and halve green peppers.
- Add seasonings, cream cheese and cheddar cheese to meat.
- Stuff peppers and bake covered for 15 minutes.
- Add paarmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered for an additional 5 – 10 minutes until cheese is melted and peppers reach desired tenderness.
Video
Notes
- Know what you like and choose more of those flavors for the stuffing
- Use your favorite combination to get 2 pounds of meat, substitutions are welcomed!
- We prefer Colby or cheddar cheese to mix in with the meat and mozzarella on top
- More cream cheese means the mixture is creamier, less cream cheese means the mixture is firmer
- Adding tomatoes is optional, we just like a few more vegetables added to the meat and cheese mixture
- If using tomatoes tiny pieces mix much better and ensure that canned tomatoes are well-drained or you may have soup
- We learned that more cream cheese makes more of a chip dip texture like our Fiesta Sausage Dip, so sometimes we use the whole block of cream cheese and serve with tortilla chips
- I like to cover the peppers with foil for the first 20 minutes to help trap in heat and soften the peppers without drying out the meat
- Wait to add mozzarella cheese on top until the last 10 minutes of baking time or that cheese will burn
- Bake uncovered so the cheese can melt and lightly brown for the last 10 minutes
Equipment
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Question? How can you publish a Keto recipe and not provide total carb information? Keto dieters base their diet on the number of carbs consumed in a day. Are they supposed to guesstimate a number for this recipe? Without carb information you cannot even consider your recipes Low Carb! Please consider adding at least carb information, if not Nutritional Information to you recipes.
Hello! I’ve added a tool to the recipe cards that estimate nutrition values, but please know that it is just an estimate and actual nutrition values can vary greatly based on actual ingredients used. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Deborah
The nutritional information is listed if you scroll down farther you will see it.
Yum can’t wait to try !
My family really enjoyed
This recipe was amazing! My entire family loved it. Thank you for the easy and delicious keto recipe!
So glad to hear you love it! Thanks for letting us know!
This is a solid Keto recipe! Easy to make and hearty. My husband loved it….always a win. I appreciate your tip for cutting the bell peppers in half lengthwise – lots more stable that way, both for filling them and for eating them. Keep these Keto recipes coming.
Thanks for sharing! Always love hearing when a recipe works well!
I made this recipe yesterday with some variations. It was too hot to use the oven, so I modified this for the slow cooker.
After stuffing six whole large green peppers, I put the in the slow cooker that had been sprayed with PAM. I did not cook the peppers ahead of time. On top of each pepper with heaping meat mix, I put a tablespoon of diced tomatoes. I only used one can and put the rest in the bottom of the cooker.
I cooked on low for six hours. They were perfect. Our nephew who is a birdlike eater, ate one and then asked for a second. My husband and I could only eat one, they were so stuffed. This is a keeper recipe.
Calls for parmesan, but it’s never mentioned again in the directions? Guessing you add it with the mozzarella on top….
Thanks for asking! It can be mixed in with the meat and other cheeses or sprinkled on top. Really works well both ways!
It says 1 on sausage and then another lb Italian sausage. Is it 1lb or 2 lbs sausage ?
Hey there! Great question! The recipe calls for a total of 2 pounds of meat. Our favorite combination is 1 pound of regular sausage (or ground beef) and 1 pound of Italian sausage. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Oh my gosh these were good! I halved the recipe and used 3 peppers (1 green and 2 red). I omitted the season salt because the brand of pork sausage I used is pretty salty on its own. I added garlic and oregano. We are trying the Low Carb thing and it’s great when a recipe encourages you to stick with it! I might try this very same “stuffing” with mushrooms! Thanks for a great recipe:)
Hey There! So glad you had a great experience with this meal! Thanks so much for sharing!
Excellent! I don’t like peppers, but made this for supper for my husband, thinking I wouldn’t enjoy it. Boy was I wrong, it was extremely delicious!
Hey There! Thanks so much for trying the recipe and sharing your success story! We really enjoy this one too! And be sure to read the notes on the different options. It’s great made into a chip dip too!
Excellent easy to make! Everyone enjoyed.
I used red, yellow, and green peppers.
I also added a little parsley and green onion.
We love this recipe! We make it at least twice a month, if not every month. Thanks for sharing.
Hey There! Thanks so much for sharing! We’re so glad you enjoy it and of course it’s always nice to get compliments 🙂
Is this recipe Gluten free ?? Or how do I make it Gluten free //
Hey There! I think it would be if you use gluten free seasoning. I would still be sure to check the labels on all of the ingredients that you use. Hope you enjoy 🙂
I added some chopped mushrooms and used red bell peppers.
My husband said it was the BEST stuffed peppers he ever had!
Thank you so much. I’m going to check out more of your recipes.
Thanks so much for sharing! We love mushrooms, so this variation sounds delicious 🙂
Im going to make this tonight and Im a little confused. In your actual recipe you have to use 6 whole peppers but in the picture you show 6 half peppers. I have 6 whole peppers and was wondering if I need to double the recipe to have enough filling to make 6 whole peppers cut in half?
Hey There! Thanks for asking! When I make this whole recipe I take 6 whole peppers and cut them in half. Then I put the halves in a couple different baking dishes since I don’t have one super big dish. You can also adjust how much filling you put in each pepper to change your meat to veggie ratio. Hope this helps and hope you enjoy!