Sausage & Cream Cheese Stuffed Bell Pepper (Keto)

Sausage, cream cheese and shredded cheese mixes together to create an excellent low-carb filling for green bell peppers!

This 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 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

• Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe Sliders
• 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