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I’ve had a major craving for Italian comfort food lately. Maybe that’s because it’s finally starting to cool off outside, so I’m seeking out comfort foods to warm up. Low carb lasagna came to mind, but I wanted something simpler. And since I love low carb stuffed peppers so much, it’s no surprise what I came up with…
Why the Italians have so many warm comfort food dishes, I have no idea. I mean, it doesn’t even get that cold in Italy. But, I’m not complaining! That just gives me an excuse to transform their classic favorites into healthy, gluten-free, low carb recipes.
Looking for creative new ways to make something new with an Italian twist, I hopped over to my local Walmart just to see what fresh produce would jump out at me. I’m always pondering new veggie vessels to use in place of bread or pasta in various dishes. Which is why I make things like zucchini boats and low carb stuffed peppers so often. 😉
Italian entrees are absolutely perfect for that, because they have so much flavor even without the carbs. I spotted some delicious looking sweet bell peppers. Right away, stuffing them with beef lasagna filling popped into my head. Low carb lasagna stuffed peppers, anyone?
Of course, my top priority with my easy stuffed peppers idea was how to keep it simple, without too many ingredients. Making your own marinara sauce is delicious, so if you have the time to do it for this recipe, by all means go for it. But I’ll be the first to admit, there is definitely something to be said for convenience sometimes.
Fortunately, marinara is the kind of thing that can be store bought without having weird or artificial ingredients in it – yay! I picked up a jar of Prego Farmers’ Market Classic Marinara to include in my recipe. It’s made mostly with the same ingredients I’d use if I were making my own from farmer’s market produce – vine-ripened tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, black pepper, salt, and oregano. I definitely would have omitted the cane sugar in a homemade version, but the amount is so small that it really doesn’t raise the carb count much.
My goal was to make my gluten-free, low carb lasagna stuffed peppers with all the comfort and deliciousness of lasagna, but without the carbs or complicated steps. Don’t be intimidated by the long cooking duration. Most of it is totally hands off. Once you’ve made the meat sauce, layer it along with ricotta and shredded mozzarella inside your bell peppers, then bake.
The result is pure comfort food, minus the carbs and totally gluten-free. It totally satisfies the need for lasagna. No noodles required! 😉
For a different twist on stuffed peppers, try this cheesy stuffed pepper casserole from Dishing Delish. (I recommend swapping the rice with cauliflower rice, to keep it low carb.)
I have to say, these low carb lasagna stuffed peppers make a fantastic all-in-one dinner. Just in time to enjoy as the temperature drops. I’ll be making a few extra batches this week to freeze for later.
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Keto Low Carb Lasagna Stuffed Peppers Recipe:
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RECIPE CARD
Low Carb Lasagna Stuffed Peppers (Gluten-free) - 7 Ingredients
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- 6 large Bell pepper
- 1 1/2 lb Ground beef *
- 4 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 cup Marinara sauce (or homemade marinara)
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 cup Ricotta cheese *
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- Sea salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
More TIPS about this recipe in the post above!
VIDEO + NUTRITION INFO + RECIPE NOTES below!
To prepare the meat sauce, heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the ground beef. Cook until browned (about 10 minutes), breaking apart the meat with a spoon or spatula.
Stir in marinara sauce and Italian seasoning. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes while preheating the oven and preparing the peppers.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (191 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone mat.
- To prepare the peppers, chop off the tops and scoop out the seeds and ribs inside. Slice a tiny layer off the bottoms (without making a hole if possible) so that the peppers are stable standing upright.
To assemble the lasagna cups, layer 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 mL) each of meat sauce, ricotta cheese, and shredded mozzarella cheese inside the bell peppers. (You'll want a little more meat sauce compared to the other two layers.) Repeat until peppers are filled to the top, with mozzarella being the top layer.
Place the peppers on the lined baking sheet and tent with aluminum foil, making sure the foil is not touching the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 more minutes, until cheese is melted and browned.
SIMILAR KETO LOW CARB RECIPES
Recipe Notes
Nutrition facts are based on whole milk ricotta and 85/15 ground beef.
Serving size: 1 stuffed bell pepper
Video Showing How To Make Lasagna Stuffed Peppers:
Click or tap on the image below to play the video. It's the easiest way to learn how to make Lasagna Stuffed Peppers!
NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. You can find individual ingredient carb counts we use in the Low Carb & Keto Food List. Carb count excludes sugar alcohols. Net carb count excludes both fiber and sugar alcohols, because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.
More Low Carb & Keto Support!
If you want to know more about how to start a low carb diet, want to substitute sweeteners, need a food list, or need support, check these guides:
Low Carb & Keto Diet Plan
Starter Guide 
Sweetener Conversion Calculator 
Keto Low Carb Macro Calculator 
Low Carb Keto Food List
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30 Comments
Cindy
Best Ever! The entire family LOVED them- we are talking picky veggie eater teens, too. But stuffing the veggie with lasagna won them over. Also,I drained the fat from the meat-and it was delicious! Thank you!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Cindy! I am so happy your family loved them! Thank you!
Lisa K
These stuffed peppers were amazing. The best I’ve ever made! My pickiest eater still won’t eat the pepper, but really enjoyed the filling. These were a big win in my house!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Lisa! So glad to hear it was a hit at your house.
Jacqui
Lasagna stuffed peppers is an awesome idea!! Thank you for sharing my casserole! 🙂
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Jacqui! That casserole looks awesome.
Nancy Melone
I just made these for our evening meal using ground beef, but having had some leftover rotisserie chicken I made myself a small bowl for lunch using the chicken and it was great! For those wondering about beef or chicken I would trade off using whatever I have available.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Nancy!
Marcia
Oh, so good! I haven’t had lasagna in years. I will certainly be making this again. And again.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Marcia! I’m so happy to hear that. 🙂
Machelle McKissick
Are you supposed to drain the meat at some point?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Machelle, I didn’t find that necessary. If you cook it at medium-high heat in step one, any extra moisture should evaporate by the time it browns. If it doesn’t, you could drain it before adding the marinara sauce.
Hannah
Freeze before cooking or after? Want to make this for someone to cook later.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Hannah, To freeze, complete everything in the recipe through step 5, then place on parchment paper in the freezer. Once they are solid, you can wrap them in plastic to prevent freezer burn. You can thaw them in the fridge prior to final baking (step 6). IF you want to put them in the oven frozen, you’ll need a lower oven temperature, at least at first, to avoid burning the cheese before the rest of the peppers are heated through. Hope this helps!
Janelle Paramore
Can these be assembled before hand and left in the refrigerator overnight? Then placed in the oven the next day?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Janelle, I haven’t tried that, but I think you could! Let me know how it goes if you try it.
David McGinley
The bell pepper lasagna looks delish. I will let you know.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, David! Would love to hear what you thought of them.
Suzy jaco
The peppers are looking great; however I am letting them cook awhile longer (20min) because we like the peppers softer, then brown for the ten minutes. I can’t wait for my lasagna loving 16 year old grandson to give these a try.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Suzy! In the original recipe you would bake for 30 minutes covered in foil first, before the 10 minutes uncovered for browning. Mine came out pretty soft that way, but you could cook them covered for longer if you want them even softer.
Emily Howard
These are too yummy!! For the last 10 minutes I found that I needed to turn the oven up. I took the foil off and cooked for 10 minutes and they still weren’t quite done, I turned the oven up to 450 and then they cooked to just right!
Laura strnad
Can I use cottage cheese in place of ricotta here? To cut back on some calories or wouldn’t that work?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Yes, cottage cheese would work just fine. You could also use a 2% ricotta instead of whole milk ricotta if calories are a priority over carbs.
Kim | Low Carb Maven
I love this recipe. My husband is always complaining that I don’t cook with ground beef. I think I’ll make this recipe and make him happy because it sounds great. ps. I love Italian comfort food, too.
Kim | Low Carb Maven
Stacey, me too! The green bell peppers are actually immature peppers and I’m sure that’s why they taste more bitter and sharp or “green”.
Katrin
Peppers are always amazing when they are stuffed. Your recipe sounds amazing
Taryn
These look like a great low carb alternative to classic lasagna!
STACEY
This sounds lovely! I like the orange and red peppers, but not the green ones, lol. Loving the melted cheesy deliciousness.
Georgina
LOVE stuffed peppers – as long as they’re not green ones LOL! And these look great!
Moonbeam
Yes I do know what you’re saying re: green bells! My hubby can’t eat those so I have started using orange or yellow for stuffed peppers and they work great! I also don’t eat beef anymore so I use ground turkey for an alternative source and it works great! Can’t wait to try this recipe, doing it tonight!