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These keto stuffed bell peppers are so mouthwatering-ly delicious it will be hard not to eat more than one. Or two. They are full of protein, veggies and heart-healthy fat thanks to Armour Premium All-Natural Lard.
I had never had a stuffed bell pepper until about two years ago. I have a love/hate relationship with bell peppers. Growing up, my mom only bought green peppers, because they were cheaper, and my mom is very frugal. I didn’t like green bell peppers as a kid, so I grew up not ever being willing to try the other colors. Until about 8 or 9 years ago, when I fell in love with orange and yellow bell peppers. That’s when they became a staple in my diet. I’ll add green bell peppers to a dish every now and then, but I sill prefer the other colors.
Every stuffed bell pepper I’d ever had previously wasn’t paleo or keto compliant. They all contained rice or quinoa. And while they tasted really good, I knew I wanted to make a keto stuffed bell pepper recipe that fit our current lifestyle. And I wanted to be able to easily make it paleo compliant. Which you can easily do by eliminating the cheese from this recipe and you’re good to go!
One thing I never thought would come out of my vocabulary: I cook with lard. Lard isn’t the prettiest word, is it? And it hasn’t always been connected to health. But did you know that lard is actually one of the healthiest fats you can cook with? Yep! It is full of healthy monounsaturated fats, which can help lower LDL cholesterol. It’s gluten free and has zero trans fat. It is also flavorless, so it won’t change the flavors in your recipe, which I love! And it’s super versatile. You can use it for frying, sauteing, and even baking!
I used Armour Premium All-Natural Lard to make these keto stuffed bell peppers and holy cow you guys; I was in love at first bite. You can find it in the baking aisle at your local Walmart. I came to the conclusion while making these keto stuffed bell peppers that I really like complex flavors when it comes to my food. Kellen is good with just meat and a veggie on the side. But I love when I can incorporate multiple ingredients into one dish. The filling for these stuffed bell peppers is so tasty I may have eaten the extra with a spoon. And yes, I could definitely have just eaten the filling by itself. It is so creamy and is making my mouth just thinking about it.
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 pound Italian sausage (hot or mild, depending on your preference)
- 6 bell peppers (I used red, orange and yellow, but any color will work)
- 1 cup diced bell peppers (from what you cut off the top and bottom of the peppers)
- 1/2 yellow union, diced
- 3 tablespoons Armour Premium All-Natural Lard
- 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (find the lowest sugar content sauce, or make your own)
- Sea Salt
- Pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Aluminum foil for baking
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cut the tops off the bell peppers (enough so that you have pepper to dice for the filling) and flatten the bottom of each pepper so they stand up.
- Clean out the inside of each pepper, then stand them up in a 9x9 baking pan.
- Dice the extra bell peppers.
- In a large frying pan or electric skillet on medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons Armour Premium All-Natural lard.
- Cook ground turkey and sausage until brown. Set aside in a bowl.
- Add last tablespoon of lard to the pan, then add diced peppers and onion.
- Cook until just softened, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add meat back to pan and turn off heat.
- Add in tomato sauce. Stir to coat the meat and veggies. You may need an extra few tablespoons, but you don't want it to be too saucy. Just enough to coat all the meat and veggies.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese and all the Parmesan cheese.
- Fill each bell pepper with the meat and veggie mixture, pressing the mixture in to make sure the peppers are very full.
- Distribute remaining mozzarella cheese over the peppers.
- Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil, so that it doesn't touch the tops of the peppers.
- Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered.
- For a paleo version of this recipe, eliminate the cheese.
- The stuffed peppers will keep up to 2 days in the fridge and reheat fabulously.
I could eat this recipe nearly every week. Both kids really loved the filling, so I may end up making just the filling for a meal every now and then, and add in some extra bell peppers and onion.
Enjoy!
Kirk and you are on the same page about green peppers! I never minded them, but we have a strict no green pepper rule in our house. No matter, because the other colors are more ripe and more flavorful anyway! I’ve never cooked with lard, but good to know it doesn’t have a flavor! I NEVER cook with coconut oil because I hate how it makes everything taste like a coconut. Yuck.
I LOVE stuffed bell peppers! This looks like a fantastic recipe, too.
My mom used to make stuffed peppers and I always hated them! These sound much better than hers!
Oh my yum!!! They sound delicious! I’ve done stuffed peppers without rice or quinoa before (though I love them with quinoa!).