Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef (Video)
Anyone who likes stuffed peppers will enjoy these cheesy low-carb Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef! This is a favorite stuffed pepper recipe that doesn’t have any rice, and I’ve been making these for years!
PIN Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef to try it later!
I’m a huge fan of stuffed peppers, and there are a lot of stuffed pepper recipes on this blog, and even a round-up of stuffed pepper recipes! But today I’m reminding you about these amazing Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef that I first made many years ago.
When the stuffed peppers craving hits, this is the low-carb stuffed peppers recipe I make over and over. Maybe it’s because I almost always have ground beef and Italian Sausage in the freezer and most of the other ingredients are things I keep on hand as well. So when I want to make stuffed peppers like this I usually just have to buy the peppers.
This recipe makes six peppers, and when I was teaching school these low-carb stuffed peppers were just the type of thing I’d make for Weekend Food Prep and keep in the freezer to take for lunch over and over! So even if you’re only cooking for one or two people I recommend making the whole recipe and freezing some or just eating them a few times during the week! And if you haven’t tried this Kalyn’s Kitchen favorite recipe yet, I hope you enjoy!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- red or green bell peppers, or a mixture of colors
- ground beef
- turkey or pork Italian sausage (hot or mild, but I prefer hot)
- onion, diced
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
- Rao’s Pasta Sauce (affiliate link), or other low-sugar sauce
- grated mozzarella cheese
- grated Parmesan cheese
What color of peppers should you use?
I know some people like the milder flavor of red or yellow peppers and don’t like the green ones so much, and of course you can use any color of peppers you prefer for this recipe.
What makes these stuffed peppers low in carbs?
You may be surprised to hear that stuffed peppers can be made without rice! These favorite stuffed peppers just have sausage, ground beef, diced peppers, chopped onion, marinara sauce, and cheese combined and stuffed into a pepper.
Do you need to pre-cook the bell peppers for stuffed peppers?
There’s no need to pre-cook the peppers before stuffing them! In fact I prefer stuffed peppers when the peppers aren’t too soft, and stuffing the peppers raw also makes them easier to handle.
Want more ideas for low-carb stuffed peppers?
If you’re a fan of stuffed peppers, check out Low-Carb and Keto Stuffed Pepper Recipes for lots more tasty ideas.
How to make Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Heat olive oil and cook ground beef until lightly browned. (I use my turner or a potato masher to break up the meat into smaller bits as it cooks.)
- When ground beef is done, remove to a bowl and add sausage to the pan.
- Brown the sausage and put it in the bowl with the beef.
- While the meat browns, slice off the pepper tops and then slice off the bottom ends of the peppers (just enough so they will stand up) and remove the and seeds.
- Put peppers in a dish where they fit pretty tightly. Chop up the onion, plus the parts of the peppers you sliced off.
- Saute chopped pepper tops and onions for a few minutes.
- Then mix the browned meats and a little tomato sauce into the veggie mixture.
- Let it cool for a few minutes, then mix in most of the grated Mozzarella and the Parmesan.
- Stuff peppers with the meat mixture and put a pinch of the remaining Mozzarella on top of each one.
- Cover with foil, tenting it so it doesn’t stick to the cheese, and bake covered at 375F/190C for about 30 minutes.
- Then remove the foil and bake about 20 minutes more, or until peppers are piping hot and the cheese on top is nicely browned. Serve hot.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
For a delicious low-carb dinner, I’d love these peppers with Easy Cauliflower Rice with Garlic and Green Onion, Pan-Fried Broccoli with Pine Nuts and Parmesan, or Twice-Baked Spaghetti Squash with Pesto and Parmesan on the side.
More Delicious Ways to Stuff Peppers:
- Southwestern Cauliflower Rice Stuffed Peppers
- Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey
- Stuffed Peppers with Beef, Sausage, and Cabbage
- Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza-Stuffed Peppers
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef
These Stuffed Peppers with Turkey Italian Sausage and Ground Beef are low-carb and gluten-free, and so delicious and easy to make!
Ingredients
- 6 red or green bell peppers, or a mixture of colors
- 1 pound ground beef
- 19.5 oz pkg. turkey or pork Italian sausage (hot or mild, but I prefer hot)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 T olive oil for browning meat and veggies
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste to season meat
- 1 cup Rao's Pasta Sauce (see notes)
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (more or less to taste)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (more or less to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
- In very large frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil and cook ground beef until lightly browned. (I use my turner or a potato masher to break up the meat into smaller bits as it cooks.)
- Remove the ground beef to a bowl when it's done.
- In same frying pan, add a tiny amount of olive oil, squeeze sausage out of links, and cook until lightly brown.
- Add the browned sausage to the bowl with the ground beef.
- Cut tops off peppers, making a deep enough cut that you have some pepper to chop for the filling.
- Square off the bottom of each pepper to make them stand up. (It’s nice to have a small hole in the bottom so any extra fat can drain out, and cutting off the bottoms also accomplishes this.)
- Clean out inside of peppers and wash if needed.
- Choose a pan that will keep the peppers standing upright and spray with olive oil or nonstick spray.
- While the meats browns, chop the pepper tops and bottoms and the onions.
- Add a bit more oil to pan and cook chopped peppers and onions for about 3-4 minutes, until barely starting to soften.
- Turn off heat and put meat back into pan with peppers and onions.
- Add about 1 cup Marinara sauce, or purchased tomato sauce with basil, just enough to barely moisten the mixture. (Be sure to choose a low-sugar sauce for low-carbs.)
- Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
- Let mixture cool slightly, then mix in cheeses, saving about 1/4 cup Mozzarella for the top of the peppers.
- Put the peppers in the pan standing upright.
- Stuff each pepper with meat/veggie/cheese mixture, using a large spoon and pressing in tightly until you use all the filling.
- Put a pinch of Mozzarella cheese on the top of each pepper.
- Cover the dish loosely with foil, tenting it up so it doesn’t touch the tops of the peppers.
- Bake, covered with foil about 30 minutes.
- Take off foil and bake about 20 minutes more, until cheese is melted completely and top is slightly browned.
- Serve hot.
Notes
I sometimes use my own homemade Marinara sauce for this recipe, but if you're buying sauce the lowest carb sauce I've found is Rao's Pasta Sauce (affiliate link).This freezes well, so even if you’re only cooking for one or two I recommend making the full amount and stashing some in the freezer for lunches or easy dinners another time.
This recipe created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 752Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 17gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 246mgSodium: 968mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 72g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
These Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef are great for low-carb diet plans, including Keto, and these are a perfect dish for any phase of the original South Beach Diet (with approved meats and reduced-fat mozzarella).
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This popular recipe was first posted in 2007! It was last updated with more information in 2023.
69 Comments on “Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef (Video)”
Made this with hot Italian sausage and ground beef, onion, carrots, a potato, the tops and bottoms of the peppers, 3-cheese pasta sauce (in the cupboard), and Romano cheese on top. I didn’t have Mozzarella. I had a lot of filling left over, which is tasty on its own! My husband ate one pepper for lunch right out of the oven. He added a little more sauce (he’s like that), and said he is looking forward to having another stuffed pepper for dinner. Thank you for sharing this recipe! My mom’s were always soggy, and I prefer this version.
Glad to hear it was a hit for you!
Great Dish then peppers Make ..
Not sure what you mean by “then peppers Make”?
These were delicious and I have made many times with a few changes in the cooking process.
I cook the ground beef and sausage together and then add the Rao sauce and cheese.
I cut the peppers in half lengthwise, clean out the seeds and membrane and cut off the stems.
I the steam them, a few at a time, until they are easily pierced with a knife – about 5 minutes or less.
Then stuff and refrigerate. One half of a pepper is a good serving for 1. I use 1 pound each of sausage
and beef. I cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. It is really heating everything up as all is cooked.
Once stuffed they freeze beautifully. Two pounds ground beef and 2 pounds sausage stuffs 12 pepper halfs. I buy 3 green and 3 red peppers.
So glad you are enjoying them, and fun hearing how you do it. I think good cooks always adapt recipes to their own methods! (I edited your previous comment to correct the amounts that you updated.)
I made this today and let me just say I will be making them again … The Best!!! … Thank you …
You make being on keto easy …
Thanks Karen! So glad you enjoyed it!
Wow! That looks like some serious deliciousness right there! Thanks so much for your recipe idea.I now know what I’ll be making for dinner for my family tonight.
What I love in this recipe is the low-carb ingredients. This food will maintain my diet plan. Must try it now. Healthy and flavorful food that everyone will love. Perfect as appetizer or side dish.
Oh my god. This low carb recipe will fit my diet. Eating delicious food without worrying of getting fat is awesome. All the ingredients are all healthy. Can’t wait to cook this now.
Hope you enjoy!
If you look after the recipe itself, I give two links (where it says “Nutritional Information”) for suggestions of two ways to get that information. That’s all I am able to do at this time.
I’m not able to provide nutritional information for the recipes for several reasons, including the additional time it takes, the difficulty in doing it accurately, and the sheer number of recipes on my site. I have over 2000 recipes here and spend 6-8 hours most days working on the blog. I just can’t edit over 2,000 recipes to add that info, and I know once I do it on one recipe people will expect to see it on every recipe. Thanks for understanding.
Best stuffed peppers I’ve ever made!
So glad to hear that you liked it!
So if you want to freeze, you fully cook in the pepper then freeze??
Yes, that’s right but if you know you’ll be freezing some of them I’d cook those a little bit less because they will get cooked more when they’re reheated.
This recipe is a huge hit for my hubby just gotta get the kids on board lol I’ve made them twice now and so perfect for a nice low carb meal! Thank you for sharing!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Peppers are kind of a hard sell with kids!
Thanks for sharing!
Just took these out of the oven. Look and smell amazing!!! My 18 and 14 year old boys are hovering like vultures, waiting for them to cool off 🙂
How fun; I hope everyone enjoys them!
Hi Michael,
I'm recommending the turkey sausage as a lower-fat option, but for flavor I think traditional Italian sausage made with pork would taste great here. Hope you enjoy!
Can you recommend an alternative to turkey sausages? I can't find turkey sausages here in Holland, they only seem to have beef and pork sausages!
Donna, what a fun story. This is one of my personal faves too!
THIs is one of my all time favorite KK recipes – and stuffed peppers has a history in our family: I made these all the time when I was first married. My hubby was so sweet he ate them and complimented me. The, my mother in law told me he HATES bell peppers. He was just too sweet to tell me!
PennyAnn, I guess I don't, but the filling from this recipe for Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini would be delicious in peppers.
Do you have a meatless recipe for stuffed peppers?
Lee Ann, yes cook the peppers as per the recipe, then freeze. Thaw in the fridge if you can and reheat in a microwave. You can cook a few of them for a slightly shorter time if you want them a little crisper after they've been frozen.
If I want to freeze some of the peppers do I go ahead and cook them first and then just reheat?
Dina, glad you enjoyed it!
I just made these and the flavor was so good. I had some leftover roasted cauliflower that I didn't want to go to waste, so I chopped it up like "rice" and stirred it in. Yum. I did find that I had way too much filling for the six peppers (even if I had left out the cauliflower, it only ended up being about a cup). The filling is really good on its own, so I enjoyed it that way. I just don't ever want anything to go to waste! Thank you so much for your incredible site. It's such a great resource!
Cristin, glad you are enjoying it, and I think chicken sausage would be just fine.
This easily became a meal on our regular rotating menu – and I always make a little extra so my hubby can take a pepper with him on his weekly out-of-town job. I just bought some ground hot Italian CHICKEN sausage…but I don't know how to use it. Would that work fine in here?
Yes, I would thaw and then microwave.
I don't cook what I don't like – peppers being on that list – so my husband has suffered greatly. I knew this would delight him, and of course it did (he suggested I make this often). Next time I'll probably chop up more of the peppers and do more of a casserole style for me & the kids while hubby gets the actual stuffed peppers. My only question…I put one pepper in the freezer. How do you usually reheat? Do you thaw first and then microwave?
They microwave well between 2 glass plates. My son loved them so much he ate both of his in 1 sitting, my husband and I had our 2nds for lunch today. They are really good. I did half the cheese though. I have been trying to stay away from overdoing dairy. The only suggestion I have is if you are wanting to serve many people use small bell peppers so that you have enough filling for them all. This made enough to fill 6 large or 8 small (I think) peppers. Yum Yum!
Good idea!
I put the peppers in an large muffin pan. Works out perfect!!! Yummmm!!!
Maureen, glad you enjoy them!
Thank you! These were really tasty and easy to make. Easy to make after work.
Cee Jay, congrats on the new stove. Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Hubby and I finally purchased a range this week-end, so no more cooking only with small appliances. I hit your site yesterday looking for the recipe for the kale lasagna, but when I saw this recipe I knew I was changing plans. I didn't feel like making marinara, but happened to find a sugar free sauce at the grocery store. Of course it was almost twice as much as the brands with sugar. I will never understand that.
We purchased a convection oven, so I was curious to see how the first recipe I made in my new oven would turn out. These were fantastic, and the peppers browned nicely the last twenty minutes. This was delicious! It is definitely going on my rotation list.
Lydia, the perfect lunch to pop in the microwave at work or home!
Kat, hope you enjoy it.
Deborah, the rinsing really takes off a lot of fat but doesn't affect the flavor.
I love stuffed peppers, and I love your hints for making these lower fat!
Hubby had recently made a comment about having stuffed peppers but no rice – I really like this recipe – thanks for sharing I think this will be on the menu this week
I love this version without the rice. Much leaner and, for me, the kind of dish I could eat often. I will definitely make the whole batch and freeze them individually, so I can pop one at a time into the microwave for lunch.
Thanks Joanne. This was one of my favorite things to have in the freezer when I was teaching school!
I'm a big fan of stuffed peppers! Such a great way to get in a veggie serving without even realizing it. That stuffing sounds delicious!
I'm intrigued by the idea of making this as a casserole; bet I would like that too!
I love this recipe! I've made it several times and the last time I made it I made it as a casserole instead of stuffed peppers and I think that's probably the way I'll make it from now on. I chopped and sauteed the peppers first in order to get some of the moisure out of them. It wasn't that much easier, but my husband and I both like it better.
Gerrie, just microwave the peppers for a few minutes, similar to blanching them.
Your version sounds good.
Kalyn,
Thanks for a delicious recipes. I use only the turkey sausage and add basmati rice instead of the beef. Tried it both ways and it is so yummy. I do blanch the peppers though on stovetop. How do you blanch them in microwave? Thanks so much for such delicious and healthy recipes.
…Gerrie
Anonymous, I love getting comments on older posts like this. Thanks so much for letting me know you liked the recipe.
I know that nobody has commented since last year, but I just found this recipe. I just had to comment that I made these and they were the best stuffed peppers I have ever had. I have tried to make many different ways. This is by far the best!
Anonymous, how I wish I had some peppers in my garden so I could make this. Not yet though. Do try again with the turkey Italian Sausage, it's wonderful.
Hi Kalyn. My husband and I are just starting out on this and gave these a try. Sadly, I was trying to remember the recipe and bought ground turkey and regular sausage instead so I am sure that accounts for the fat but oh my they were wonderful. It is a keeper – but we will try to do it right next time. Thanks for this site!
Lely thanks so much for letting me know you liked the stuffed peppers. I need to make those again soon myself!
This recipe is Awesome! My family loved it! My son & nephew asked for seconds. Thumbs up for another awesome Kalyn recipe :o)
Oh my goodness, these look so delicious! I wish Slovakia was into meats other than pork, pork, pork so I could try this out sooner rather than next year. I think the photos look great, too – totally drool-worthy. I will be saving this recipe.
Hi Everyone,
Nice to know that people think this looks good. I’ve taken this for my lunch twice and really enjoyed it. Cheri, wow, twenty pounds of peppers!
Those look pretty good. Stuffed vegetables are so versatile. You can do many things with the stuffing and you can stuff different vegetables. I just made some stuffed zucchini.
I just froze twenty pounds of peppers before our first frost. Now I have lots of new recipes to make throughout the winter.
You are a great resource.
Cherri
These look delish!
Those looks delicious and I’m surprised it can be made so healthfully.
YUM! Turkey with beef….that sounds like one heck of a combination. Btw, I should thank you for putting me on Calendula and Conceret’s blog….it gave me a beautiful tomato sauce!
This is one for the recipe file! Good, quick dinner food. Thanks, Kalyn.
I love the Hot Italian Turkey Sausage I get at Whole Foods and mix it with 96% fat free ground beef for my meat loaf!
This looks wonderfully good . . . fun to know the green peppers are from your garden! I don’t have any peppers big like this only little ones right now.
My partner is going to love these! Thanks. 🙂