Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef

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.)

1. 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.)
2. When ground beef is done, remove to a bowl and add sausage to the pan.
3. Brown the sausage and put it in the bowl with the beef. 
4. 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.
5. Put peppers in a dish where they fit pretty tightly. Chop up the onion, plus the parts of the peppers you sliced off. 
6. Saute chopped pepper tops and onions for a few minutes.
7. Then mix the browned meats and a little tomato sauce into the veggie mixture.
8. Let it cool for a few minutes, then mix in most of the grated Mozzarella and the Parmesan.
9. Stuff peppers with the meat mixture and put a pinch of the remaining Mozzarella on top of each one.
10. Cover with foil, tenting it so it doesn’t stick to the cheese, and bake covered at 375F/190C for about 30 minutes.
11. 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!

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Yield: 6 servings

Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

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

1. Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
2. 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.)
3. Remove the ground beef to a bowl when it's done.
4. In same frying pan, add a tiny amount of olive oil, squeeze  sausage out of links, and cook until lightly brown.
5. Add the browned sausage to the bowl with the ground beef.
6. Cut tops off peppers, making a deep enough cut that you have some pepper to chop for the filling.
7. 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.)
8. Clean out inside of peppers and wash if needed.
9. Choose a pan that will keep the peppers standing upright and spray with olive oil or nonstick spray.
10. While the meats browns, chop the pepper tops and bottoms and the onions.
11. Add a bit more oil to pan and cook chopped peppers and onions for about 3-4 minutes, until barely starting to soften.
12. Turn off heat and put meat back into pan with peppers and onions.
13. 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.)
14. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
15. Let mixture cool slightly, then mix in cheeses, saving about 1/4 cup Mozzarella for the top of the peppers.
16. Put the peppers in the pan standing upright.
17. Stuff each pepper with meat/veggie/cheese mixture, using a large spoon and pressing in tightly until you use all the filling.
18. Put a pinch of Mozzarella cheese on the top of each pepper.
19. Cover the dish loosely with foil, tenting it up so it doesn’t touch the tops of the peppers.
20. Bake, covered with foil about 30 minutes.
21. Take off foil and bake about 20 minutes more, until cheese is melted completely and top is slightly browned.
22. 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

6

Serving Size

1
Amount 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.

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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.

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