Stuffed Peppers without Rice

These delicious stuffed peppers are made without rice. Instead, I use cauliflower rice in the flavorful, well-seasoned stuffing.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 547kcal

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a square 8-inch baking dish with olive oil.
To prepare the seasoning mixture, mix together the tomato paste, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and paprika in a small bowl. Set aside.
Remove the tops of the peppers, then core and seed them.
Place the cauliflower in your food processor. Process until it resembles rice. You should get about 2 - 2.5 cups of riced cauliflower. You can also use store-bought riced cauliflower.
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat, for about 2 minutes. Add the riced cauliflower, onion, and beef. Cook, stirring and breaking the beef up as it cooks, until the onion and cauliflower are soft and the beef is lightly browned, 5-7 minutes.
Add the seasoning mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring, until everything is well blended. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro and cheese.
Fill each bell pepper with ¼ of the mixture, packing it in, and place the stuffed peppers in the prepared baking dish. Spray them with olive oil.
Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until the peppers are tender. Carefully remove them from the baking dish onto paper towels and let them stand for 10 minutes before serving.

If using any salt other than Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, including Morton kosher salt, use half the amount listed.
This recipe, as originally written, is not a low-carb dish, mostly because of the tomato paste. So, if you're on a keto or very low-carb diet, I suggest you omit the tomato paste. In addition, use six medium bell peppers instead of four large ones, dividing this recipe into six servings instead of four. This will considerably lower the carb content.
A small cauliflower head is 4 inches in diameter and weighs about 9 ounces.
Approximate nutrition info for one serving of the low-carb version (1 medium stuffed pepper): Calories 344, Fat 23g, Saturated Fat 9g, Sodium 383mg, Carbohydrate 14g, Fiber 4g, Sugars 5g, Protein 21g.
You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave at 50% power or in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes.