Quick Summary: Two stuffed pepper recipes in one post. Bell peppers get a savory ground beef filling with Mexican spices and queso fresco. Poblanos go vegetarian with butternut squash, black beans, and cotija. Both skip the rice and work for low-carb or slow-carb eating. Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 45 minutes | Serves: 8
Jump to: TWO RECIPES | Slow Carb Stuffed Bell Peppers | Slow Carb Stuffed Poblanos | FAQ
Stuffed peppers are one of those meals that looks impressive but comes together easily. The key to keeping them low-carb is skipping the rice that most recipes call for.
For the bell peppers, I use seasoned ground beef with olives and queso fresco. For the poblanos, a vegetarian filling of butternut squash, black beans, and mushrooms. Both get topped with cheese and baked until bubbling.
Bell peppers have some natural carbs but pack serious nutrition, especially vitamin C. Poblanos add subtle heat that pairs beautifully with the earthy squash filling.
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Substitutions for Refined Carbs in Stuffed Peppers
Most stuffed peppers include rice, quinoa, or some sort of refined carb. If you want to go slow carb, it is fairly easy to omit the rice and use squash or black beans as a substitute. You still have a ton of flavor and none of the refined carbs
Sweet Bell Peppers
The stuffed sweet bell peppers only include the incidental carbs you would get from the onions and peppers, so these are compliant with low carb, slow carb or keto. Peppers have incidental carbs so monitor the amount if you are following a ketogenic diet.
I used ground beef (hamburger) with the stuffed bell peppers, but any kind of ground meat would be fine. I prefer ground pork when I have it on hand.
You use any enchilda sauce. I like this mild red enchilada sauce from Amazon.
Any way you cut it, these taste great, are relatively easy to make and can be easily modified to suit your own tastes. Want more spice? Choose a spicier pepper powder. Don’t like the vegetable combinations? Add in spinach, tomatoes or zucchini. It all works. This is just what pleased my palate.
Tip: The one constant is fresh, fully ripened peppers.
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Black beans are a good addition to stuffed poblano peppers. They are a complex carb that absorbs slowly, avoiding blood sugar spikes. They’re allowed on slow-carb but not keto.
In the recipe below I have also added Butternut squash, which adds fiber and vitamins but also has carbs, making this version more “healthy vegetarian” than strict slow-carb.
Probably the most popular stuffed chile pepper is the chile relleno. This recipe for authentic chile rellenos dips the cheese-stuffed poblanos in whipped eggs and cooks them in a tomato chile sauce. It is sooo good, and yes it is low carb!
FAQ
They have more carbs than leafy greens but are still relatively low, around 6 grams per medium pepper. The fiber and vitamins make them worth including for most low-carb plans. Monitor portions if you’re doing strict keto.
Yes. Assemble the stuffed peppers, cover, and refrigerate for up to a day before baking. Add 5-10 minutes to the cooking time if baking from cold.
Bell peppers hold their shape well and have a sweet flavor. Poblanos add mild heat and work better with earthy fillings like squash and beans.
Yes. Any ground meat works. Turkey and chicken are leaner; pork adds richness.
Boiling softens them so they cook evenly with the filling. You can skip this step and bake longer (about 45 minutes total), but the texture will be firmer.
Interested in the Slow Carb Diet? Check out this comprehensive E-Guide on Fat Loss through a Slow Carb Diet.
Slow Carb Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 large sweet bell peppers
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers seeded
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound ground beef or ground pork
- 1 cup beef broth
- ½ cup black olives chopped
- 1 cup queso fresco divided into 2 1/2 cup portions
- enchilada sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut bell peppers in half (vertically) and take the seeds out and set aside.4 large sweet bell peppers
- Add the olive oil to a skillet and heat up over medium high heat. Saute the chopped onions and jalapenos in the olive oil until soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and spices and salt and saute another minute, stirring everything together as it cooks.2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 onion, 2 jalapeno peppers, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon chipotle powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add ground beef, breaking it up in the skillet and cook until no longer pink. Add the beef broth and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until most of the liquid is gone. Remove from heat when most of liquid is gone and add the olives and 1/2 cup of crumbled queso. Let it cool a bit before using as the stuffing.1 pound ground beef, 1 cup beef broth, 1/2 cup black olives, 1 cup queso fresco
- While the beef is cooking bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the peppers in the boiling water until just bright red and tender (about 5-8 minutes). Remove and drain peppers.
- When peppers and stuffing have cooled down a bit (around 5 minutes), place them on a baking sheet and fill each pepper with some of the beef stuffing mix. Top each with some of the remaining 1/2 cup of queso fresco.1 cup queso fresco
- At this point you can pour the enchilada sauce on the bottom of yourbaking dish and cook it along with the peppers or you can make the enchilada sauce on the stove top and pour over or around the peppers when they are done.enchilada sauce
- Bake the stuffed peppers for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the stuffing is heated through. Serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Slow Carb Stuffed Poblanos
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 poblano peppers cut in half vertically
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup mushrooms chopped or sliced
- 1 cup winter squash cubed and cooked
- 1 tsp chipotle spice
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- 14 oz black beans canned, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- 1 cup cotija cheese can substitute Parmesan
- enchilada sauce optional, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut poblano peppers in half along the vertical and place cut side up in a baking dish. Bake 15 minutes.4 poblano peppers
- Heat olive oil in skillet and saute onion until soft (about 5-7 minutes). Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add chicken stock, mushrooms, squash and spices and salt. Cook until mushrooms are soft (about 3-5 minutes).2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1 cup chicken stock, 1 cup mushrooms, 1 cup winter squash, 1 tsp chipotle spice, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt
- Add beans and cilantro to the mix in the skillet, stir in thoroughly and remove from heat.14 oz black beans, 1/2 cup cilantro
- When cool enough to handle spoon vegetable mixture into Poblano halves
on the baking sheet. Top with crumbled cheese and bake 15-20 minutes.1 cup cotija cheese - Optional: Add enchilada sauce to bottom of baking dish or prepare on stove and pour over stuffed peppers.enchilada sauce
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