Cheesy Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef will be a hit with anyone who loves stuffed peppers! This is a favorite recipe for stuffed peppers without rice, and I’ve been enjoying it for years!
PIN Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef to try later!
Today I remind you Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Minced Beef which I first made many years ago! Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a big fan of stuffed peppers. And there are lots of stuffed pepper recipes on this site, and even a roundup of stuffed pepper recipes!
But this is the low-carb stuffed pepper recipe that I make again and again. 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 have on hand. So when I want to make this recipe, I usually just have to buy the peppers.
This recipe makes six peppers, and when I was teaching school, these stuffed peppers were one of my favorite things to make for Weekend Food Prep. I would keep the cooked peppers in the refrigerator or freezer so I can take them for lunch again and again! Even if you’re only cooking for one or two people, I recommend making the entire recipe and freezing some of it or just eating it a few times a week! And if you haven’t tried this favorite recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen yet, I hope you enjoy it!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is just a list of ingredients; scroll down for the full printable recipe. Or if you want the GO TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, which will take you directly to the full recipe.)
- red or green pepper, or a mixture of colors
- ground beef
- Italian turkey or pork sausage (hot or mild, but I prefer hot)
- onion, diced
- Olive oil (affiliate link)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Rao’s Pasta Sauce (affiliate link), or another low sugar sauce
- grated mozzarella cheese
- grated Parmesan cheese
What color pepper should you use?
I know some people like the milder flavor of red or yellow peppers and don’t like the green ones as much. You can of course use any color pepper you want for this recipe.
Do you have to pre-cook the peppers for stuffed peppers?
There is no need to pre-cook the peppers before stuffing them! I actually prefer stuffed peppers if the peppers are not too soft, and stuffing the peppers raw also makes them easier to handle.
Which Italian Sausage do I use for the Stuffed Peppers recipe?
For years I made these favorite stuffed peppers with my favorite Italian turkey sausage, and I was pretty passionate about it. Then that sausage disappeared from my stores, and I never found another brand of turkey sausage that I liked as well. So now I use Italian pork sausage, and I prefer the hot sausage. But you can use turkey or pork sausage, and either mild or hot sausage will be great.
What makes the stuffed peppers low-carb?
You might be surprised to learn that stuffed peppers can also be made without rice! These favorite stuffed peppers contain just sausage, ground beef, diced peppers, chopped onion, marinara sauce and cheese combined and stuffed into a pepper.
How low in carbohydrates are the stuffed peppers with Italian sausage and minced meat?
These amazing meat-filled cheesy stuffed peppers contain only 9 net carbs with 72 grams of protein in one pepper!
This is how you make stuffed peppers with Italian sausage and minced meat:
(This is just a summary of the steps for the recipe; scroll down for the full printable recipe. Or if you want the GO TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, which will take you directly to the full recipe.)
- Heat the olive oil and fry the minced meat until it is light brown. (I use my turner or a potato masher to break the meat into smaller pieces as it cooks.)
- When the minced meat is ready, put it in a bowl and put the sausage in the pan.
- Brown the sausage and add it to the bowl with the beef.
- While the meat is browning, cut off the tops of the peppers, then the bottoms of the peppers (just enough so that they stand upright). Remove the seeds from the peppers.
- Place the peppers in a bowl that will fit them tightly. Chop the onion, plus the parts of the pepper that you cut off.
- Fry the chopped pepper tops and onions for a few minutes.
- Then mix the browned meat and a little tomato sauce into the vegetable mixture.
- Let it cool for a few minutes and then mix in most of the grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and place a pinch of the remaining mozzarella on each pepper.
- Cover with foil, making sure it does not stick to the cheese, and bake covered at 190 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes.
- Then remove the foil and bake for about 10 minutes more, or until the peppers are piping hot and the cheese on top is nicely browned.
- Serve hot and enjoy.
Make it a low-carb meal:
For a delicious low-carb dinner, I’d love to serve stuffed peppers with one of these low-carb side dishes that don’t require the oven:
Want more ideas for low-carb stuffed peppers?
If you’re a fan of stuffed peppers, check out my collection of Keto Stuffed Pepper Recipes for many more tasty ideas.
Weekend food preparation:
This recipe has been added to the Weekend Food Prep category, where you will find recipes that you can prepare or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Ingredients
6 red or green peppers, or a mixture of colors
1 pound ground beef
19.5 oz package. Italian turkey or pork sausage (hot or mild, but I prefer hot)
1 small onion, diced
2 T olive oil for browning meat and vegetables
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste to season the meat
1 cup Rao’s pasta sauce (see notes)
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (more or less to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
- Heat a small amount of olive oil in a very large frying pan and fry the minced meat until lightly browned. (I use my turner or a potato masher to break the meat into smaller pieces as it cooks.)
- When the minced meat is ready, place it in a bowl.
- In the same frying pan, add a small amount of olive oil, squeeze the sausage from the links and cook until lightly browned.
- Add the browned sausage to the bowl with the ground beef.
- Cut the tops off the peppers and make a deep enough cut so that you have some pepper left to chop for the filling.
- Square the bottom of each pepper so they stand upright. (It’s nice to have a small hole in the bottom so that any extra fat can drain out, and cutting off the bottom accomplishes this as well.)
- Clean the inside of the pepper and wash it if necessary.
- Choose a pan that will keep the peppers upright and spray them with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.
- While the meat is browning, finely chop the tops and bottoms of the peppers and onions.
- Add a little more oil to the pan and cook the chopped peppers and onions for about 3-4 minutes, until they barely start to soften.
- Turn off the heat and return the meat to the pan with peppers and onions.
- Add about 1 cup of marinara sauce, or purchased tomato sauce with basil, just enough to barely moisten the mixture. (Make sure to choose a low-sugar sauce for low-carb dishes.)
- Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
- Let the mixture cool slightly and mix in the cheeses. Reserve about 1/4 cup of mozzarella for the tops of the peppers.
- Place the peppers upright in the pan.
- Fill each pepper with a meat/vegetable/cheese mixture, using a large spoon and pressing down firmly until you use all the filling.
- Place a pinch of mozzarella cheese on each pepper.
- Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and prop it up so it doesn’t touch the tops of the peppers.
- Bake, covered with foil, for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for about 10 more minutes, until the cheese is completely melted and the top is lightly browned.
- Serve the stuffed peppers with Italian sausage and minced meat warm and enjoy!
Comments
This recipe freezes well, so even if you’re only cooking for one or two people, I recommend making the entire batch and keeping some in the freezer for lunch or a simple dinner another time.
This recipe made by Kalyn.
Nutritional information
Yield
6
Portion size
1
Quantity per serving
Calories 752Total fat 43gSaturated fat 17gUnsaturated fat 23gCholesterol 246 mgSodium 968 mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 3gSugar 7gEgg white 72g
Nutritional information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I use. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy as many variables influence these calculations.
Suggestions for a low-carb diet / low-glycemic diet / South Beach diet:
These stuffed peppers with Italian sausage and ground beef are ideal for low-carb diets, including Keto. They can also be good for any phase of the Original South Beach Diet, with approved reduced-fat meats and mozzarella.
Find more recipes like this:
Use Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this. 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 TikTokor on YouTube to see all the good recipes I share there.
Historical notes on this recipe:
This popular recipe for stuffed peppers without rice was first posted in 2007 and I have made these peppers so many times! It was last updated with more information in 2026.
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