Low-Carb Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers For A Simple Meal

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Taco-meat stuffed bell peppers is a healthy and delicious twist to Taco Tuesday and are a Homestead favorite. A simple and fast low-carb meal idea for busy days, but still fancy enough for company!

Taco stuffed bell peppers in white square plate, Mexican blanket, tomato, jalalpeno, garlic #TexasHomesteader

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I always plant bell peppers in my Homestead Garden. That’s  because I use bell pepper often to flavor so many dishes.

I have a regular Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe that I bake up sometimes. It’s stuffed with rice and seasoned ground beef with tomatoes. And it’s delicious, make no mistake.

This simple stuffed pepper recipe makes a delicious meal. #TexasHomesteader

But I love the extra sumpin’ that these low-carb Taco-Meat Stuffed Peppers offer. And you know we love all things Tex-Mex.

Ingredients For Taco-Stuffed Peppers

These taco-stuffed bell peppers are made of simple ingredients:

      • 4 large bell peppers
      • Taco-seasoned ground meat
      • Onions & garlic 
      • Rotel tomatoes
      • Shredded cheese

It’s a delicious low-carb entrée that’s easy enough to whip up on a random hectic weeknight. But it’s special enough to serve to company.

This taco-meat stuffed pepper recipe will fill four large peppers. Since you cut them in half that makes 8 whopping servings, y’all. You can really feed a crowd with this stuffed pepper recipe, but they freeze beautifully too.

What Kind Of Bell Peppers To Use For Stuffing?

Any color bell pepper will work in this recipe. Green bell peppers are certainly cheaper on the grocery store shelves.

But I often harvest different colored bell peppers in my garden. To me the colored peppers add a little flash on the plate when I’m serving. So when I have ’em that’s what I use.

If not I’ll buy the less expensive green bell peppers in the store. 

Prepare Bell Peppers For Stuffing

To prepare the bell peppers for stuffing, slice each pepper longways & cut away the seeds and membranes. I like to leave the stem for plate presentation, but you can cut the stem away also if you like.

Place the peppers hollow-side up in a baking dish and bake at 350ºF for about 15 minutes while you’re cooking the meat. This will cook your peppers to tender-crisp – a soft yet still firm consistency – perfect!

BAKER’S NOTE: When you bring the peppers out, pour out any water that’s accumulated in them before filling.

Cooking Ground Meat For Stuffed Peppers

To prepare the filling add 1/2 cup chopped onion and the ground meat to your skillet.

I just love this old cast-iron skillet, isn’t she a beauty? A gift to my grandmother when she and my grandfather married in 1934. She gifted it to me decades ago, and I’ll pass it on to my children. 

This skillet was a gift to my grandmother when she and my grandfather married in 1934. It was gifted to me decades ago. #TexasHomesteader

I cook the meat & onions together until no pink remains in the meat.

Then drain any grease in the pan and add some water, some taco seasoning (or my Homemade Taco Seasoning), an undrained can of Rotel tomatoes with peppers (mild flavored if serving guests who don’t like much heat), some tomato paste & minced garlic.

Optional Stir-In Options For Taco Stuffed Peppers

If I’m feeling adventurous I might add some stir-ins for an extra hearty TexMex feel. Maybe some drained corn or drained & rinsed black beans. Or sometimes I’ll stir in a bit of the cilantro-lime rice I’ve already made up.

For a more cheesy filling I might stir in some of that shredded Mexican-style cheese right into the meat mixture.

Adding any of these options will give you more filling to make even more peppers if you like. But more times than not I’ll just save any leftover filling in a Glass Jar In The Refrigerator.

I prefer to store our food in the refrigerator contained in glass jars. No plastic touching our food! #TexasHomesteader

That way RancherMan can roll it into a flour tortilla the next day for a quick heat-n-eat lunch.

Bake Bell Peppers Stuffed With Taco Meat

Now stuff the partially-cooked bell peppers with the taco meat mixture, top with a little cheese and put the peppers back into the heated oven just long enough to melt the cheese. This takes only about 5 minutes or so.

Taco stuffed red bell peppers on white square plate, cilantro garnish, garlic, jalapeno and tomato. #TexasHomesteader

The peppers are now ready to serve!

Optional Stuffed Pepper Toppings

If I’m after even more taco-feels with these stuffed bell peppers I’ll top them with traditional taco toppings such as shredded lettuce, chopped fresh tomatoes and a little more shredded cheese.

Or sometimes I top the taco-stuffed bell peppers with:

This creamy hatch chile sauce has a healthy yogurt base and whips up in minutes. #TexasHomesteader

So many flavor options in one recipe, y’all! Change it up to suit your mood.

But more times than not I serve these stuffed peppers just as they are straight out of the oven. They’re simple & delicious.

What Goes With Taco-Stuffed Bell Peppers?

Since taco-stuffed bell peppers have a Tex-Mex flair, my favorite sides to add are:

And I oftentimes make the sides the day before to simplify mealtime. (especially since I discovered how easy it is to Batch Cook Rice in my Instant Pot, y’all! Cook smarter, not harder!)
Perfectly Cooked white long-grain rice in an Instant Pot #TexasHomesteader

Check out this easy recipe for taco-stuffed bell peppers.

Did you make these TACO-STUFFED BELL PEPPERS? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!

Taco stuffed red bell peppers on white plate with cilantro garnish, tomato, jalapeño #TexasHomesteader
5 from 2 votes
Print

Taco Stuffed Peppers

These Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers are a quick family favorite but fancy enough for company. Top with pico de gallo, salsa or sour cream for a little extra sumpin’! #TexasHomesteader

Course Main Course
Cuisine TexMex
Keyword bell pepper, stuffed peppers, taco, TexMex
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 8 people
Author www.TexasHomesteader.com

Ingredients

  • 4 large bell peppers, sliced in half long ways & seeded
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 small Onion, diced (about ½ cup)
  • 1 oz. pkg Taco Seasoning (or 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning mix)
  • 3 Tablespoons Tomato paste
  • 2 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1 10 oz can Rotel Tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (mild flavor if you don’t like spicy food)
  • Salt to taste (I use ¼ teaspoon)
  • ½ cup Shredded Mexican Cheese for topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

  2. Wash peppers & slice each one in half long ways. Remove the membranes & seeds. (I like to leave the stems for presentation, but you can remove them as well)
  3. Place peppers hollow side up in a 9x13 baking dish & bake for about 15 minutes while cooking the meat on the stove. Discard any water that accumulates in the hollows of the peppers.

  4. Meanwhile, to a 9" skillet add diced onions & ground beef. Over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef until no pink color remains. Drain any grease.

  5. To the ground meat mixture add 1/4 cup water, taco seasoning, tomato paste, Rotel tomatoes and minced garlic & bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Then reduce the heat to medium & simmer 5 minutes to thicken mixture.

  6. Scoop thickened taco filling into each of the peppers. Sprinkle each stuffed pepper with shredded cheese. Bake at 350°F just until cheese is melted – about 5 minutes.

  7. Serve hot. Appropriate sides would be Cilantro-Lime Rice & Ranch-Style Beans.

Recipe Notes

Some fun TexMex styled stir-in options are a small amount of leftover cilantro-lime rice, drained corn or drained & rinsed black beans. You can even mix a little shredded cheese into the meat mixture for a more cheesy stuffed pepper.

For an even more taco feel you can top with shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, chopped tomato, sour cream, and/or salsa.

~TxH~

This post categorized in  Taco-stuffed bell pepper recipe 

Tagged in    A list of our favorite entree recipes. #TexasHomesteader      All our posts about healthy vegetables. #TexasHomesteader  A list of our posts about cooking with the garden's harvest. #TexasHomesteader   

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2 thoughts on “Low-Carb Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers For A Simple Meal

  1. Angela DeGroot

    5 stars
    I have made stuffed peppers many time but hated if I did not boil them first they where still too raw for me so I did not make them often due to the time it took me to do it. Tried this recipe and cutting them in half was the ticket. Thanks for getting me to find new ways to cook old favorites. Used the left over filling for lunch inside a flour tortilla.

    Reply
  2. Thelma Briggs

    5 stars
    I made these taco meat stuffed peppers and it made a bunch! I topped my peppers with homemade pico de gallo and diced jalapenos for a little extra spice. It was delicious!

    Reply

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