I’ve been making a version of stuffed peppers for many years now. I’ve played with the recipe and finally found one where, Jim and I both say, “Nailed it!”. Stuffed peppers just say fall and winter comfort to me, know what I mean? This batch will also feed a small army, so have some friends over or plan for leftovers!
If you prefer not to eat dairy, it can easily be made without cheese. You can also use whichever type of ground meat that you have on hand.
Grain-Free Stuffed Peppers
There's something about stuffed peppers that just says warm comfort fall food to me. This recipe is great for family Sunday Night Dinners or just a weeknight meal, but beware – there'll be leftovers!
Ingredients
- 5 bell peppers halved, seeds & stem removed
- 2 tbsp cooking fat
- ½ onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 package cauliflower rice fresh or frozen
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
- 32 oz Otamot Foods Tomato sauce
- 2 lbs ground bison or any ground meat
- 2 tbsp Italian spice blend
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Add the bell peppers to a 13 x 9 in. baking dish, facing up. When the oven has preheated, add the baking dish to the oven for 20 minutes.
- You may need to cook the meat in one pan and the veggies in another pan, unless you have a very large saute pan. Add 1 tbsp. of the cooking fat to a large saute pan over med.-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Add in celery, carrots, and cauliflower rice. Stir and continue to cooking over med.-high heat. Add sea salt and pepper. Add in one jar of Otamot Tomato Sauce. Stir and cook for 20 minutes until veggies are cooked through.
- While the veggies are cooking, add the remaining cooking fat to a separate skillet on med.-high heat. Add in the ground bison and season with Italian seasoning. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes. Add in the second jar of Otamot tomato sauce, stir, and cook until meat is done.
- Combine the ingredients from both pans in the larger skillet or in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Remove the par-baked bell peppers from the oven. Using caution with the hot peppers. Add stuffing to each pepper – they will likely be overflowing – that's ok. Top with grated mozzarella cheese.
- Place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!