Low FODMAP Stuffed Peppers
Do you ever get tired of having 1-3 items to cook for dinner? Protein, veggies, and a carb…on repeat. Don’t get me wrong, I love my tasty sides, but sometimes I get tired and just want to make one thing! If you resonate with this, these stuffed peppers are for you. With a number of ways to modify this, you can’t go wrong! The best part is that these are super low calorie and super healthy - yet moderately filling - so they work well on days when I know I’ll eat more than my allocated share for another meal that day.
Enjoy!
Active Time: 25 mins Inactive Time: 30 mins Yields: 8 servings
Per Serving (includes cheese): 343 cal 22 g protein 17g fat 28g carbs
Ingredients:
8 bell peppers
14 oz marinara sauce (see the homemade sauce I use here)
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 cup rice, dry
1 tsp garlic-infused olive oil
1 jalapeño, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp paprika
(optional) 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. At the same time, boil water & cook the rice.
2. Cut the tops of all the peppers out with a vertical circle incision (sorry I work in healthcare!) and wash out the seeds.
3. Heat up the garlic-infused olive oil until fragrant. Then add the jalapeño and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the ground beef and the rest of the spices, and lightly brown - about 2-3 minutes (should be less cooked than you like it because it will continue to cook in the oven).
5. In a large bowl, combine the marinara sauce, cooked rice, beef + jalapeño mixture, and cheese if you are adding it.
6. Place the 8 bell peppers in oven-safe dishes (I use pyrex baking dishes) and stuff with the mixture. Keep ladling it out amongst all the peppers until you’ve used up the whole mixture. If you don’t need all the bell peppers, freeze the remainder of the mixture until you plan to use it.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes. After 20 minutes, the beef should be sufficiently cooked; the extra 10 minutes is if you prefer a softer pepper to cut through when you’re eating it!
8. Enjoy!