Stuffed Peppers and Stuffed Zucchini vegetarian or with meat take your pick we did both styles with two versions.
This is one recipe that is guilt free, great on your waistline and super tasty.
My son recently diagnosed with diabetes, and that's what opened a whole new world of healthy cooking and learning what turns into sugar when it's a carb like pasta and even chickpeas I started weighing everything and changing things just for him.
Feeling guilty I started to eat the same way, and to my amazement I ended up feeling healthier with lots more energy than with all the carb laddened foods.
I am not here to tell you how to eat, so if you want beef and rice or pasta, by all means just adapt away, but for those who have to be a little careful this recipe is a great alternative.
We want to live a healthy life style and keep everyone eating delicious healthy meals at the samw time.
Watching carbs? Check out this delicious healthier alternative for low carb stuffed pepper or zucchini! This recipe is so easy!
It takes a lot of determination and willpowder to change the way you eat after several years of eating a different way.
So I am starting off with this awesome stuffed pepper dish. It was truly delicious and we didn't miss any of the carbs that make it non diabetic friendly.
Watching carbs? Check out this delicious healthier alternative for low carb stuffed pepper or zucchini! This recipe is so easy!
Diabetic Friendly Meals
Keep in mind you need to read the labels for carb content before stuffing your peppers with a grain of any kind, most of the recipes our stuffing is substituted with a vegetable and I have a great list below for you to choice a medley of whatever your prefer and if you're a meat lover stick to lean meats not full of fat and additives.
You can season the recipe to your hearts delight just watch the sodium content and do not use seasoning salts, everything you make should have no additions just dried or fresh herbs.
Last but not least, use heart smart oils when the recipe calls for sauteed meats and vegetables.
Some Ingredients You May Need
- ground turkey, ground chicken, ground beef
- brown rice
- fresh minced garlic
- dried basil
- cayenne pepper to taste
- granulated garlic powder
- dry basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- cayenne pepper
- fresh basil leaf chopped
- tomato sauce
- zucchini dark green, bell pepper yellow or green squash
Low Fat Low Carb Filling Suggestions or Substitutes
- mushrooms
- eggplant diced
- quinoa cooked
- black soybeans
- green beans
- chopped yellow squash or shaved pumpkin
- riced cauliflower
- chopped broccoli
- boiled escarole, boiled spinach or boiled swiss chard
- spaghetti squash
- diced fresh plum tomatoes
- minced onions
Cooking Methods
- Stovetop: use a dutch oven simmer for around an hour until the squash is soft and meat is cooked
- Oven: bake at 350 degrees covered for the first 30 minutes then undercover for another 15 minutes top with more sauce if it begins to dry out
- Instant Pot: Add 1 cup of water to the bottom, set on pressure cooker mode for 40 minutes
- Slow Cooker: place on high for 4 hours, low 4 to 6 hours
Tips
- Do not cut through the bottom of the squash or peppers
- Use a melon ball scoop, a small teaspoon to hollow them out or even for whole squash use an apple corer to get the centers out
- if you like squash firmer cook the meats first and reduce cooking times
- instant brown rice can be used
- you can reduce cooking time if you cook the rice and meat first then stuff and continue the cooking methods of choice
- green or yellow squash can be used and any color peppers
- use the inner middles hollowed out for Zucchini bread and other desserts
Low Carb Stuffed Peppers or Zucchini
Yield: 12
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour
Stuffed Peppers and Stuffed Zucchini vegetarian or with meat take your pick we did both styles with two versions.
Ingredients
- 3 small zucchini sliced lengthwise then hollowed out add the insides to a bowl
- 3 bell peppers split in half and the seed removed
- Meat Version:
- 1 cup of cooked ground turkey, chicken, ground beef or ground venison
- Vegetarian Version::
- 1 cup raw brown rice, or cooked quinoa ( see list of substitutions under notes)
- and 1 cup of vegetables diced of choice or use 2 cups all vegetables no rice
- 1 egg
- 1 can around 12 to 16 ounces of tomato sauce
- salt, and pepper to taste
- 2 fresh garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon each chopped fresh basil and parsley
- 1 teaspoon granulated or roasted garlic powder
- Olive oil
- Optional Topping:
- grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup of shredded mozzarella or provolone
- Seasoning Optional to be evenly sprinkled over the top before baking:
- dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme
Instructions
- Grease a disposable pan or a 13 x 9 baking dish.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Mince the hollowed-out zucchini middles into small diced pieces and use this for your stuffing or in combination with it. ( You can also use the insides to make zucchini bread).
- In a medium-sized bowl versions: use 2 cups of allvegetables, 1 cup of rice with 1 cup of diced vegetables or 1 cup of raw rice and raw ground meat, or any combinations and medleys using 2 cups.
- Season with dry herbs, fresh herbs, granulated garlic powder and salt, pepper to taste.
- Stir in the egg evenly and combine with the stuffing.
- Stuff the hollow-out peppers and/or zucchini.
- Pour the tomato sauce on top and use more if necessary than 1 can.
- Next sprinkle with Parmesan cheese or shredded mozzarella if used.
- Drizzle with olive oil over the top sparingly.
- Pour a little water on the bottom of the baking pan not touching the stuffing.
- Bake at 400 degrees cover with foil for 30 minutes and then uncover for the last 15 minutes or until the rice and any meat is all cooked ( around 45 minutes) add more water to the pan checking for around 20 minutes if it starts to dry out.
- Note: depending on whether this is all vegetable or a combination cooking time will vary.
Notes
Low Fat Low Carb Filling Suggestions or Substitutes
- mushrooms
- eggplant diced
- quinoa cooked
- black soybeans
- green beans
- chopped yellow squash or shaved pumpkin
- riced cauliflower
- chopped broccoli
- boiled escarole, boiled spinach or boiled swiss chard
- spaghetti squash
- diced fresh plum tomatoes
- minced onions
Tips
- Do not cut through the bottom of the squash or peppers
- Use a melon ball scoop, a small teaspoon to hollow them out or even for whole squash use an apple corer to get the centers out
- if you like squash firmer cook the meats first and reduce cooking times
- instant brown rice can be used
- you can reduce cooking time if you cook the rice and meat first then stuff and continue the cooking methods of choice
- green or yellow squash can be used and any color peppers
- use the inner middles hollowed out for Zucchini bread and other desserts
More Recipes We Love:
Parmesan Roasted Vegetables
14 kinds of Dipping Sauces
Vegetable Stir Fry Medley