These Taco Stuffed Peppers are a flavor packed dinner with ground beef, cheese and all of the classic taco toppings. If you're looking for a low carb dinner that actually tastes good, you're in the right place.
This recipe makes 8 half bell peppers and is great to feed a whole family or for meal prepping for the week. I love having the leftovers for lunch the next day.
These Baked Stuffed Peppers are made without rice for a lower carb version, then they're topped with melted cheddar cheese, crisp lettuce, onion, tomato & more! They are one of my favorite Summer meals.
For more Low Carb Dinner Ideas, try these Deconstructed Burger Bowls, Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps, and Baja Shrimp Tacos.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- A Summer Favorite. This taco inspired recipe is always a crowd favorite in the Summer with fresh bell peppers and big flavors!
- Low Carb & Keto Friendly. This is a super healthy dinner option to feed the whole family. It's filling from the meat and cheese without a bunch of carbs.
- Easy to Make. It's a simple dinner that doesn't require much effort, just some chopping and cooking ground meat in the skillet. Then bake!
Looking for New Fresh Summer recipes? Try this Pineapple Pico De Gallo, Blackened Mahi Mahi, and Southwest Chicken Salad.
Ingredients:
Bell Peppers: The main character of this recipe and sliced in half to form a bowl like shape to hold all the taco filling. I like to use a variety of colors of bell peppers to make the dish prettier.
Ground Beef: High in protein and a classic taco filling. It's browned in the skillet with spices, onion, and enchilada sauce to add a ton of flavor.
Cheddar Cheese: Sprinkled on top of the ground beef and melted in the oven. I love the Cabot brand, but any block cheese works here. I recommend shredding your own from the block for the best melt. Bagged, pre-shredded cheese doesn't melt well because of the anti-caking agents used.
Toppings: Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, lime, cilantro, sour cream, jalapeño and tortilla strips are all great topping options for these Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers. It's great to serve the peppers with just the cheese and allow everyone to add their favorite toppings, just like taco night.
*See full recipe card below for recipe ingredients & quantities.
Substitutions and Variations:
- Use any of your favorite colors of bell peppers. Green bell peppers are usually the most inexpensive and taste great here. I like a variety for the color of the dish, but it's totally up to you.
- The Ground Beef can be substituted with Ground Chicken or Ground Turkey. I prefer 85/15 ground beef because it's not too greasy, but doesn't dry out either.
- Love Spicy? Use a medium or hot enchilada sauce version.
- Any of the toppings can be left out or you can add additional toppings, like chopped avocado or try this Avocado Crema.
Check out this post on What to Serve with Stuffed Peppers for 20+ recipes ideas!
How to Make Taco Stuffed Peppers:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the bell pepper in half, lengthwise running the knife from stem to the base. Discard inner seeds and stem. Place into a casserole dish with the inside of the pepper facing up, so it looks like a bowl. Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes to soften the peppers.
Step 2: While the peppers are baking, heat a large skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Add ground beef into the skillet and begin to break up with a wooden spoon.
Step 3: Cook the ground beef for about 3 minutes, then add in onion, taco seasoning and salt. Stir and cook until no longer pink.
Step 4: Reduce heat to low. Pour in enchilada sauce and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer the ground beef to bowl, with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease and some of the excess enchilada sauce in the skillet.
Step 5: Carefully remove the hot water from the casserole dish. I suggest removing the peppers, dumping out the water, then adding them back in. Fill the peppers ¾ of the way full with ground beef.
Step 6: Top the ground beef with a small handful of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 12 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 8 minutes.
Step 7: Allow to cool on countertop for 5 minutes before serving.
Step 8: Top each pepper with lettuce, onion, tomato, sour cream, tortilla strips, jalapeño and lime wedges. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Don't skip pre-baking the bell peppers or they will be too crunchy when serving.
- Transfer the ground beef mixture into a bowl with a slotted spoon to leave the excess grease and enchilada sauce behind in the pan.
If you love stuffed pepper recipes, try these Couscous Stuffed Peppers and Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes! I like a softened pepper that is easily sliced through and this usually requires cooking in a casserole dish, for about 20 minutes at 350, with about 1 cup of water to help steam the peppers. The filling stays juicy like this too and won't dry out in the oven.
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you know you'll be storing some of the peppers for leftovers, leave the toppings off (other than the cheese) and pack in separate containers to keep everything fresh.
To reheat, place stuffed peppers, without toppings if possible, on a cookie sheet and place into the oven at 350 degrees until warm, about 10-12 minutes. Alternate Method: Microwave one pepper at time on microwave safe plate, in 30 second increments until hot.
More Healthy Dinner Recipes You Will Love:
Recipe
Taco Stuffed Peppers
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 halved stuffed peppers 1x
Description
These Taco Stuffed Peppers are a flavor packed dinner with ground beef, cheese and all the classic taco toppings. If you're looking for a low carb dinner that actually tastes good, you're in the right place.
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers (any colors)
- 16 ounce ground beef (85/15)
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 ounce can of mild enchilada sauce
- 4 ounce block of cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 cups iceberg lettuce, chopped fine
- 1 small red onion, diced fine
- 1 roma tomato, seeds and stems removed and diced fine
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ½ cup tortilla strips
- ⅓ cup cilantro, minced
- Optional: Jalapeno slices and lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the bell pepper in half, lengthwise running the knife from stem to the base. Discard seeds and stem. Place into a casserole dish with the inside of the pepper facing up, so it looks like a bowl. Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes to soften the peppers.
- While the peppers are baking, heat a large skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Add ground beef into the skillet and begin to break up with a wooden spoon.
- Cook the ground beef for about 3 minutes, then add in ½ cup onion, taco seasoning and salt. Stir and cook until no longer pink.
- Reduce heat to low. Pour in enchilada sauce and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer the ground beef to bowl, with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease and some of the enchilada sauce in the skillet.
- Carefully remove the hot water from the casserole dish. I suggest removing the peppers, dumping out the water, then adding them back in. Fill the peppers ¾ of the way full with ground beef.
- Top the ground beef with a small handful of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 12 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 8 minutes.
- Allow to cool on countertop for 5 minutes before serving.
- Top each pepper with lettuce, remaining raw onion, tomato, sour cream, tortilla strips, jalapeño and lime wedges. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Don't skip pre-baking the bell peppers or they will be too crunchy when serving.
- Transfer the ground beef mixture into a bowl with a slotted spoon to leave the excess grease and enchilada sauce behind in the pan.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cooling Time: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
Holly
These are my favorite summer dinner right now and they’re so good leftover the next day!
Tara Smithson
One of mine too! So good. I love all the taco toppings.