Whole30 Stuffed Peppers – Unstuffed!!!

Our family’s favorite stuffed pepper recipe with a twist!

I don’t know about you, but nobody ever seemed to want to eat the bell pepper when I made stuffed peppers! Crazy people… I didn’t know what the problem was – I loved the pepper part. …Just not enough to want to eat everyone else’s.

My husband liked the insides, and wanted to know if I could just make the “stuffing” and not worry about putting them in peppers. That just didn’t sit quite right with me, so I did the next best thing. I chopped the peppers up, and created a skillet meal by cooking it all on the stove-top instead of in the oven.

This meal has been a family favorite ever since!

As you know, two weeks ago we started the Whole30 Program. We ended up having to put that on hold when something came up financially. However, during the week and a half that we were (mostly) following it, my children started to ask for “red rice” (or what I call, Unstuffed Peppers).

In an attempt to appease my children’s cravings, I decided to try to make “red rice” without the rice. It actually turned out pretty well! My kids liked it, and my husband and I didn’t think it was too bad either.

Since it wasn’t a failure, I decided to share it with you today! Let me know what you think.

Stuffed Pepper (Unstuffed) – The Whole30 Version

Ingredients:
3 TBSP coconut oil or clarified butter
1 TSP Italian Seasoning
1 and 1/3 heads cauliflower shredded or cut into rice sized pieces (About 4-5 cups)*
2 bell peppers, diced
1 whole onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 (24oz) Jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 TBSP Italian Seasoning
1 TBSP Garlic Powder (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

*Note: If you want to omit the cauliflower, you can cook 2 1/2 cups of rice and add it in place of the cauliflower
Melt your butter in a large skillet or pot, then add cauliflower and Italian Seasoning. Saute on Med/High heat until tender. Transfer to another bowl and set aside.Put the ground beef, bell peppers, onion, and garlic in the skillet, and cook on Medium until the beef is thoroughly browned and vegetables are tender. Remember to stir constantly!Stir in the jar of spaghetti sauce, 1 TBSP italian seasoning, garlic powder (can you tell my family loves garlic?), and salt and pepper to the meat/veggie mixture. Once everything begins to simmer, turn the heat down to med/low or low. Allow it to simmer for about 15 minutes until it has reduced a little bit, and give it a stir every few minutes. You still want there to be some liquid for the cauliflower, but not too much that it’s runny.Stir in the cauliflower and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy!

Variation (non-Whole30 compliant):

Instead of using cauliflower, you can add about 5 cups cooked rice to the bell pepper mixture, and serve with cheddar cheese! My kids call this version “red rice”, I call it unstuffed peppers – either way it’s a family favorite!

I’d love to hear what your family thought of this recipe! Feel free to share in the comments 🙂