Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers (Paleo/Whole30)

Whole30 beef and rice stuffed peppers made with cauliflower rice! Just 8 ingredients for an easy and complete meal in one that is paleo and low-carb and the whole family will love. Great for meal prep too!

Last updated on October 10, 2019.

Whole30 beef and rice stuffed peppers! Yep, it can be done! Thanks to the versatile vegetable cauliflower! I’m sure you’ve seen cauliflower in just about anything and everything lately – pizza crust, crackers, pretzels, tots, pancakes, baking mixes, gnocchi, sandwich thins…I kid you not. It’s everywhere!

While it’s great that veggies are getting incorporated into more products, it’s getting a little much in my opinion. Let’s eat veggies and let’s eat crackers. We don’t need to combine them. Anyways, I digress…

I do love cauliflower rice though! I used cauliflower rice mixed with beef to pump up the veggies and nutrition in this dish. While I eat white rice, cauliflower rice is a great alternative if you want something lower carb and it’s super versatile. It’s also perfect for a paleo lifestyle or if you are on the Whole30.

I love making these for dinner and having the leftovers for lunch the next few days. Since Michael goes into an office and brings lunch, it makes life easier having leftovers he can take. It saves a ton of money (I don’t know how people buy lunch every day) and I like knowing that he is getting a healthy meal instead of burgers, pizza, or whatever else.

You can also meal prep them on Sunday to have on hand for a quick dinner or packable lunch throughout the week. They keep in the fridge in a tightly sealed glass container (we love these Pyrex) for up to 5 days. They would also be easy to freeze and defrost.

Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers (Paleo/Whole30)

Just 8 ingredients in these Whole30 stuffed peppers with ground beef and rice. The beef and rice mixture is cooked on the stove with Mexican inspired seasonings and then stuffed into bell peppers and baked until the peppers are soft. They come together in 50 minutes and most of that time is the beef stuffed peppers cooking in the oven.

Here is what you need:

• bell peppers
• ground beef
• onion
• garlic
• canned diced tomatoes
• cauliflower rice
• jalapeño pepper
• taco seasoning
• oil
• salt and pepper

First start off my prepping your peppers to be stuffed. To do this, I look for a good place to cut it lengthwise so that both halves will form a good boat. Cut in half with the stem still attached. Then just pull out the stem and seeds on each half. It should be able to pop right out. Put them cut side up in 1-2 large baking dishes.

Once your peppers are stuffed, start making your beef mixture. Add the oil to a large saute pan and let it get hot. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes. Next add the beef and saute for a few more minutes. It won’t be cooked all the way through, but that’s okay.

Then you will add the remaining ingredients – garlic, diced tomatoes, cauliflower rice, jalapeños, and taco seasoning. Saute for a few more minutes until the beef is cooked through. Next stuff your peppers by dividing the beef mixture evenly between them – I found about a heaping 1/2 cup works. Cover with foil and bake until peppers are soft, about 35-40 minutes.

Finally, top with toppings and enjoy! I love topping them with avocado, hot sauce, salsa, chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, and lime juice.

Substitutions for Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers

One of the best things about beef stuffed peppers is that you can customize them to your liking. Feel free to make the recipe your own with whatever you have in stock in your kitchen. Here are some good substitutions or add-ins you can add to the recipe:

• ground meat – feel free to use any kind of ground meat you like. Turkey or chicken would work great!
• rice – if you aren’t on a Whole30, or want to add more carbs to your meal, feel free to substitute the cauliflower rice with cooked rice or cooked quinoa. You could also use another kind of riced veggie instead of cauliflower.
• spices – the easiest way to change up the flavors in dishes is to change up the spices! Some good ones off the top of my head would be curry powder, oregano, thyme, or any spice mixture you like!
• greens – feel free to throw some spinach or kale when you add the cauliflower rice to add some green to the mix
• veggies – if you want to up the veggies more, add in whatever chopped veggies you like! Easy ones to add would be zucchini or summer squash, peppers, and mushrooms.

What to Serve with Stuffed Peppers

One the best things about stuffed peppers, is that you can change up the sides to help diversity the meal. Since this recipe makes a lot, we leftovers for a few days. I ate some with breakfast and fried eggs, with lunch and some sautéed veggies, and topped with different sauces for dinner.

Here are some things you can serve with Whole30 stuffed peppers:

• cauliflower rice (check out all 6 versions on that post, I think the fajita rice or the cilantro lime rice would be great!)
• coconut cilantro lime rice or quinoa – great options for some extra carbs (not Whole30 though)
• chipotle Mexican coleslaw
• crispy roasted potatoes – bake them while the peppers bake!
• pineapple guacamole with plantain chips or raw veggies
• a simple salad

More Easy Whole30 Recipes

Air Fryer Pork Chops with Cabbage Apple Salad

Beef Taco Casserole

Sweet Potato Sausage Hash

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai

Cauliflower Shrimp Fried Rice

Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken

Kale & Beef Stuffed Butternut Squash with Cinnamon Tahini Sauce

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