Who knew that pizza could actually be good for you!
If you’re in the mood for pizza but you don’t want to break your diet plan, these stuffed bell pepper pizzas are absolutely the way to go. They have everything you love about pizza with one very important distinction: no crust. Using a bell pepper as the “crust” for our pizza makes this recipe completely Keto- and Paleo-friendly.
Low-carb pizza recipes are always in demand at my house. I love the comforting nature of melted cheese and marinara sauce, but the crust doesn’t always fit into my diet plan. I realized that I didn’t have to use a doughy base in order to find comfort in pizza. After some fun experimenting, I came up with this stuffed bell pepper pizzas recipe.
These Stuffed Bell Pepper Pizzas Are Super Easy To Prepare
Bell peppers make the perfect pizza base because they take very little work to prepare. You just remove the seeds and stem before cutting them in half. It doesn’t get easier than that! Then, you get to choose your sauce, cheese (dairy-free or regular), and toppings depending on your mood. We’ll get back to toppings in a minute, but let’s take a quick moment to talk about sauce.
The Best Pizza Sauce
You have some choices, here. The classic pizza sauce is marinara. It’s a tomato-based sauce that involves simmering diced tomatoes with herbs and spices. It’s usually pureed so it is super smooth, although sometimes you’ll find a chunky marinara.
You can buy store-bought marinara – just be sure to look for the no-sugar-added kinds. Or, if you have the time, you can also make a batch of it yourself. Tomato sauce freezes exceptionally well, so try making a bunch of it on the weekend and popping individual portions in the freezer.
If you’re not into tomatoes, you can also go with a garlic-based sauce. Skip the store-bought Alfredo sauce that’s full of saturated fat and roast some garlic yourself. You won’t need anything more than some aluminum foil, a bit of extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt. Puree the roasted garlic when it’s finished to make a super savory pizza base.
Let’s Talk Toppings
Okay, I promised to talk about toppings so here we go! There are so many directions you can go with pizza – that’s one of the things I love most about the dish. You can load it up with meats if you want to pack in the protein, or you can use it as a way to sneak more vegetables into your life. Here are some of my favorite vegetables and toppings to put on a low-carb pizza recipe:
- 1 cup diced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup sliced black or green olives
- 4 artichoke hearts, separated and sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup chopped baby spinach
Really, the sky is the limit when it comes to healthy pizza toppings, so feel free to experiment with these stuffed bell pepper pizzas. In addition to the healthy pizza topping options above, what goes on your favorite pizza? We’d love to hear from you about your go-to combinations.
Stuffed Bell Pepper Pizzas
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers seeds and stems removed, cut in half lengthwise (we used red and yellow)
- 1 pound lean ground turkey optional chicken
- 1/2 cup yellow onion diced
- 3/4 cup pizza sauce we used Rao's no sugar added, all-natural Homemade Pizza Sauce
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese part-skim, shredded
- 1/4 cup basil fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook ground turkey over medium-high heat, breaking up as it cooks. Cook until the turkey loses its pink color and is cooked through. Drain off any fat.
- Combine cooked turkey, diced onion, and pizza sauce.
- Evenly distribute mixture into the bell pepper halves and bake 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle cheese over top and bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Sprinkle with fresh basil before serving.
Nutrition Information
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These are really awesome cooked on the grill! So super tasty…and no heating up the kitchen. I imagine using the air fryer would great too.
Love it, Catherine! That’s a great idea. We may have to try that! Thank you! 🙂
Have made these countless times now, my boyfriend’s favourite meal out of everything I make, he constantly requests it! Soo delicious. Thank you!!
Hi Jennie! We’re so glad you and your boyfriend love them as much as we do! 😀
Hi there! Would these be good reheated days later? I’m planning some meal prep and these look delicious!! Thoughts?
Alex, They should be fine in the fridge or freeze for eating within the week.
Ok I made this and added in the ground turkey spinach and mushrooms. I did however drop the cut up peppers in boiling water to help soften them for about 3 min prior to stuffing. 10 min prior to being done added green and black olives and pizza cheese. OMG this was fantastic
Bonnie, Great! I’m so happy you enjoyed the stuffed pepper recipe. Please leave a review if you get time. Thanks for the feedback.
I do not like ground turkey so i used ground chicken breast. it was very good.
Emmy, Ground chicken works too. Please leave a review if you get a chance.
Can these be frozen
Freezing should work well. Keep us posted. 🙂