I know what you’re thinking, another bland stuffed pepper recipe? I want you to know, this isn’t one of those. This one is flavorful and light! It’ll make you want to take the leftovers for lunch or even better eat them later that night. I love these peppers because they’re a great way to get rid of fridge veggies and they pack the punch of a delicious deep-fried taco.
They’re a great low carb option and you’ll almost always have the ingredients on hand (unless you’re being next-level lazy) Crunchy, tender peppers packed with onions, garlic, taco beef and topped with three types of cheese and a crunch layer? You’re going to want to add these to your weekly meal list, buy that bag of peppers from Costco ladies and gents because it’s not going to last long!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash your peppers and cut them in half lengthwise (leaving the green tops on) and clean out the seeds. Place the peppers in an 8 x 8 glass casserole dish. You can cut a little off the bottom of the pepper to get it to sit straight, it's rare they do!
- In a pre-heated pan, brown your ground beef. Once cooked, drain and remove from the pan. I like to give it a quick wipe to cut down on the grease as well.
- Once your pan is back to temperature, add your oil, onions, garlic, cream cheese and half the can of tomatoes. Season your mixture with pepper, taco seasoning and red pepper flakes. Once the onions are tender, add the beef back in. Stir and combine well.
- Stuff each of your prepared pepeprs with the meat mixture and top with the remaining tomatoes. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 1 hour.
- Remove the foil from the pan and cover your peppers with the grated cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Bake for an additional 15 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
- No tomatoes? Salsa is a great substitution (it might even be better!)
- Wheres the rice? We use cream cheese instead - but skip this and add one cup of cooked long-grain rice and you've got yourself a deal!
- Do I have to crush tortilla chips? Don't skip this part. It'll make your pepper seem like a crunchy deep-fried delicious taco!
- Want more veggies? Try adding diced jalapeno, pickled red onion, scallions, or even black beans to the beef mixture
- No beef? Try ground turkey, chicken, pork or even a vegetarian substitution!