SAUSAGE STUFFED PEPPERS: EASY & DELICIOUS!
THIS SAUSAGE STUFFED PEPPERS RECIPE IS: PALEO, GLUTEN FREE, PRIMAL, LOW CARB & WHEAT BELLY FRIENDLY!
Oh boy, this is truly a wonderful recipe if you like sausage stuffed peppers. Normally, recipes like this are packed up with rice or breadcrumbs, both of which are in the no-fly zone for the Paleo lifestyle. People with gluten sensitivity will also run into issues with breadcrumbs etc. Well, this recipe lets you have your sausage stuffing and eat it too, and you will come back for seconds and thirds.
Originally, I made this recipe to be paired with acorn squash. What a mistake that was. The concept worked really well in my head, but when it came time to chow down it became so clear that they didn't work well together... the entire family ended up dumping out the stuffing onto their plates. Crumbled stuffing was everywhere (we have a 4 year old). Everyone, including the kids, absolutely loved the sausage stuffing. The good news about this particular failed recipe (and there are quite a few!) is that the next day I had a lot of delicious acorn squash to finish up for lunch. Yumm. My favorite way to eat acorn squash is with a generous serving of grass fed butter and just a touch of pure maple sugar. Give it a try- it's outstanding.
After the botched dinner, Caroline said to me that she thought the stuffing was too good not to be put into something. She then suggested peppers which would pair nicely with the Dijon mustard. Brilliant. Perfect. Spot on. She was more than right: the sausage stuffing pairs perfectly with peppers. When I tried everything put together, it just stopped me in my tracks. The bite just works on so many levels. The sausage stuffed pepper recipe was born just like that.
I've now made this recipe 3 times, so it is well tested. Here's a quick tip about speeding up the pace of this recipe: use two pans at once. Making the buttered cabbage takes time. Sauteing the mushrooms takes time. Lightly caramelizing the onions takes quite a bit of time. Browning the pork takes a while too. This is the exact order these ingredients were cooked each time I worked through this recipe. If you were to use 2 pans to speed things up, my suggestion would be to cook the cabbage and onions at the same time and the mushrooms and pork right after. The cook times for both these combinations are about equal, so you should end up in a good spot!
QUICK COOKING TIP:
I've never been a huge fan of stuffed peppers, not because they aren't delicious but because I could never get the peppers to cooperate with me when I was cooking them. So here's the scoop to make this easy: it's the ½ inch rule. If you turn the pepper onto its side, run your knife about ½ inch from the top all the way around the circumference. Pull up on the top and you will take off the top as well as the seed cluster. Repeat this step ½ inch from the bottom. Now you have created a stable base to your pepper. I saved the top and bottom parts, minus the stem, and chop them up to add to my omelet the next day.
Ok- let's get to this sausage stuffed peppers recipe.
Sausage Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Soul satisfying with earthy deliciousness... How's that sound for a sausage stuffed peppers recipe? Oh, it is so good.
Ingredients
Buttered Cabbage
- 1 LB Shredded Cabbage
- 2 tablespoon Grass Fed or Organic Butter
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Pinches Kosher Salt
Sauteed Mushrooms
- 1 10 oz Package Crimini or Baby Bella, rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon Grass Fed or Organic Butter
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Pinch Kosher Salt
Lightly Caramelized Onions
- 1 Onion, Diced
- 1 tablespoon Grass Fed or Organic Butter
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 Pinch Kosher Salt
Browned Pork (Sausage)
- 1 LB Ground Pork
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- ½ teaspoon Granulated Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Granulated Onion
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Ground Mustard
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flake, or more to your preference
- 1.5 tablespoon Dijon
Toasted Fennel Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds, Toasted to golden brown
For the Peppers
- 4 Peppers, any color will do. Remove the tops & bottoms (as described above).
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
For the Buttered Cabbage
- Add the butter and olive oil to a heavy bottom pan that has a lid over medium high heat. When melted, add in the cabbage and a couple pinches of kosher salt.
- Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the cabbage is tan in color, soft and tastes delicious.
- Remove the cabbage from the pan and set aside.
For the Sauteed Mushrooms
- Add the butter and olive oil into the pan over almost high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes. When they begin to release liquid, stir. Add the salt. Continue to stir occasionally until golden brown, soft and delicious.
- Remove the mushrooms from the pan and add to the same bowl holding the cabbage.
For the Lightly Caramelized Onions
- Add the butter and olive oil into the pan over medium high heat. Add the diced onion and salt. Stir. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tan in color, soft and super yum.
- Remove the onions from the pan and add to the same bowl as the other hot ingredients.
For the Browned Pork (Sausage)
- Alas, add the olive oil to the pan over medium high to high heat. Add the ground pork and chop up a bit.
- As the pork continues to brown, continue mashing it up into smaller pieces. When it all turns brownish, keep cooking until you see some with a dark brown color.
- Remove the browned pork from the pan and add to the same bowl as the other hot ingredients. Add in the toasted fennel seeds so they soften while you cook the peppers.
- Cover the bowl with foil to keep all these ingredients hot.
For the Peppers
- If the pan has some browned bits on it, keep it over the heat and add ¼ cup cold water. Deglaze the pan and discard.
- Add the olive oil to the pan over high heat.
- Add in the trimmed peppers and cover.
- Cook for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, flip the peppers and repeat.
- Remove the peppers and plate.
Bringing it all together
- Add all the ingredients from the bowl back into your pan over medium heat.
- Add in the Dijon mustard and thoroughly combine.
- Turn off the heat and spoon the sausage stuffing into the plated peppers.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Amount Per Serving Calories 558
Final Thoughts on the Sausage Stuffed Peppers Recipe:
There are a lot of steps to this recipe. I know. But all of them are easy to do and just take a bit of time. I like to enjoy a nice glass wine and talk with the family about the day while this recipe gets cooked up. There's nothing stressful or time sensitive. It just works. And when you get to the end, it is so worth the time. If there happen to be any leftovers, sneak out into the kitchen the next day and whip up an omelet. Chop up those extra pieces of the pepper roughly, cook them off in the pan and then add in your eggs. Heat up the sausage stuffing in another pan and toss into the middle of the omelet when it's ready. It's absolutely one of the best ways to start the day.
Hopefully you liked the sound of this recipe or cooked it up. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Any thoughts about it, toss them in here too! In any event, thanks for reading and happy cooking!
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The stuffing for these peppers is fantastic. I never thought to put all those different ingredients together! How yummy. You could use that stuffing in other things too- just good food. You got a new fan!
Hey Chelsea:
So nice to hear that. Yeah, the stuffing can be used for anything... that's stuffable.
Thank you for writing.
Have a fantastic day in the kitchen!
Scott