The title of this recipe might be a mouthful, but it’s NOTHING compared to the mouthful of goodness you will enjoy from the first bite. These healthy cauliflower-stuffed grilled bell peppers are low carb, but you’d never notice.
These are similar to a twice-baked potato (in fact, the recipe I used for inspiration uses potato instead of cauliflower) but the “vessel” is a hollowed-out bell pepper and the heat source is the grill. The result is both tantalizing and eye-popping.
Ingredients
- 4 each bell pepper any color
- 1 head cauliflower large, or 2 small
- 16 oz sour cream
- 1/2 cup gouda cheese grated
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 each green onion thinly sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- paprika for garnish
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Halve peppers lengthwise and remove seeds and membranes. (I like to leave the stems intact.) Set aside.
- Fit instant pot with trivet. Remove stems and leaves from cauliflower. Add to instant pot on top of trivet (cut cauliflower as needed to fit). Add 1/2 cup water to bottom of instant pot. Lock lid; set valve to sealing. Program for manual-high and 3 minutes. Use quick release or natural pressure release. Add cauliflower and all remaining ingredients except peppers and paprika to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Fill pepper halves with cauliflower mixture and set on a grill tray or flat-bottomed grill basket.*
- To cook immediately, preheat grill to medium. Place tray of peppers on grill. Close lid. Let cook 30 minutes or until filling is heated through and peppers are beginning to char. Sprinkle with paprika. Serve hot.
Stovetop
- Halve peppers lengthwise and remove seeds and membranes. (I like to leave the stems intact.) Set aside.
- Remove stems and leaves from cauliflower. Add fit large pot with steamer basket. Add 2-3 cups water to the bottom of the pot (fill to bottom of steamer basket). Add cauliflower to steamer basket, cutting to fit if necessary. Fit with lid. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer 20 minutes or until cauliflower is soft.
- Add cauliflower and all remaining ingredients except peppers and paprika to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Fill pepper halves with cauliflower mixture and set on a grill tray or flat-bottomed grill basket.*
- To cook immediately, preheat grill to medium. Place tray of peppers on grill. Close lid. Let cook 30 minutes or until filling is heated through and peppers are beginning to char. Sprinkle with paprika. Serve hot.
Make-Ahead
- To make ahead, make peppers as directed but do not grill. Cover tightly and refrigerate. To heat, uncover, place on grill tray, and grill 35-40 minutes or until heated through and peppers are beginning to char. Sprinkle with paprika and serve hot. To Freeze, make filling only and freeze in a freezer safe container. Freeze up to 6 months. To use after freezing, thaw completely in refrigerator. Fill pepper halves with cauliflower mixture and set on a grill tray or flat-bottomed grill basket.* Preheat grill to medium. Grill 35-40 minutes or until filling is heated through and peppers are beginning to char.
Notes
Pin this healthy cauliflower-stuffed peppers recipe to your favorite boards. Use the pin button on the image below (hover to see it on desktop). This would go great on clean eating boards, side dish boards, low carb/keto boards, and more.
I like to make these for my family, but I especially like making them for guests. They are well-suited for entertaining because you can make them ahead up to the grilling point, then about 30 min before serving, throw them on the grill. They work as a side for grilled chicken, grilled steaks, grilled fish, or any grilled protein. They are perfect in a 1-2-3 Eat! meal. I served them along side a Grilled Whole Chicken with some roasted brussels sprouts and it was an amazing meal. My sister-in-law requests these quite often.
Try varying the color of your peppers for an eye-pleasing presentation. Another idea is to make the filling, but stuff it into halved mini-peppers as an appetizer.
Speaking of filling, if you have any leftover after stuffing peppers, you MIGHT want to eat it straight from the bowl with a spoon. You might. I mean, I’ve never done it, but one could I suppose.
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