At one of our Chanukah parties recently (was Chanukah really that recent? It feels like ages ago!), my sister in-law decided to bring over some food for the low-carb dieters at the party. I was really intrigued by her idea of making stuffed shells without the pasta. Mini peppers stand in as a great replacement, adding color and sweetness to the dish. I decided to whip up my own variation by peppering up (pun intended!) a version of my mom’s famous lasagna recipe. Truth be told – I still made some stuffed shells for my pasta-loving kids, but I was more than satisfied with my lighter and lower-carb variation.
Cheesy Stuffed Mini Peppers
1 15 oz. container ricotta or reduced fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
1 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove water
1 bag sweet mini peppers
1 jar marinara sauce
1 8 oz. bag shredded mozzarella cheese
Method:
Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix cheeses, egg, spices and 1/2 of the spinach. Pour half of the marinara sauce into a 9×13 pan. Dot with remaining spinach. Cut the tops off the mini peppers and remove the veins and seeds. Fill with cheese mixture and place in the pan on top of the marinara sauce. Pour remaining 1/2 jar of sauce over the peppers and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, or until peppers begin to soften. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese is browned and crisped around the edges.
VARIATION: For traditional stuffed shells, use large shell pasta in place of the mini peppers.
1 year ago: spinach pasta
looks so good!
This idea is brilliant. I love milchigs, but I mostly swear them off when I am dieting, because it usually means pizza, pasta, and other dieter’s enemies. Yay for healthy milchigs!
:)
Miriam
I agree. I love when I turn out a low carb dairy recipe!
Looks amazing and a perfect low carb alternative to salad!!
xo
Sharon
Thanks Sharon!
this is also a great pesach recipe!
1. Can this receipe be frozen?
Is so, how does one reheat it?
2. Can it be made the day before?
If so, how can one reheat it?
Thank you.
Please delete my email after use.
Thank you.
Hi Linda,
I have frozen this recipe using pasta successfully, and I’ve also frozen roasted peppers, so I think this could be frozen. I would heat it by putting it in the oven frozen and cooking it until defrosted and hot.
It can also be made the day before and reheated in the oven until the cheese is bubbly.
The filling improved by adding cooked onions or leeks, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Any cooked green worked [we used watercress] & scallions. Heven’t cooked it yet but am looking forward to an Easter Dinner accolade! I don’t see how this could go wrong. We used a piping bag to fill the peppers which really helps if you are making any quantity.
Sounds delicious Grace! I love your additions!
Yum! I’m so gonna make this!
I want to make this tomorrow and put some in pasta shells for the kids… do you have any tips to keep the cheese from dripping out of the shells?
Hi Bluma, just don’t overfill them. The egg should keep it from dripping out.
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Can these be frozen?
Yes.