Orange bell peppers become edible jack-o-lanterns around a filling of beef, cauliflower and tomato sauce. Add the optional cheddar topping for melted cheese spilling over the tops, with red marinara for a suitably bloody finish.
Cut the faces while the peppers are raw, before you fill or bake them. The firm walls are easier to carve, and the filling stays out of the way. After baking, the faces soften and sag along with the peppers.
Have the sauce and cooking fat ready
Make the Full GAPS Marinara Sauce before starting the filling. Measure 1½ cups: one cup goes into the beef mixture, and the remaining half cup goes over the peppers near the end. Use the sauce without its optional olive-oil finish because it will be heated again inside the peppers.
For the two-tablespoon cooking measure, choose finished homemade ghee, rendered animal fat or natural non-hydrogenated coconut oil. Use two tablespoons of one fat, not two tablespoons of each. If you choose ghee, measure it from the finished strained jar. Making it from butter is a separate preparation.
Carve a jack-o-lantern face in each pepper
Choose six medium orange peppers that stand upright. Cut off the tops in one piece and keep them as lids. Remove the seeds and pale inner ribs without cutting through the bottom.
Use a small, sharp paring knife to cut eyes, a nose and a mouth through one side. Leave strips of pepper between the openings so the face stays connected. A few clear shapes are easier to work with than a crowded design of thin teeth.
Set each pepper in the baking dish before adding the filling. Keep the cut-out faces pointing toward the outside of the dish so you can see them when serving.
Cook the filling before stuffing
This baked version begins with cooked beef and softened cauliflower. Brown the beef in the skillet, break it into crumbles, and cook it to 160°F on a food thermometer before transferring it out of the pan. The onion and cauliflower cook separately in the measured fat before everything comes together with the marinara.
Use raw cauliflower chopped into rice-size pieces, measured before cooking. You can grate cauliflower florets or chop them with brief food-processor pulses. Stop while the pieces still look like small grains. The measured cauliflower cooks under a lid for five to eight minutes before it joins the beef.
Bake, then add the topping
Fill the carved peppers and bake them with their reserved tops at 400°F for about 30 minutes. The pepper walls should soften while the filling heats through. Check that the center of the filling reaches 165°F.
Warm the reserved marinara in a small saucepan while the peppers bake. For the cheese topping, divide the cheddar over the peppers, add the warm sauce and broil in a broiler-safe dish until the cheese bubbles and begins to brown. Watch closely during this short finishing step. For peppers without cheese, spoon on the warm sauce after baking and serve without broiling.
Lift the finished peppers with a wide serving spoon rather than pulling them by their stems. The softened walls are delicate. Set the matching tops beside them or loosely on top when serving.
Where this recipe fits on GAPS
This is a Full GAPS preparation after bell peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower and the other ingredients you use have been introduced and tolerated. Peppers and tomatoes are nightshades. Follow your own introduction of those foods before using them here.
Ghee and cheddar have different places in dairy introduction. Use plain natural organic cheddar without added starch or fillers, shredding it from a block. Add it only after cheese is already tolerated; being able to use ghee does not mean you are ready for cheese.
Other variations
Without cheese: Leave off the cheddar, keeping the same beef-and-cauliflower filling and pepper bake. Finish with the warmed reserved marinara. There is no cheese to melt, so the broiling step is unnecessary.
Without dairy-derived ingredients: Choose the rendered-fat or natural non-hydrogenated coconut-oil option for the full two-tablespoon measure and omit the cheddar. Use the same method and warm-sauce finish.
Different faces: Try triangular eyes and a wide grin, narrow eyes and jagged teeth, or a crooked mouth. Keep the openings small enough that the pepper can still support its filling.
For a different stuffed-pepper dinner, follow the separate Slow Cooker Beef-Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe. It starts with raw beef filling and cooks on low for eight hours. Use that recipe’s own ingredients and method from the beginning.
Storage and reheating
Refrigerate leftovers in shallow, covered containers within two hours, or within one hour if the room is above 90°F. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below and use the peppers within three to four days. Reheat in a covered pan over medium-low heat until the center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
Questions before you start
Do I carve the faces before or after baking?
Carve them before filling and baking, while the peppers are raw and firm. Reserve the tops at the same time. Cutting the softened cooked peppers makes it harder to keep the faces intact.
Can I use a package of plain cauliflower rice?
Plain fresh or frozen cauliflower is an option if it has no added starch, sugar, sauce or other coating. Measure the listed amount before cooking. Do not replace it with an already seasoned side dish or add another cooked-rice recipe to this filling.
How long should I allow?
Allow about one hour and ten minutes with the sauce and cooking fat already prepared. Making the marinara or ghee adds its own time. Follow the onion, cauliflower, pepper and thermometer checks along with the stated cooking ranges.
Other Halloween recipes
The planned GAPS Holiday Cookbook Collection and Sauces, Dressings & Condiments Cookbook are listed in the WFLI Shop.
Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers for Full GAPS
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Cut the tops off the peppers and reserve them. Remove the cores, seeds and pale ribs. While the peppers are still raw and empty, carve a face into one side of each with a paring knife. Set them upright in a large broiler-safe baking dish.
- Heat half the measured cooking fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Transfer the onion to a plate.
- Add the beef to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Break it into crumbles and cook until browned, about 7–9 minutes, checking that it reaches 160°F with a food thermometer. Transfer it out of the pan and drain the excess fat.
- Add the remaining cooking fat and the cauliflower rice to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook for 5–8 minutes, until the cauliflower softens.
- Return the onion and beef to the skillet. Stir in two-thirds of the measured marinara, reserving the remaining third for topping. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Remove from the heat.
- Spoon the cooked filling into the carved peppers. Place the reserved pepper tops alongside them in the dish. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the peppers soften and the center of the filling reaches 165°F.
- While the peppers bake, warm the reserved marinara in a small saucepan, stirring. If it was refrigerated, reheat it to 165°F.
- If using cheddar, divide it over the peppers and spoon on the warm reserved marinara. Switch the oven to broil and watch until the cheese bubbles and lightly browns. Without cheese, spoon on the warm sauce after baking and skip the broiling step.
- Lift the softened peppers with a wide serving spoon. Serve with their reserved tops.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Adapted from Primal Kitchen’s Stuffed Bell Peppers.
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