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Stuffed Tomatoes are so delicious and incredibly versatile because they are a great vessel that can be stuffed with any of your favourite toppings from vegetarian, meat, or rice and lentil mixes. They are so satisfying as a lunch, a light dinner or served as a side with your BBQ dinner.

Another reason I love these flavour packed tomatoes is because they can be prepared ahead of time and simply reheated to make dinner preparation extra easy.

Meat Stuffed Tomatoes

My Chicken Breast cheese filled tomatoes are always a hit and so simple to prepare! Check out my recipe.

Although you can prepare a variety of meat stuffed tomatoes, these chicken stuffed beauties are cheesy and make a very delicious, low carb, low fat, high protein lunch! I usually have most of the ingredients in my fridge so that makes preparation extra easy, as well!

Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes

These are a quick and easy lunch or light dinner.
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Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 4 Large tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 shallot minced finely
  • 1 clove garlic minced finely
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes optional
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
  • 1 lb ground chicken breast
  • 2 cups spinach roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/2 cup fontina cheese grated

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the Tomatoes:

  • Gently remove the core out of the tomatoes, cut them in half, scoop out the insides into a bowl and set aside. When you hollow out the tomato be careful to leave a 1/4 inch around all sides of the tomato. Then place the tomatoes on a paper towel upside down so they can drain.

Prepare the filling for the Tomatoes:

  • In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over a medium heat. Add the finely chopped shallot and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the oregano, chili and continue to sauté until soft (about 2 minutes).
  • In a separate bowl, add the scooped tomatoe mixture to the ground chicken breast and mix together. Add this mixture to the skillet of shallots and garlic. Cook everything until the chicken is lightly browned, about five minutes. Turn the heat off and stir in the basil, spinach, fontina and parmesan cheeses.

Putting it together:

  • In a baking dish, lightly butter or oil the dish. Place your tomatoes in the baking dish and season insides of the tomatoes with salt and pepper.
  • Stuff the tomatoes with the meat mixture (filling will shrink as you cook, so be sure to mound tops until they look like they’re overflowing), and bake until cheese is melting and tops are golden (about 15 minutes).
  • Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with remaining basil and serve with a green salad.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes

I like to make ricotta stuffed tomatoes to serve with BBQ steak or burgers! They are not only delicious, but they are very impressive looking! They have a Mediterranean vibe!

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus little for drizzling
  • 4 large firm-ripe medium tomatoes, top 1/2 inch cut off and reserved
  • Sea salt
  • Pepper
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped finely
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced or chopped finely
  • 3 cups baby spinach
  • 4 ounces fresh ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated finely
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated finely
  • 1/4 cup basil, chopped
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon rosemary, chopped finely
  • 8 pitted kalamata olives, quartered lengthwise
  • ½ cup panko bread crumbs toasted with a little olive oil 
  • Salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Toast panko crumbs on a cookie sheet with a drizzle of olive oil. Watch carefully so the crumbs don’t burn. Set the crumbs aside for garnish.
  3. Remove the core from the tomatoes, cut a thin slice off the top of each tomato and set the tops aside. Scoop out the inside of the tomatoes leaving a 1/4-inch wall on all sides of the tomatoes.
  4. Chop the tomato tops and put them in a bowl with the scooped out tomato pulp. Set aside for later.
  5. Sprinkle the inside of the tomato cups with salt and pepper. Turn them upside down and set them on a paper towel to dry while you prepare the stuffing.
  6. Finely chop the onion, garlic, basil, parsley, rosemary. Rough chop the spinach and olives. Grate all the cheeses.
  7. In a large non stick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the finely chopped onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. 
  8. Add a little more olive oil and add the spinach and cook over medium heat, stirring, cook just until the spinach is slightly wilted; transfer to a bowl. Add the ricotta and parmesan cheeses, basil, parsley, garlic, oregano, rosemary, chili flakes, and chopped olives to the spinach mixtrue. Season with salt and pepper.
  9. Lightly grease a gratin baking dish. Layer the bottom of the greased gratin dish with the tomato pulp and chopped tomato tops. Season with salt and pepper.
  10. Set the tomatoes in the gratin dish on top of the tomato pulp. Stuff the tomato shells with the ricotta spinach filling. Bake until the tomatoes are softened, about 20 minutes.
  11. Remove the stuffed tomatoes to a plate, cover and keep warm.
  12. Transfer the tomato juice remaining in the gratin dish to a blender and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Puree until smooth, then strain the sauce.

Platting: Spoon some of the sauce into shallow bowls and set a stuffed tomato on top of the sauce. Garnish the tomatoes lavishly with the toasted panko crumbs and drizzle with olive oil to serve.

Entertaining Tip

If you like you can stuff tiny tomatoes or cherry tomatoes and serve them as a starter at a dinner party. They will be a hit! Another great thing about serving stuffed tomatoes is that they can be made the day before your dinner party to make entertaining a breeze!