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These stuffed tomatoes are a fresh and flavorful dish filled with a savory mixture of rice, Italian sausage, and cheese. Perfect as a light main course or a colorful side, they’re easy to make and bursting with garden-fresh goodness.
If you like stuffed peppers, you are going to love these! Stuffed Pepper Casserole is one of my favorite shortcut recipes for stuffed peppers. And of course I have a Mexican twist version with Taco Stuffed Peppers.
But today we are making stuffed tomatoes to make it a filling and tasty meal you can make any night of the week.
The one thing I don’t like about stuffed peppers is the time it takes to make them. Bell peppers take forever to bake if you want them to get soft enough to enjoy. But tomatoes cook much quicker! And there is just something delicious about a warm baked tomato.
Baking the tomatoes means that you don’t have to only use the peak of freshness in the middle of summer. Baking them, cooks them down and really brings out the sweetness. So even in February you can make these and they will be absolutely delicious!
What You’ll Need
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- Beef Steak Tomatoes – you want super ripe and large tomatoes so there is plenty of room for the filling.
- Italian Sausage – I like to use hot Italian sausage, because my family likes things spicy. But you can use mild, sweet, pork, turkey…whatever you like.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Cooked White Rice – you could also use brown rice or quinoa or any grain that you like
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Panko Breadcrumbs
- Fresh Basil
- Melted Butter
- Salt & Pepper
How To Make Stuffed Tomatoes
- Cook Meat. Brown the sausage with the onions, breaking it apart for 7-8 minutes, until it is cooked through. Drain the grease away. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until you can start to smell it.
- Make Filling. Mix the rice and cheese with the sausage mixture until everything is well blended. Taste the filling and add salt and pepper if necessary.
- Prep Tomatoes. While the sausage is cooking, cut the tops off of your tomatoes, and scoop out the insides.
- Fill Tomatoes. Fill each tomato with the rice mixture and place in a baking dish.
- Make Topping. In a small bowl mix together breadcrumbs, basil, salt, pepper, and melted butter.
- Bake. Sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over each tomato and bake for 20-25 minutes until the tomatoes start to split on and the top is lightly golden brown.
- Serve. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- You can make the filling ahead of time! Cook the sausage and mix everything together. Store in an airtight container for 24 hours before filling your tomatoes and baking. You will need to increase your bake time by 5-10 minutes. Or you can heat the filling slightly before stuffing if you are short on time.
- Feel free to mix up your cheese! Add Parmesan cheese if you want more flavor or use Colby Jack or whatever your favorite cheese is.
- My family loves this spicy, so I always use Hot Italian Sausage in this recipe. It does add lots of extra flavor as well. So be sure to taste the filling mixture after you mix everything together to adjust for the salt and pepper based on the sausage that you used.
- Don’t like sausage? You can use ground turkey, ground beef or even ground chicken in this recipe. I would add Italian seasoning as well, so you get more flavor. But use whatever protein you like!
What To Serve With Stuffed Tomatoes
They really are a full dish on their own, you have the big tomato for the vegetable and the filling is full of rice and sausage. But here are a few of my favorite side dishes that go really well with it.
More Tasty Dinner Recipes
Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 large beefsteak tomatoes
- 1/2 pound Italian Sausage
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cup cooked white rice
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F.
- In a large skillet over high heat, brown the sausage with the onions, breaking it apart for 7-8 minutes, until it is cooked through. Drain the grease away.1/2 pound Italian Sausage, 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until you can start to smell it.2 cloves garlic
- Mix in the cooked rice and cheese until everything is well blended. Taste the filling and add salt and pepper if necessary.1 1/2 cup cooked white rice, 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- While the sausage is cooking, cut the tops off of your tomatoes, and scoop out the insides.4 large beefsteak tomatoes
- Fill each tomato with the rice mixture and place in a baking dish.
- In a small bowl mix together breadcrumbs, melted butter, basil, salt and pepper until well combined.1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs, 2 Tablespoons melted butter, 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over each tomato and bake for 20-25 minute until the tomatoes start to split on and the top is lightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These look absolutely amazing. I have never thought of stuffing tomatoes like peppers before. I can’t wait to make these for the family!
These stuffed tomatoes are so flavorful! Perfect for busy weeknights too because they’re so easy to make!
What a great summer dinner idea! These stuffed tomatoes would be perfect for an appetizer, too!
So great- I am gonna stuff with cauliflower rice – you think it would work if I peeled the tomatoes first?
The tomatoes you bake them in? No you don’t want to peel those. The already split when you bake them to get the filling hot, if you peeled them I think they would just completely fall apart as they baked.