These stuffed tomatoes are full of sausage, rice and plenty of cheese, then topped with parmesan and breadcrumbs and baked to perfection. A unique main course that’s sure to get rave reviews!
Whether it’s stuffed cabbage, stuffed zucchini or these stuffed tomatoes, food just tastes better when it comes in an edible package!
I’m always looking for new ways to switch up our dinner routine, and on a whim I decided to try making stuffed tomatoes. I filled my tomatoes with hearty mixture of sausage and rice, then topped them with crispy breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. A new favorite dinner recipe was born!
How do you make stuffed tomatoes?
I went looking for the biggest tomatoes I could find and ended up with half a dozen beefsteak tomatoes. You want the tomatoes to be firm so that they won’t fall apart when you hollow them out. I used a grapefruit spoon to easily scoop all the tomato flesh out. The tomatoes are stuffed with a mixture of rice, sausage, onions, garlic and of course, plenty of cheese. The tomatoes take a quick trip through the oven, then dinner is served!
Tips for stuffed tomatoes
- The sausage and rice mixture can be prepared up to one day before you plan to make your tomatoes. You can use leftover rice or frozen pre-cooked rice to make the prep time even shorter.
- I use panko breadcrumbs in the topping, which is a coarse Asian breadcrumb. If you can’t find panko breadcrumbs, feel free to use Italian style breadcrumbs.
- I recommend using freshly grated cheese in this recipe. Pre-shredded cheese is often coated with stabilizers and doesn’t melt as smoothly as the freshly grated type.
- I use mild Italian sausage, but if you prefer spicy food, go for hot Italian sausage instead.
Stuffed Tomato Variations
There are so many different ways to change up the tomato filling to suit your tastes!
- Protein: Try ground beef, bacon or diced cooked chicken instead of sausage.
- Grains: Use orzo pasta, quinoa or farro instead of rice.
- Cheese: Substitute fontina, gouda or white cheddar instead of mozzarella.
- Vegetables: You can add vegetables to the filling such as minced celery, bell peppers or even mushrooms.
These tomatoes are easy enough for a busy weeknight, but elegant enough for company. It’s a fun and unexpected dish that will have everyone asking for seconds!
More recipes you’ll love
- Cheeseburger Pasta
- Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
- Sausage and Pepper Pasta
- Taco Pasta
- Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 6 very large firm tomatoes (I recommend beefsteak)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage casings removed
- 1/2 cup onion finely diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese divided use
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped, divided use
- kosher salt and pepper
- cooking spray
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Cut the tops off the tomatoes. Hollow out the insides of the tomatoes with a knife or grapefruit spoon. Discard the tomato seeds and pulp.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the sausage, breaking up the sausage with a spatula. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until sausage is browned.
- Drain off any excess grease, then add the onion to the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
- Stir the rice, mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons of parsley, salt and pepper into the sausage mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Put the tomato shells onto a pan greased with cooking spray. Mound the rice mixture evenly into the tomato shells.
- Place the panko breadcrumbs and remaining parmesan cheese in a bowl. Add the butter and stir to combine.
- Bake the tomatoes for 15-20 minutes or until breadcrumb topping has browned. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on April 5, 2015 and was updated on April 23, 2019 with new content.
How cool is this?! I think it looks like the perfect summer dinner. I bet my kiddos would love it too! Pinned and tweeted 🙂
These look so good! Definitely will have to try them!
These look good. How creative! I wouldn’t have thought stuffed tomatoes!
These are so fun! My husband is a huge tomato and spaghetti lover so this is right up his alley. Saving this for a future date night 🙂
These are so cute and creative! My BF isn’t a big fan of tomatoes, so I usually have to sneak tomatoes into food or just enjoy them by myself… looks like I need to schedule a solo lunch date to try these out 😀
I NEVER would have thought of this, but it’s totally amazing. Pinning!!
OMG this looks so good. I never ever would have thought to stuff a tomato with spaghetti. Yummmmmmm!!!
Smart! Easy and healthy and seems like the perfect match!
YumYumYum! What a fun and refreshing take on spaghetti! Perfect for summer, thanks for sharing!
What a great way to include more REAL FOOD into your diet! There is a huge appeal for bowls made from foods and I adore this idea!
I love the presentation of this dish and think even my kids would love them!
This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I would never of thought of something like this! So unique!
How creative!! I love this idea!! And they photograph beautifully
What a fun recipe. It makes me think of the sauce being on the outside in the form of a whole tomato. I can just imagine how delicious this is with a home grown tomato.
Oh my..those look incredible…awesome photography also! I shall have to try these! Happy blogging and thanks for sharing!
Best
Valeire
This is blowing my mind right now. So fun and beautiful!
So fun for kids. Genius!
Tomatoes and spaghetti go together – so this is a great and unique idea! So fresh and fun looking.
How cool is this!??!?! Who would’ve thought, but it goes together SO well. Awesome idea putting them in tomato bowls!