Turn boring tomatoes into an interesting and tasty side dish with these delicious vegan stuffed tomatoes. They’re sweet and savory, vegan…but also meaty and cheesy (IYKYK), totally satisfying and they taste incredible. This easy recipe for baked stuffed tomatoes is equally at home as an easy weekday plant-based main course, or an elegant healthy side dish.
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When fresh tomatoes are in season I’m a happy camper and honestly eat them most often sliced thick with a sprinkle of coarse salt, a grind of fresh black pepper and a splash of balsamic. BUT….these Vegan Stuffed Tomatoes are so good I’m over here making them multiple times a week.
Ripe, juicy tomatoes are filled with a quinoa and vegetable stuffing that’s flavorful and satisfying…and baked to perfection. If you’ve never tasted baked stuffed tomatoes, you’re in for a real treat…and this tomatoes recipe is sure to get rave reviews!
If you’re dairy-free, I’ve got good news. There’s no need for parmesan cheese or even processed vegan cheese…the nutritional yeast gives the illusion of cheesy stuffed tomatoes in taste without the dairy! A total win, if you ask me….oh yes, this vegan stuffed tomato recipe has it all going on!
Why you’ll love these vegan stuffed tomatoes
- Delicious, flavorful and satisfying.
- Allergy friendly…dairy-free, nut-free, vegan and gluten-free.
- Budget friendly, during tomato season, especially if you grow your own!
- Hearty mixture of quinoa plus mushrooms for terrific umami taste. They’re meaty and cheesy…AND VEGAN!
- Perfect for meal prep or an easy summer meal. Shhh…we eat them all fall while the tomatoes last!
- Equally at home for a quick and easy weeknight dinner or make for guests to brunch or take them to a pot-luck.
- The perfect way to use up whatever kind of tomatoes are in your garden.
- Serve as a light lunch with a simple salad.
Ingredient notes
- Whole tomatoes: Beefsteak tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes or Roma tomatoes will work in this recipe; small cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes aren’t good for stuffing.
- Quinoa: More nutrition than breadcrumbs and gluten-free.
- Mushrooms: Use shitake, portobello or cremini mushrooms for the best “meaty” texture and umami flavor satisfaction.
- Onions: Use sweet white or red onions. Good substitutes include leeks, fennel, shallots or green onions.
- Greens: Pick something sturdy that won’t become watery when cooked like kale, collards or chard.
- Nutritional yeast: dairy-free stuffed tomatoes get a little “cheesy” boost from nutritional yeast and also a bit of texture instead of leaning on breadcrumbs.
How to make them
If you don’t have leftover cooked quinoa, make some. Rinse ½ cup dry quinoa under running water, then add to a small saucepan with 1 ½ cups boiling water. Reduce heat to low, keeping a slow simmer and cook quinoa 15 minutes, until all water has been absorbed.
The first step is to prep the tomatoes for baking. Cut off the tops of the tomatoes. About ¼″ is all that’s needed to access the inside. It’s easiest to use a grapefruit spoon or small paring knife to scoop out the insides of the tomatoes.
Set aside the tomato tops if you’d like to cover yours for an elegant presentation. Otherwise, dice the tops, along with the tomato pulp and set aside to use in the stuffing. Discard the seeds and stems. Use a fine mesh sieve to make this step easier.
If your tomatoes aren’t flat enough to stand properly in the baking pan, slice off a very thin piece of the bottom so they stand without wobbling.
Next, you’ll place the tomatoes, that have been scooped out, upside down on a plate. This is so any remaining liquid will drain out.
While the tomatoes rest, prep the remaining ingredients. Once you heat the pan, the filling comes together quickly, so it’s best to have everything chopped and measured out. Small dice the onion and mushrooms, use a microplane to zest the garlic or mince it.
Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in olive oil (or for an oil-free stuffing, use veggie broth) when pan is hot and saute the onions and mushrooms.
Then, add in spices, chopped tomato pulp and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant, stirring constantly.
Next, add the cooked quinoa and nutritional yeast to the pan, mixing until heated through.
Turn off heat and then add the chopped greens and fresh herbs.
Stir well until everything is well incorporated and greens are wilted. This vegan and gluten-free stuffing is incredible and you can use it to bake and stuff any vegetable (think: zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, yellow summer squash). Try to resist eating too much straight from the pan…I know it’s THAT good!
Place drained tomatoes in a small baking dish that will fit them tightly. Sprinkle the insides with a pinch of salt and pepper and then use a small spoon to fill with the stuffing. If you have excess filling, load it up in the crevices between the tomatoes. It will get crisp while the tomatoes are cooking.
Sprinkle with additional nutritional yeast, if desired and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes, depending on size of tomatoes. Tomatoes will be soft, but still hold their shape and filling crisp and hot when they’re done.
Stuffed Tomato Variations:
- GREEK STUFFED TOMATOES: Follow recipe, adding one can cannellini beans, ½ cup chopped olives, diced bell pepper and ¼ cup fresh oregano when adding the quinoa.
- ITALIAN STUFFED TOMATOES: When adding the chopped tomatoes to the filling mixture, also add ¼ cup pine nuts, ¼ cup toasted bread crumbs, ¼ cup dry white wine and 2 Tablespoons miso paste.
- MAIN COURSE STUFFED TOMATOES: Follow directions, including 1 cup cooked lentils or beans to the stuffing recipe, use super large tomatoes and increase cooking time by 10 minutes. Delicious and a complete meal on its own.
- SPICY STUFFED TOMATOES. Chop jalapenos or serranos, minus the seeds and add them to the pan with the onions and mushroom. You can also add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper with the Italian spices.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Turn the tomatoes over to drain…don’t skip this step or your tomatoes may taste watery. If you forgot to do it and you’re done making the stuffing, use a paper towel to sop up any remaining liquid before filling.
- When trimming the bottom so they sit flat, make sure you don’t cut all the way through, or the stuffing will fall out.
- Stuff them as full as you can…it’s the best part!
More healthy stuffed vegetable recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup yellow onion finely diced
- ½ cup shitake mushrooms finely diced
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
- ½ cup kale roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh basil finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375
- Cut the top off each tomato. About ¼". Use a grapefruit spoon to carefully scoop out the inside of the tomatoes, leaving the outside intact. Sprinkle the inside with salt and pepper and set upside down on a plate to drain while you prepare the filling. Roughly chop the tomato pulp and the tops of tomatoes. Set aside to use in the filling.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and swirl in the olive oil. Saute the onions and mushrooms for about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt and italian seasoning and stir. Then add the tomato flesh and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds, until garlic is fragrant. Sprinkle in nutritional yeast, cooked quinoa and fresh herbs. Mix well, until everything is evenly heated through.
- Turn off heat and stir in greens. Continue to mix until greens are fully incorporated and wilted.
- Taste quinoa mixture for seasoning, adding more S+P as desired.
- Set tomatoes right side up in a baking dish that will just hold them. Use a small spoon to to fill the insides of the tomatoes.
- Bake for 30 minutes. The skin will begin to crack and the filling will be crisp on top. Larger tomatoes may take a bit longer.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
MEAL PREP AND STORAGE
- SERVE: As a light lunch, a side dish or vegan main dish.
- PREP AHEAD: Make stuffing, scoop out tomatoes and store separately in the fridge until ready to bake. Then stuff and follow directions. Or, complete the recipe and store covered tightly in fridge for 3 days and then reheat as directed.
- STORE: Store already baked stuffed tomatoes in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- REHEAT: in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, until heated through.
- FREEZE: Stuffing can be made ahead and frozen, until ready to use…but the tomatoes will become watery when you defrost them, so they are best made fresh.
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Andréa Janssen
What an easy side dish recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Alexandra
Great flavours – wonderful way to prepare tomatoes!
Jerika
This recipe is an awesome way to turn boring tomatoes into an interesting and tasty side dish. YUM! Thanks.:)
Liz
This was the perfect way to use up some of my garden tomatoes. The result was delicious!!!
Sue
The stuffing in these tomatoes is delicious. Exactly what I wanted – thank you!
Nancy
So juicy and makes a great meal
Debra Klein
Totally!
Jere Cassidy
There are so many good things in the stuffing for the tomato. I am always trying to find recipes for quinoa. Definitely making again.
Sandi Silverberg
Is there a substitute you would recommend for the mushrooms. We are unable to eat then due to IBS. I found the stuffing a little too mushy when omitted.
Debra Klein
You could substitute diced bell peppers, or zucchini, or another favorite veggie…or just omit the mushrooms. If the stuffed peppers were a bit mushy, it could be that you didn’t allow enough time for the tomato pulp to cook down. Since tomatoes provide a lot of moisture, it’s important to follow the steps of scooping out the seeds, turning the tomato shells upside down to drain out the liquid and then making sure what you’re stuffing them with isn’t too moist.
Rebecca
This dish is a winner, tried it on non vegan and they liked it too. This will become a go to side dish in my vegan recipe book I’m putting together for my family. The taste is cheesy and and savory. Going to make more tomorrow and freeze them.
Debra Klein
Awesome…one of my favorite summer recipes.