Stuffed Tomato Recipe (Tuna Filling, Meal Prep)

This sunny and elegant stuffed tomato recipe is absolutely delicious, made with a handful of ingredients and it's super nutritious.

I remember making a similar recipe to this when I was at cooking school in Cape Town, at Silwood, in the early 2000s. Stuffed tomatoes or tomate farcies are a classic French recipe and personally, I absolutely adore them.

In terms of eating for perimenopause, this stuffed tomato recipe is the perfect make-ahead summer item. I am always SO excited to have them in the fridge, ready to reach for. While they are a little bit of a fuss to make initially, once you get the hang of it, you'll fly through prepping them.

This tomato stuffed with tuna item is like an all-in-one salad, ready to grab and go. All I do is add a few leaves, a little chili (I'm obsessed), some seasonings and good quality olive oil and I have the most delicious, refreshing lunch. Plus, a stuffed tuna tomato salad makes a delicious appetizer, if you're looking for one.

For more summer recipes, try this fish with mango salsa, my chicken thighs with mango corn salsa and this bright and beautiful chopped antipasto salad.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• My Chef Top Tips
• FAQ
• Related
• Meal prep

Ingredients

• Tomato: I used a beef tomato for this stuffed tomato recipe but jam tomatoes are actually better because they have fewer seeds. Try get a juicier, riper tomato than the one I used.
• Tuna: Canned tuna is ideal, well drained. I prefer tuna in a brine versus tuna in oil but
• Red onion: I really love the mild flavor red onion adds to the tuna filling in this tuna stuffed tomato recipe.
• Feta cheese: Optional, but as a South African, feta cheese is part of my identity (lol, kidding).
• Pepper: I used a little sweet yellow pepper from the garden. You can use any color.
• Seasonings: I love seasoning my salads with fleur de sel, which is a French salt with herbs and spices.
• Olive oil: I dress my stuffed tomato recipe with a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Prep the tomato

Turn the tomato over and slice/score a cross along the underside of your tomato. You want to cut deep enough that it breaks through the skin but not right through the flesh.

Drop the tomato into simmer water for 30-40 seconds or until you see the skin on the edges of the scored "cross" mark, begin to curl up.

Life the tomato from the water and plunge into ice water for 3 minutes or so. Once cooled, peel the skin from the fleshy tomato. It should come away easily.

Turn the tomato over and cut the top section off with a sharp knife. Hollow out the center of the tomato including the seeds and internal flesh. You need to make enough space to stuff in about 2 -3 tablespoons of tuna filling, depending on the size of your tomato.

Prepare the tuna filling for the stuffed tomato recipe

Drain the tuna well and add it to a bowl. Crumble in the feta cheese, add the (finely chopped) pepper and red onion and season with salt. Taste to check seasoning.

Build the tuna stuffed tomato

Stuff the tomato with the tuna filling. Pop it into a container and chill for about an hour. Serve with salad and a drizzle of olive oil and more seasoning.

Substitutions

• Feta cheese: Goat's cheese or any firm cheese, even grated Gouda, will do in this stuffed tuna tomato salad.
• Seasoning: Salt, pepper, chili flakes, dried herbs all work instead of just salt.
• Onion: Try shallots or green onions instead in this stuffed tomato recipe.
• Peppers: Use grated carrots as an alternative to peppers in your stuffed tomato recipe.

Variations

• Vegetarian: Make a mixture of roughly mashed chickpeas or canned butter beans to use instead of the tuna. You can flavor the beans the same ways as the tuna.
• Spicy: Fold chopped jalapenos or chopped red chilis in with the tuna.
• More filling: Add leftover cooked rice or quinoa to the tuna fish for a more filling version of this stuffed tomato recipe.

Equipment

The only thing of note for your tomato stuffed with tuna recipe is that you need a super sharp knife to score the top of the tomato.

Storage

I keep these tomatoes for about 4 days in the refrigerator, covered of course. You can drizzle a little olive oil over the top of the tomato to keep it moist and fresh.

I don't recommend my stuffed tomato recipe for freezing.

FAQ

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these: