These are consistently made for me by a buddy, and they are delicious! These can be prepared in advance and baked 15 minutes before visitors come. Their tongues will be watering from the smells.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 30 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 10 small ripe tomatoes
- ½ cup homemade or purchased pesto
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Slice tomatoes in half, and scoop out about a tablespoon of flesh from the center of each half. Fill pocket with pesto, and sprinkle generously with cheese. Place tomato halves in a well oiled baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, and slightly browned. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 122 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 13 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 253 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Delicious! And so easy!! Great for lent!
To solve the watery problem add a couple of croutons (store bought or make your own) before adding the pesto and toping with cheese. The croutons will absorb the tomato juices. Try drizzling a bit of balsamic glaze before serving. Now it is like a warm panzanella salad. Get creative, great recipe.
If you scoop out the tomato as directed they will not be as watery. Remove seeds and seed membrane.
I used vine ripened tomatoes, halved and seeded. I had them drain on paper towels before filling with pesto, shredded mozzarella/cheddar, and topped with freshly grated Parmesan. They were baked on a parchment sheet in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes. Even though I made extra, all were devoured by our dinner guests! So easy to put together — I will definitely make again!
Delicious!
I love this recipe and have made it several times. I was surprised to see I’ve never rated it. This is a perfect recipe for your home-grown tomatoes. I also used pesto made from fresh basil. I follow the recipe exactly.
I had some tomatoes that were a bit more firm than usual. They were large size and I just cut off the tops and scooped out the insides with a spoon. This made for just 10 when finished. I added the mozzarella and salt and pepper that others suggested. I used it as a side dish and my guests really liked the flavor. Even one asked what I used to flavor (store bought pesto) and she said she didn’t really care for pesto normally. I only used a teaspoon or so for each tomato. I will make this again, but I would like to figure out what to do with the leftovers. They are very visually unappealing after a while on the table. Maybe throwing it all in a blender with the middles and calling it soup?
Super easy and super tasty. We’ll definitely be doing these again. I was concerned about the amount of pesto I was putting in each tomato, but it wasn’t overpowering at all.
LOVE this recipe! It’s a great way to use up those excess tomatoes from the garden. So easy to make and so yummy!
This is a nice and easy side. I had pesto in the freezer and tomatoes that were starting to go so this was perfect. Great recipe. thx lovedody
Loved the pesto paste, very delicious but after cooking the tomato in the oven made the tomato very watery. It might work better if the tomatos cook in a muffin pan so when being removed the tomato is still in tact.
These are delicious! I used my garden tomatoes, Genoese pesto, and fresh grated Parmesan. The Genoese pesto was the best. You find it in the refrigerated section. I made my own and tried other brands but it was just not the same. Also, the oil in the pesto drips down while baking so I found you don’t need to oil the baking dish. After making these as directed once, I decided to use thick slices of the tomato rather than halving them and scooping out the flesh. I like this better.
Flavor-wise, these were delicious – and a great way to use the abundance of tomatoes and basil we have right now! I must have overcooked the tomato, I left it in for 15 mins and when it came out it was so soft it disintegrated when you cut into it. Or maybe I used a tomato that was too ripe. My boyfriend said he would have preferred the tomato to be sliced thick and baked with a little pesto and mozzarella on top, so I may try that instead next time.
Delicious!! I used beefsteak tomatoes and a romano/parm blend. Made an excellent side dish to my pan fried tilapia filet.
I did not care for this recipe.
Great use of our abundant Tomato harvest. Make sure you have some bread to dip in the left over juicy goodness. Used Parm on some and Moz on others. Both great.
Love them! Super quick and easy. Delicious. I used basil pesto, yummy.
EASY AND GOOD! I used cherry tomatoes and didnt bother scooping out the seeds. I just cut them in half and toppd them with the pesto and cheese. WONDERFUL!
I made these last night and they were good. I followed the directions exactly. I think I may try this with cherry tomatoes for little appetizers.
Good side dish idea!
These were super yummy. I took the advice of others and added just a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the pesto before adding the parmesan. The mozzarella helped “bind” everything. I used vine-ripened small tomatoes and their size was perfect. A melon-baller made scooping out the tomatoes a snap. I then let them drain on a paper towel so they wouldn’t get mushy. They took about 15 minutes in the oven – – give or take. This was a nice compliment to my Father’s Day dinner. Thanks, lovedody!