This dish is excellent as an appetizer. I spent a lot of time trying with different ingredients before deciding that the recipe you now see posted was the most successful. The grits add a distinctive texture to the Asiago and Parmesan cheeses’ pungent aromas.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry grits
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- cooking spray
- 1 ⅓ cups ricotta cheese
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup grated Asiago cheese
- 2 eggs
- 2 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 tomatoes
Instructions
- In a small pot combine dry grits, 1 1/2 cups water, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until grits are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then stir in the cooled grits, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and Asiago cheese. Stir in the garlic powder, parsley, crushed red pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix well.
- Slice the top off of each tomato. Use a spoon to hollow out the tomatoes, leaving the outer shells (approximately 1/4 inch thick) intact. Fill each with the grits mixture. Arrange stuffed tomatoes on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven until light golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 123 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 56 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 670 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 5 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Normally, I test a recipe as it’s written, the first time. However, mea culpa, when I looked at the picture, I said “great, a couscous recipe “!!! Imagine my chagrin at finding out it was grits. So, now I have a problem! I have tried grits umpteen times since I moved back east, but I still dislike them. So, I substituted plain couscous, with the cheeses, etc., recommended in the recipe! It was very good, needs work, but…I can handle it!
This was delicious, made it last month as a side dish with steaks, beautiful and impressive. Making again tonight!
Will definitely make again; delicious. Be careful not to overstuff the tomatoes because the mix will spill over.
I made a half batch of the filling (no changes in ingredients or proportions) and filled 25 1.5″ – 2″ Campari tomatoes. Actually I over-filled them and lost some cheese grits that slid off as they baked. I could have easily filled 5-6 more tomatoes. The grits were salty and garlicky – a nice counterpoint to the sweet-tart tomatoes. These were a hit at a New Year’s brunch.
Followed recipe as is. Delicious- and I generally don’t like tomatoes. Will ,are again. Also used this recipe & duplicated with bell peppers.
A great alternative to my usual stuffed peppers. Different and wonderful taste. Would cut garlic and salt both in half, since they dominate the flavor. Wonderful!
not much in writing but was great why no cals displayed?????
My husband enjoyed this dish very much.
Great starter dish!! Beautiful, elegant and an amazing combination of flavors!!
A nice alternative to stuffed shells! I wouldn’t change a thing, the recipe was perfect.
The filling is delicious! Next time I’ll use a bigger tomato. I used “Roma” tomatoes and they were a bit too small. Served alongside some marinated grilled chicken!
This is an excellent “starting point” recipe. I found it to be rather bland and the texture was something I wasn’t loving too much. Next time I would season it a lot more (experimenting with different herb concoctions) and not as much ricotta. What I do like about this recipe is that it is so easy to adjust to your taste while not deviating too far from the original.
These have become a staple side dish in our house. Sometimes I use leftover bacon crumbles, or blue cheese crumbles. They are good “what ever you have on hand works” kinda side dish. They will make your ordinary meal look and taste gourmet!
This was deliciousBut I changed some things…
For those that don’t use grits a lot, you can find them in the breakfast/cereal section. Our grocery store only offered one option – instant grits – so I cooked them as suggested then followed the recipe from that point and these were still excellent. My filling did puff up a little, so I wouldn’t recommend filling the tomatoes to the top. These are a hit in our house!
Made as a side with a little sauteed spinach and onion added to the filling. The flavors really compliment each other well. Absolutely delicious!!
This dish was raved about at our traditional Thanksgiving family breakfast last year and is already being inquired about this year. It was such an elegant and delicious addition to our feast.
Loved this recipe! Its different from what I normally cook grits as, which made the change very pleasing. Also, I always try to find the healthier recipes and this one definitely fits the bullet.
Very good flavor. Add served it with vermicelli, yummy!
Very good flavor. My only comment is that it was very soft – perhaps less water when cooking the grits.
Really different & delicious! Almost a meal in itself. I did not have ricotta cheese so I substituted with half cream cheese and half sour cream and it turned out great. I will make these with the ricotta next time, based on all the great reviews, I can’t wait. Thanks for a terrific recipe!