Vegan Stuffed Tomatoes are filled with a vibrant and flavorful mixture of creamy pesto, fluffy quinoa, and fresh spinach and then baked until tender! These tomatoes are great for an easy weeknight meal or they make a beautiful presentation for a special occasion!
If you're only eating tomatoes in a salad, you're missing out! Tomatoes are such a versatile ingredient and they can be enjoyed in so many tasty ways. Vegan stuffed tomatoes are so easy to make, they taste delicious, and it's a beautiful presentation.
Vegan stuffed tomatoes are very similar to vegan stuffed peppers, except roasted tomatoes have a sweeter flavor and a more delicate texture than bell peppers do.
These tomatoes are stuffed with flavorful pesto quinoa and fresh spinach before being roasted just until the tomato skin starts to blister. Every bite is incredibly delicious!
This is a simple and super satisfying recipe that you can make for dinner any night of the week or for a special occasion.
Related Recipe: Zesty Tofu Taco Stuffed Tomatoes
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's a unique way to enjoy tomatoes!
- It's a super flavorful and colorful meal.
- It's customizable so you can easily add veggies or beans for extra plant-based protein!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Tomatoes - Pick out large tomatoes that are uniform in size so they cook at the same pace. You could also stuff bell peppers with this filling.
- Basil - Fresh basil is a must for this recipe to make the sauce.
- Cashews - This is what makes the sauce creamy! Instead of cashews, you can substitute 1:1 raw sunflower seeds.Â
- Garlic - Fresh garlic adds so much flavor! If you want to use dried, start with ½ teaspoon and add more to taste.
- Nutritional Yeast - This adds a delicious cheesy flavor to the sauce!
- Lemon - Fresh lemon juice elevates the flavors!
- Almond Milk - You can use any plant milk you like as long as it's unsweetened and plain flavor (no vanilla).
- Quinoa - This is the main ingredient in the filling! You can also use brown rice, couscous, farro, or cauliflower rice (low-carb option) instead.
- Onion - Use your favorite variety of onion. Shallots would be delicious too!
- Dried Seasonings - Italian seasonings add so much flavor!
- Spinach - Fresh spinach adds a pop of color to the recipe! You can also use thinly sliced kale, swiss chard, or collard greens instead. If you use frozen spinach, make sure it's drained well.
How to Make Vegan Stuffed Tomatoes
Step 1 - Soak or boil the cashews and cook the quinoa according to the package instructions.
Step 2 - Meanwhile, saute the onions in a large pan until they're soft and translucent.
Step 3 - Next, make the basil cream sauce. Add the fresh basil, cashews, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, almond milk, salt, and pepper to a small blender cup and blend all the ingredients until it's smooth and creamy.
Step 4 - Add the garlic and Italian seasonings to the pan with the cooked onions and let it cook for a few minutes. Add the fresh spinach, cooked quinoa, and the sauce. Stir to combine the filling and let it cook for 2-3 minutes or until the spinach starts to wilt.
Step 5 - While the filling is cooking, prep the tomatoes. Slice the top off and scoop out the seeds and membranes from each tomato and put it into a small bowl. (Check the FAQ section for ways to use the leftover tomato seeds and membranes.)
Step 6 - Spoon the filling into the tomatoes. Put the tomato tops back on top and then bake it for 30 minutes or until the skin starts to blister.
Recipe Variations
These stuffed tomatoes are absolutely delicious just as they are but you could also try the following variations.
- Use Roasted Cherry Tomatoes - Instead of stuffing the tomatoes, mix one pint of roasted cherry tomatoes with the basil quinoa filling, and 1 can of white beans (rinsed and drained) for a hearty meal.
- Add Vegan Parmesan Cheese - Sprinkle shredded vegan cheese (I love Violife vegan parmesan) on top of each tomato before you put the top on and bake it.Â
- Stuff Other Vegetables - Instead of stuffing tomatoes, you could stuff bell peppers, zucchini boats, or portobello mushroom caps with the filling.
- Stuffed Pasta - Dice the tomatoes and add it to the filling and then use it to stuffed shells, manicotti, or cannelloni. Cover the pasta with 2-3 cups of marinara and bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve a big salad along with a tray of roasted veggies with these vegan stuffed tomatoes. All of these vegan side dishes would be tasty options.
- Roasted Maple Dijon Brussels Sprouts
- Lemon Garlic Asparagus
- Roasted Garlic Radishes
- Lemon Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
Storage Instructions
Store the stuffed tomatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.Â
You can freeze the filling, but I wouldn't freeze the whole stuffed tomatoes because the texture of the tomatoes will change once defrosted. When you're ready to use the filling with fresh tomatoes, put it in the fridge to thaw overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Don't throw it out! You can use the seeds and membranes to make bruschetta, spaghetti sauce, red pepper lentil soup, salsa stuffed peppers, or cilantro lime salsa!
Yes, soaking first makes the cashews easier to blend. You can boil the nuts for 10 minutes or soak them in cool water for 2 hours.
Expert Tips
- Pick out large ripe beefsteak tomatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes, or heirloom tomatoes that are uniform in size because you need a big tomato with a large cavity to stuff and you want them to cook evenly.
- If you're short on time, you can use a jar of vegan pesto. It will turn out just as delicious! I often use this organic vegan pesto instead to save time. Blend the cashews with almond milk, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir in the pesto to make the sauce.
- Use fresh basil! Dried basil won't work for this recipe.Â
Want More Vegan Tomato Recipes?
Pesto Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes
Equipment
- 2 Medium Sauce Pans
- Large Saute Pan
- Blender
- Medium Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- 6 large beefsteak tomatoes (seeds and membranes removed)
Pesto Sauce
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves loosely packed (save a few for garnish)
- ½ cup raw cashews (or sunflower seeds)
- 1 small garlic clove
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (1 large lemon)
- ÂĽ tsp salt (add more to taste)
- â…› tsp black pepper
- â…“ cup unsweetened almond milk
Filling
- 3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup uncooked)
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 4 medium garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 5 oz fresh spinach
- ÂĽ tsp salt
- ÂĽ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Put the cashews in a medium saucepan and cover by 1-inch of water. Bring it to a boil and let it cook for 10 minutes. Drain any excess water and set aside.
- Cook the quinoa according to package instructions in a medium saucepan.
- While the cashews and the quinoa are cooking, saute the diced onions in vegetable broth or oil in a large pan over medium heat for 10 minutes or until they are soft and translucent.
- Add the fresh basil, cashews, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, almond milk, salt, and pepper to a small blender cup and blend until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Once the onions are soft, add the minced garlic and Italian seasonings to the pan, stir, and let it cook for a few minutes.
- Add the fresh spinach, cooked quinoa, and the pesto sauce to the pan with the onions and garlic. Stir to combine the filling so the sauce coats the quinoa and let it cook for a few minutes or until the spinach starts to wilt.
- Cut the top of the tomatoes. Use a grapefruit spoon (with a serrated edge) to gently slip into the tomatoes and scoop out all the seeds and membranes. Be careful not to break through the tomato skin and make a hole.
- Spoon the filling into each tomato up to the top and put the tops back on.
- Add a little bit of water into the bottom of a medium casserole dish to stop the tomatoes from sticking to the bottom. Place the stuffed tomatoes in the baking dish and then bake it for 30 minutes or until the skin starts to blister.
- Carefully remove the tomatoes from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before you garnish with fresh basil.
Notes
- Use large tomatoes so you have lots of room for the filling.
- If you use a jar of pesto, just mix it with the cashew cream.
- Use fresh basil, not dried.Â
- Store the leftover tomatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. You can freeze the filling, but don't freeze the whole tomato.
This was absolutely delicious!!! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Are there any non-nut alternatives to cashews in this recipe?
I changed this just a bit, I made the filing just as written and instead of stuffing tomatoes I diced the tomatoes and added them to the filling too, I filled Cannelloni shells with the filling and topped them with pasta sauce and baked them in the oven for about an hour and it turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
That sounds delicious, I'll try that next time! Thank you for sharing!
Made these last night, so so good. The pesto was delicious, even my toddler loved it. My husband sits these are a keeper. Very easy and healthy. Love learning new ways to make pesto sauce. I made bruschetta with the left over insides of the tomatoes.
Thank you so much for letting me know, Nadia! I'm so glad your family enjoyed the recipe, it's one of our favorites too! What a great way to use the leftover pesto! YUM!!
We are empty nesters, an Omni and transitioning vegan. Hubbie works fly in fly out as a contractor so I'm never sure when he'll be home. My question is can this be made ahead of time and frozen as there'd be no way I could eat this quantity myself...
Hi, Carol! I'm not 100% sure because I haven't tried it myself but I don't see why it wouldn't work. After you stuff the tomatoes, I'd portion them out and then freeze them right away. I wouldn't bake them first and then freeze them because it would be like cooking them twice, they might get mushy. You'll be baking the tomatoes after you defrost them so I don't think them being frozen would be a problem. Let me know how it turns out! Enjoy!
How much store bought pesto can I use in place of your pesto recipe?
Hi, Rebecca! I believe the pesto sauce recipe makes close to 1 cup. Start with 1/2 cup of the store bought pesto and keep adding more until you're happy with the flavor and consistency. You really can't mess it up! Enjoy!
This looks amazing! DO you happen to know an estimate of how many calories there are per stuffed tomato? Thanks! Can't wait to try it tonite!
Hi, Breanna! I'm sorry, I don't know how many calories it is per tomato. I hope you still got to make the recipe! =)
Made these tonight but used bell peppers instead of tomatoes. Super fast and easy to scoop out! I'll try tomatoes next time to see the difference. The pesto recipe was soo good too.
Hi, Sophie! Thank you so much for the comment, I'm glad that you enjoyed the recipe. I love the pesto sauce too, I put it on everything! I'll have to try it in the bell peppers, that sounds delicious! =)
If you bought store brand pesto, how much is needed to make? It doesn't list anywhere, although its safe to assume a good portion because of the pesto recipe.
Nevermind. I didn't see the notion of 6 tbsp. My apologies
No problem, Jacki! Enjoy! =)
Hey Stacy!
I made this recipe for my parents and my sister and they absolutely loved it, although they were a little sceptical at the beginning. Thank you for sharing!
With love from Belgium
Lisa
Hi, Lisa! That makes me so happy, I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know =)
Made these tonight, substituted black beans for the quinoa. Delish. I'd suggest you add the preparation time as I didn't realize the scooping out of seeds and membranes would be as time consuming as it was. Also, I'd add suggestions for use of the scooped out tomato, such as reserve for a salsa or a soup.
What a great idea, I'll try the black beans one day! I did it pretty quickly but I'll definitely add a note about the extra time for removing the seeds, thank you! I made my favorite tomato soup with the leftover tomato pieces so I'll definitely add that to the post too. Thank you for your comments, I appreciate them! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe =)
Hi! I stumbled across this post on Pinterest, and I have to say I'm am so excited to try this out. I was wondering if the filling would last okay in the fridge for a couple of days?
Hi Ally, I'm sorry it took me a few days to get back to you. I got married over the weekend so I haven't been on my blog much the past few weeks. The filling would definitely last in the fridge for a few days! I think I remember that the last time I made this recipe that I made it 2 days in advance and it was perfectly fine. Let me know how it turns out!
Did you use homemade pesto or store bought? I didn't see a recipe for the pesto. If store bought which brand did you find that was Vegan?
Hi, Amanda!
I forgot to add the recipe for the pesto I used, sorry about that! I'll update the post with it asap. Thank you for letting me know! If you don't feel like making your own, I like Zest vegan pesto which I buy on Amazon!
This is one gorgeous and tasty recipe. My hubby would go crazy for this one.
That baking dish is beyond pretty. I wish I could steal that through the screen. It's so gorgeous.
Thank you so much, Kim! My soon-to-be hubby loved it too! =)
Tomatoes are one of my favorites! This looks like an amazing preparation for them!
Thanks! They're so versatile!
What a beautiful meatless dish -- so pretty! Love the freezer tips for the tomatoes -- what a great way to enjoy the season down the road!
Thanks, Patricia! Freezing is my favorite way to cut down our food waste. It was my goal this year to crack down and really make an effort-- so far so good!
Fabulous recipe! I'm vegan too, and eat tons of quinoa so I'm always looking for new ways to make it. These stuffed tomatoes are so pretty.
Thank you so much, Erica! I really appreciate your feedback =)
I made these for dinner tonight. They were great. Looking for the nutrition info.
Hi, Sharon! I'm so glad you enjoyed the stuffed tomatoes, thank you for letting me know! It makes me happy to hear you enjoyed it =) Unfortunately, I don't have the nutrition info, i"m sorry!
Tomatoes are in peak season now. And stuffed vegetables are regular menu on our dinner table, would like to try your recipe too
Thanks, Citra! I hope you enjoy it!
Oh gosh, this recipe looks really good! I'll eat anything with quinoa and spinach! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!