It’s time to indulge in tomates farcies, or stuffed tomatoes, folks! A deceptively easy meal that’s bursting with flavor, these juicy, French stuffed tomatoes are generously filled with ground beef and Mediterranean spices and then roasted to perfection. A fresh yet classic recipe when tomatoes are at their peak.
WHAT MAKES THESE TOMATES FARCIES SO GOOD?
When it comes to getting dinner on the table, I sometimes overcomplicate things. It can be easy to forget that good food doesn’t need a million ingredients to shine.
Picture this: Tender, roasted tomatoes stuffed with ground beef that has been jazzed up with a hearty handful of sweet basil and peppery parsley. And if that weren’t enough to transport you to the Mediterranean, we’re adding milk-soaked bread crumbs – possibly from a crusty loaf of day-old artisan bread (but not necessarily) – to our French meat stuffing recipe for melt-in-your-mouth goodness.
The only other thing you’ll need to make these Mediterranean flavor bombs is a little patience. Like, help your kid with homework or wrestle your toddler into a bath or maybe just blast Charles Aznavour and Edith Piaf and sip a glass of wine as you wait for your meal to work its magic. Try it and tell me this isn’t one of your new favorite French recipes.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- Ripe tomatoes: You can use any medium to large tomatoes, but a few excellent choices are on-the-vine tomatoes, beefsteak, or heirloom tomatoes.
- Ground beef or lamb: I know lamb isn’t as popular in the U.S. as it is in other countries, but hear me out: lamb has a deeper, richer flavor than beef, and it works so well with the contrast of the sweet, roasted tomatoes. I’ve made these tomatoes both ways, and they were both equally popular with my crew. I definitely envision developing a recipe for lamb-stuffed tomates farcies in the future.
- Breadcrumbs: Milk-soaked bread crumbs are the secret to tantalizingly moist stuffing. If you’ve ever made homemade meatballs, you may be familiar with this technique. You can make your own bread crumbs by blitzing stale bread (baguette, French loaf, etc.) in a food processor. The milk helps soften the breadcrumbs so they mix easily with the raw meat and then serve to absorb any moisture released from the tomatoes and the meat during cooking.
- Milk: You can use whatever milk you buy at the grocery store for this one, although I’d wager that the higher the fat content, the better the result.
- Fresh basil: The fresh, sweet scent of basil is irresistible and it’s hard to imagine creating a Mediterranean-inspired dish without it.
- Fresh parsley: For a bolder, more peppery herb, we’re adding in parsley.
- Onion: This recipe is a forgiving one. Use red onion, white onion, or yellow onion. Shallots are also an excellent choice for tomates farcies.
- Garlic cloves: For flavor. I’m definitely one of those, the more garlic the better kinda gals.
- White wine: Gives a little double whammy in the flavor department as it concentrates in the tomato sauce to lend both savory and sweet notes.
- Salt
- Black pepper
ADDITIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Substitutions
- If you don’t have time to make your own bread crumbs, you can swap with store bought ones.
- You can use ground lamb, ground pork, or a combo of pork sausage and beef in this tomates farcies recipe.
Additions
- Cheese: Parmesan cheese or mozzerella – add it right to the mix for cheesy goodness.
HOW TO MAKE MEAT STUFFED TOMATOES: STEP BY STEP
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add milk to the breadcrumbs and let sit while you make the tomato sauce.
- Slice the tops off the tomato, reserving them to cover before baking. Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes, reserving juices and flesh in a small mixing bowl. Sprinkle the inside of the tomato with a little salt and resting tomatoes upside down for up to five minutes to drain excess juice.
- Make tomato sauce. Chop the tomato pulp and add ½ cup basil en chiffonade, ¼ cup chopped parsley, half of a diced onion, 1 minced garlic clove, white wine and salt to taste into an 8×8 or 9×13 baking dish, reserving ½ cup for meat stuffing.
- Make the meat stuffing. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl with the breadcrumb mixture and knead together with the meat until everything is thoroughly mixed. To ensure proper seasoning, you can saute a teaspoon of the meat in a small frying pan and once cooked through, taste, adjusting salt as needed.
- Stuff the tomatoes with the meat. Placing side by side in the baking dish. Cover tomatoes with tomato tops. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- Serve it up! Make white rice and spoon tomato sauce over it when you serve your tomates farcies to take this meal over the top! This is also delicious served with a side salad and crusty bread.
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- Take care not to puncture the skin. You don’t want the tomato to rip or the filling to fall out.
- Salt the inside of the tomato, let it rest 5 minutes and then flip it upside down to drain any water. I also like to think that doing this step further enhances the flavor of the tomatoes.
- Don’t try to skip the bread crumbs.
Looking for more great dinner ideas? Try this weeknight mushroom gnocchi or this creative asparagus pizza with bacon and balsamic glaze. Bon appetit!
📖 Recipe
French Tomates Farcies
A deceptively easy meal that’s bursting with flavor, these juicy, French stuffed tomatoes are generously filled with ground beef and Mediterranean spices and then roasted to perfection.
Ingredients
- 9-10 tomatoes medium to large
- 1 lb ground beef or lamb
- 1 cup breadcrumbs homemade or store bought
- 3 tablespoons milk for breadcrumb
- 1 cup loosely packed basil en chiffonade, divided in half
- ½ cup loosely packed parsley chopped, divided in half
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 large garlic cloves diced (approximately 1 tablespoon for meat stuffing, 1 teaspoon for spoon sauce)
- 1 teaspoon salt for lamb ¼-½ teaspoon for tomato spoon sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper each for meat and then again for tomato spoon sauce
- ¼ cup white wine – for tomato spoon sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add milk to the breadcrumbs and let sit while you make the tomato sauce.
- Slice the tops off the tomato, reserving them to cover before baking. Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes, reserving juices and flesh in a small mixing bowl. Sprinkle the inside of the tomato with a little salt and resting tomatoes upside down for up to five minutes to drain excess juice.
- Make tomato spoon sauce. Chop the tomato pulp and add ½ cup basil en chiffonade, ¼ cup chopped parsley, half of a diced onion, 1 minced garlic clove, white wine and salt to taste into an 8×8 or 9×13 baking dish, reserving ½ cup for meat stuffing.
- Make the meat stuffing. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl with the breadcrumb mixture and knead together with the meat until everything is thoroughly mixed. To ensure proper seasoning, you can saute a teaspoon of the meat in a small frying pan and once cooked through, taste, adjusting salt as needed.
- Stuff the tomatoes with the meat. Placing side by side in the baking dish. Cover tomatoes with tomato tops. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- Serve it up! Make white rice and spoon tomato sauce over it when you serve your tomates farcies to take this meal over the top! This is also delicious served with a side salad and crusty bread.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
