Tomates Farcies (Baked Stuffed Tomatoes) are a classic French dish featuring ripe summer tomatoes stuffed with a mixture of sausage, ground beef, and herbs. A country dish with tons of flavor!
Living in Paris for 3 years, I saw Tomates Farcies (Stuffed Tomatoes) sold at every Parisian butcher shop. This classic French country dish features ripe summer tomatoes stuffed with a mixture of sausage, ground beef, and herbs. Simple, right?
Well my first 3 attempts to make this at home resulted in stuffing leaking out of the tomatoes or tomatoes that had completely rolled on their side during the baking process. Until I realized that just a couple of easy techniques give you perfect stuffed tomatoes every time.
I love serving these tomatoes on a bed of white rice, but serving with this Baguette Garlic Bread to sop up all the juices would also be delicious.
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Why You'll Love these Baked Stuffed Tomatoes
- Savory, juicy, and utterly delicious
- Perfect for making the most out of summer tomatoes
- Stretches 10 ounces of meat into a 4-person meal
- Great for a make-ahead dinner
Stuffed Tomato Recipe Ingredients
- Tomatoes: Choose large, beefsteak tomatoes for this recipe since you need something sturdy that will keep its shape when hollowed out and then baked. Ripe tomatoes give you the best flavor, but make sure they are still a bit firm. Overripe tomatoes will collapse when baked.
- Onion: Yellow onion works perfectly in this recipe, but feel free to substitute white onion, red onion, or even a few shallots.
- Ground Beef: Lean ground beef is preferred for this recipe.
- Sausage: Both mild and spicy pork sausage work well in this dish—choose whatever you like.
- Breadcrumbs: We call for plain breadcrumbs in this recipe, but you can use seasoned bread crumbs or panko crumbs as well. You can even slice some stale bread into cubes, mix with a little bit of milk to soften, and add that instead.
- Herbes de Provence: If you don’t have this spice blend, replace with dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, or fennel seed (or a combination of any of those).
How to Make Stuffed Tomatoes with Ground Beef
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Slice off the tops of four tomatoes, but don’t lose track of which top belongs to which bottom. Use a small knife to cut around the inside of each tomato bottom. Then use a spoon to scrape out the pulp and seeds, adding them to a medium bowl.
- Make sure to leave the tomato sides and bottom thick enough so that the tomato will hold the filling without collapsing.
4. Remove the thicker pulp from the bowl and finely chop, then put back into the bowl.
5. Peel and finely chop a medium onion. Peel and mince 2 garlic cloves.
6. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, then sauté until softened and just starting to brown, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Add tomato pulp and juice to skillet, and cook until the mixture reduces slightly, about 8-10 minutes. Let tomato mixture cool for at least 5 minutes. (You may want to scrape it onto a plate to cool faster.)
8. Combine 6 ounces lean ground beef and 4 ounces pork sausage in a medium-large bowl with ⅓ cup plain breadcrumbs,½ teaspoon herbes de provence, 1 tablespoon parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
9. Stir in the cooled tomato-onion mixture.
10. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside the empty tomato shells, then use an ice cream scoop to add the filling. The filling can rise a little above the tomato wall.
11. Put the top to each tomato back on top of the meat mixture, then put the tomatoes into an 8x8 baking dish. Drizzle with another tablespoon of olive oil.
12. Bake for 1 hour, until tomatoes are lightly browned, and the insides come to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
13. Garnish with additional chopped parsley.
Baked Stuffed Tomatoes FAQs
Yes, absolutely! This is a great make-ahead meal because the stuffed tomatoes can be entirely prepped and then kept in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking. In addition, these tomatoes may be even more delicious as leftovers, once the flavors have fully melded together overnight. So bake them the night before, store in the refrigerator, then warm up in the oven before eating.
Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 24 hours unbaked or 3-4 days after baking. Freezing is not recommended, as the tomatoes will break down in the process of freezing and then thawing.
This is a traditional French dish that comes from the Provence region. This dish was created as a way to stretch leftovers like pork or beef and stale bread into a delicious new meal. You can add whatever herbs (fresh or dried) you have on hand, and you can also add a grated hard cheese. Today you can find Tomates Farcies premade in many French boucheries, just waiting to be baked in your oven.
Try using ground beef or sausage substitutes like Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods. While we haven’t tried them in this roasted stuffed tomatoes recipe, they have worked very well for us as substitutes in other traditional meat recipes.
Stuffed Tomato Tips
- The classic way to serve Tomates Farcies is on a bed of rice. Be sure to scoop up all the delicious juices from the bottom of the pan to pour over the rice. That said, you can also serve these sausage-stuffed tomatoes with a side salad or a vegetable dish like these Sautéed Mushrooms and Zucchini.
- Choose tomatoes of the same size so that the amount of filling in each will be roughly the same, and will cook in the same amount of time.
- Make sure to keep track of which tomato top goes with which tomato bottom. These French stuffed tomatoes look nicer when they are matched up correctly in the pan!
- Prefer sausage over ground beef, or the other way around? You can use just one or the other rather than a combination of meats. In fact, the traditional recipe uses just sausage.
- Take care not to pierce through the tomatoes with your spoon or knife when removing the tomato pulp. Using a melon baller or grapefruit spoon can be a great help in scooping out the pulp cleanly.
- If your tomatoes are too wobbly to fill without falling over, use your knife to trim the bottom so that they stand upright. (Just make sure to not cut all the way through the bottom tomato wall.
Other Delicious Tomato Recipes
We can’t get enough tomatoes during the summer. A Classic Tomato Tart and this Tomato Pesto recipe are two of our favorites. Or check out one of these delicious options!
Or, go to our Summer recipe archive for more dishes you’ll want to make all summer.
If you try this Tomates Farcies recipe, we would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to us.
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Tomates Farcies (Baked Stuffed Tomatoes)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large tomatoes (2 ½ pounds)
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 6 ounces ground beef
- 4 ounces ground pork sausage
- ⅓ cup plain breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon Herbes de Provence
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley plus more to garnish
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Slice off the tops of the tomatoes, but don’t lose track of which top belongs to which bottom.
- Use a small knife to cut around the inside of each tomato bottom. Then use a spoon to scrape out the pulp and seeds, adding them to a medium bowl. Make sure to leave the tomato sides and bottom thick enough so that the tomato will hold the filling without collapsing.
- Remove the thicker pulp from the bowl and finely chop, then put back into the bowl.
- Peel and finely chop onion.
- Peel and mince garlic cloves.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Add onions and garlic, then sauté until softened and just starting to brown, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add tomato pulp and juice to skillet, and cook until the mixture reduces slightly, about 8-10 minutes.
- Let tomato mixture cool for at least 5 minutes. (You may want to scrape it onto a plate to cool faster.)
- Combine beef and sausage in a medium-large bowl with breadcrumbs, herbes de provence, 1 tablespoon parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Stir in the cooled tomato-onion mixture.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper inside the empty tomato shells, then use an ice cream scoop to add the filling. The filling can rise a little above the tomato wall.
- Put the top to each tomato back on top of the meat mixture, then put the tomatoes into an 8x8 baking dish.
- Drizzle with remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Bake for 1 hour, until tomatoes are lightly browned, and the insides come to a temperature of 160°F.
- Garnish with additional chopped parsley.
Notes
The classic way to serve Tomates Farcies is on a bed of rice. Be sure to scoop up all the delicious juices from the bottom of the pan to pour over the rice. That said, you can also serve these sausage-stuffed tomatoes with a side salad. Choose tomatoes of the same size so that the amount of filling in each will be roughly the same, and will cook in the same amount of time. Make sure to keep track of which tomato top goes with which tomato bottom. These French stuffed tomatoes look nicer when they are matched up correctly in the pan! Storage Tips:
Keep your stuffed tomatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 24 hours unbaked or 3-4 days after baking. You can also freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
cathy says
Do you cook the beef or sausage prior to putting in the tomatoes?
Molly Pisula says
No, you don't need to cook it before adding to the tomatoes. It will bake in the oven!