Addicting Feta Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes
Full of summer flavor, these Addicting Feta Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes will be your new favorite healthy recipe. Whole tomatoes and cheese are grilled on the BBQ or roasted in the oven.
Just the title alone sounds so fancy that I feel like I should be wearing a monocle while writing this post. My pinkie is most decidedly out!
I discovered this amazing recipe when we first moved to Los Angeles. Right after we got to the city, someone Troy had worked with in Seattle invited us over for a BBQ.
When we got to his apartment, he was outside grilling, and the smells coming from the BBQ were intoxicating. A few minutes of anticipation revealed these beauties in all of their caramelized and cheesy glory.
You can make these tomatoes on the grill, or just be lazy and pop them in the oven for a few minutes. The smell of them cooking always brings me back to being a person in a new city, and the comfort I felt by eating dinner with someone who came from the same place that I did.
And of course, the comfort that cheese brings. Cheese and are I old friends.
What Ingredients Are Used in Feta Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes?
Feta, fresh tomatoes, garlic, dried thyme, and salt and pepper. And if you love yourself, you’re going to drizzle some balsamic over the top when all is said and done.
What kind of tomatoes work best in this dish? Plum or a San Marzano-style tomato will hold up the best. You will want to avoid cherry or grape tomatoes and anything too juicy. Picking smaller paste-style tomatoes will help the tomato hold its shape during the grilling process.
As feta is already a fairly salty cheese, I would caution against adding additional salt until you’ve tasted the cheese mixture.
Need a vegan feta? Try this recipe from The Hidden Veggies.
How Do you Grill Tomatoes in the Oven?
Like a boss, that’s how! Instead of using the traditional oven function, you’re going to use your broiler to grill tomatoes in the oven.
You’ll need a baking sheet and some parchment paper (for easy clean up) to make this happen. Place your rack on the highest rung in the oven so that it as close to the broiler element at the top as possible.
When given a choice, I prefer these tomatoes cooked on the grill. They get soft and seared on the bottom creating a softer tomato base. The broiler cooks from the top so the tomato stays a bit firm.
How to Make Feta Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes:
Oven
- Cut your tomatoes in half, and scoop out the insides. Discard.
- Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet (parchment paper makes the clean up much easier!).
- Combine cheese, garlic, thyme, and lemon zest and mix with a fork.
- Place a little bit of cheese in each hollowed out tomato.
- Set your oven to broil. If you get a choice between “lo” and “high” broil, choose high.
- Broil for 3-5 minutes. Watch closely because the broiler works fast. Remove from the oven when the cheese is melty and lightly browned.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
BBQ
- Cut your tomatoes in half, and scoop out the insides. Discard.
- Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet (parchment paper makes the clean up much easier!).
- Combine cheese, garlic, thyme, and lemon zest and mix with a fork.
- Place a little bit of cheese in each hollowed out tomato.
- Transfer tomatoes to a grill basket that has been sprayed with cooking spray or brushed with olive oil.
- Grill on medium heat until the cheese is melty and lightly browned.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes:
- Need to make more or less of the recipe? Click and slide the “servings” number on the recipe card and the ingredients will adjust as needed. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
- Really mush up the cheese with the fork when mixing. Feta is pretty chunky and you want the stuffing to be fairly consistent in texture.
- Technically you could stuff the tomatoes ahead of time…but I would caution you not to store them in the fridge for longer than 1-2 hours. Tomatoes are happiest at room temperature and putting them in the fridge results in a mushy tomato. You may have better results making the cheese early and storing in the fridge in an air-tight container. Slice the tomatoes, cover, and store at room temperature for up to four hours. Stuff just prior to serving.
Making this recipe or others?
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Full of summer flavor, these Addicting Feta Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes will be your new favorite healthy recipe. Whole tomatoes and cheese are grilled on the BBQ or roasted in the oven.
- 10 oz tomatoes plum or San Marzano
- 1/2 cup feta
- 1/2 tsp thyme dried
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Cut your tomatoes in half, and scoop out the insides.
Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet (parchment paper makes the clean up much easier!).
Combine cheese, garlic, thyme, and lemon zest and mix with a fork.
Place a little bit of cheese in each hollowed out tomato.
Set your oven to broil. If you get a choice between "lo" and "high" broil, choose high.
Broil for 3-5 minutes. Watch closely because the broiler works fast. Remove from the oven when the cheese is melty and lightly browned.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Cut your tomatoes in half, and scoop out the insides.
Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet (parchment paper makes the clean up much easier!).
Combine cheese, garlic, thyme, and lemon zest and mix with a fork.
Place a little bit of cheese in each hollowed out tomato.
Transfer tomatoes to a grill basket that has been sprayed with cooking spray or brushed with olive oil.
Grill on medium heat until the cheese is melty and lightly browned.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Really mush up the cheese with the fork when mixing. Feta is pretty chunky and you want the stuffing to be fairly consistent in texture.
Technically you could stuff the tomatoes ahead of time...but I would caution you not to store them in the fridge for longer than 1-2 hours. Tomatoes are happiest at room temperature and putting them in the fridge results in a mushy tomato. You may have better results making the cheese early and storing in the fridge in an air-tight container. Slice the tomatoes, cover, and store at room temperature for up to four hours. Stuff just prior to serving.
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This recipe was originally published in June 2012. It has been retested and updated with reader feedback. New photos have been added and the recipe has been made printable.
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Oooo. Those look so good!
Seriously that easy? That’s magnificent! And how do you type with your pinky out?
Seriously, that easy!
It requires a pencil in my mouth to get a few letters, but it sure is fancy.
oh freakin’ YUM!!! Tomatoes and feta, my favs! Adding this to tonight’s menu… You rock!
When i was in Turkey on TDY tomatoes with feta were a breakfast staple. I thought they were weird until I tried it….
I made these last night for dinner with my folks. Holy balls, they were delicious. I need a bigger grill basket! I’m thinking I’ll use the leftover tomato innards on some pasta in a couple days when the actual cooks in the family (mom & dad!) leave me to go back home.
So glad you liked them Sydnie and absolutely perfect use of “holy balls”!
We are such grill basket fans that we actually have two that we bust out for certain recipes.
I am obsessed with anything Feta and tomatoes so it was a given that I was going to love this recipe, my husband on the other hand thinks that outside of extra hot salsa tomatoes are the grossest thing ever! As I was making these he made all kids of faces, but guess who housed two of them before they even stopped sizzling from the grill!! I will definitely be making these again!!
So glad you and the doubting husband liked them, Bethany! I agree with you and your feta obsession.