Best Italian Sausage Stuffed Tomatoes without Rice
A quick and easy recipe for hearty tomatoes stuffed with Italian sausage without the rice
Ingredients
- 4 large tomatoes (beefsteak)
- 1/4 cup chopped tomato flesh reserved from the large tomatoes
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage meat
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs + 4 tbsp
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese + 4 tbsp
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Wash the tomatoes, making sure to remove any stickers.
- Cut horizontally across the top creating a little cap. You can discard this piece.
- Cut lightly around the inside of the tomato. Using a large spoon (a tablespoon works well) scoop out the inside of the tomato. Put the tomato flesh into a small bowl. You will use it in the stuffing.
- Lightly sprinkle salt inside the hollowed out tomato. Flip the tomato over onto a plate lined with paper towels.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Dice 1/2 a medium onion.
- Mince 1 clove of garlic.
- Chop the reserved tomato flesh until you have 1/4 cup.
- Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a large skillet. Saute onions over medium-high heat until translucent. Do not let them brown, lowering the temperature to medium heat if necessary.
- Add the sausage meat to the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking apart the meat into small pieces with a heatproof spatula. The meat is cooked when it is uniformly brown with no pink pieces.
- Drain the fat off of the meat and place the sausage in a large bowl.
- Add the minced garlic, Panko, Parmesan, dried basil, and dried parsley to the cooked onion and meat. Lightly salt and pepper.
- Drain the chopped tomato flesh and add to the meat mixture. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon.
- Lightly spray the bottom of the baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Turn over the tomatoes and gently blot the inside with a paper towel.
- Fill the tomatoes loosely with the stuffing and place them in the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle the top of the sausage mixture in each tomato and top with about a tablespoon of breadcrumbs, followed by a tablespoon of cheese.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until the tomato is easily pierced with a sharp knife and the topping is golden brown with a layer of melty cheese.