These vegan stuffed tomatoes have a delicious filling of pesto orzo cooked risotto-style so that it’s nice and creamy. Serve these tasty stuffed tomatoes as an appetizer, side dish or main dish with a salad and crusty bread on the side!

Stuffed vegetables are always a great vegetarian or vegan option for lunch or dinner. From zucchini to bell peppers to squash to mushrooms, I’ve stuffed pretty much vegetable there is to stuff!

This summer has been “the summer of the stuffed tomato” as I had an exceptionally good tomato harvest from my garden. I stuffed them with TVP, potatoes and rice but these pesto orzo stuffed tomatoes turned out to be my favourite recipe of the summer.

How to make vegan stuffed tomatoes

To make this vegan recipe you’ll need to start with a vegan pesto. If you can’t buy a prepared vegan pesto at your supermarket, it’s super easy to make at home. Use your favourite recipe or take a look at mine linked above.

Choose some nice ripe tomatoes, mine were not exceptionally large, just medium sized. Slice the top off and scoop out the flesh.

Sprinkle the insides with a bit of salt and turn them upside down on a plate to drain out the excess liquid.

Sometimes when I make stuffed tomatoes I chop up the tomato insides to use in the filling as well. For this recipe I didn’t feel like the pulp would go well in the filling so I left it out. I later used the pulp when making tomato sauce for pasta. You could also blend it into a smoothie or add it to Spanish gazpacho, for example.

Now prepare the orzo. There are many different ways to cook orzo. You can simply boil it in abundant water like pasta, boil it in the exact amount of water like rice, or cook it in a pan like risotto.

For this recipe I opted for the latter. Cooking it in stock adds more flavour and stirring it while it cooks releases the starches to result in a creamy finish.

Don’t worry though, cooking orzo risotto-style is not a time-consuming process. Orzo is quick cooking and it should be ready in less than 10 minutes when cooked this way.

Once your orzo is ready, stir through your vegan pesto. This pesto orzo is amazingly delicious and would make a good side dish just on its own!

Stuff the pesto orzo into your empty tomatoes and bake until tender. You can eat these vegan stuffed tomatoes as they are or garnish them with a sprinkling of fresh basil or grated vegan cheese. I used the vegan Parmesan from Violife (I was not paid to mention this product).