Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes

When I’ve asked readers lately what types of recipes they’d like to see, the overwhelming answer I get is budget friendly (often vegetarian) and low carb.

These Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes are just that. They start with a simple tuna salad recipe that you will fall in love with. That salad is stuffed into four large tomatoes that have been hollowed out and drained. The result is a low carb lunch that is filling and perfect to take to work. You can even make it ahead of time!

How to Make Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes

1. Prepare the tomatoes. This involves hollowing them out and draining them. Please see a detailed description below.
2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper.
3. Combine the other ingredients. In a large bowl stir together the drained tuna, red onion, celery, and pickles. Then stir in the dressing.
4. Stuff the tomatoes. Carefully spoon the salad into the drained tomatoes. This salad makes enough to fill four medium to large tomatoes with it mounding up over the top as you see pictured here.

How to Hollow Tomatoes to Stuff Them

1. Slice off the tops. Using a sharp knife, cut the tops off of four green house tomatoes. Do your best to cut off as little as possible while still getting all of the stems.
2. Cut out the pulp. Leaving about a 1/4 inch around, use a knife to cut out the pulp. Be careful not to go through the bottom of the tomato.
3. Scoop out the pulp. Once you have cut around the inside of the tomato, you can use a spoon to scoop out the pulp. The most import thing to remove is the wet seedy pulp. You can leave some of the ribbing of the tomato.
4. Drain the tomatoes. Turn the tomatoes upside down on a paper towel lined plate and allow them to drain while preparing the salad.

Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes Ingredients

• Greenhouse Tomatoes: You want to look for tomatoes that can stand on their own and that are medium to large in size. Give the tomatoes at the store a gentle squeeze. They should have just a little give to them and no blemishes.
• Canned Tuna: This recipe uses two 7 ounce cans of tuna packed in water. Please make sure that you get tuna packed in water and not oil. It is part of what makes this recipe so healthy.
• Red Onion: If you choose to use yellow or white onion, consider using less as it has a stronger taste. Shallots would be delicious in this as well as mixing half red onion and have green onions. Look below in “Substitutions and Variations” for onion alternatives.
• Celery: I love the crunch that celery adds to this. Look below in “Substitutions and Variations” for celery alternatives.
• Low Fat Mayonnaise: One of my favorite things to use is light mayonnaise. It has a lot less calories but all of the taste.
• Low Fat Plain Yogurt: This makes up the other half of the sauce and keeps the dish lighter and healthier. Look for a yogurt that isn’t replacing the fat with sugar or sugar substitutes.
• Salt: Please make sure that you are using kosher salt. If you use table salt, start with half the amount called for and add more to taste.

Making Ahead

These Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes make such a great work day lunch. I used tall reusable take out containers to store them in the refrigerator and that worked really well.

These will last in the refrigerator (completely put together) for three days.

Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes for One

If you are the only one in your home who will enjoy these, I suggest cutting the recipe in half. That way you will have one for today and one for tomorrow. The one for tomorrow will be just as delicious as the one you enjoyed today.

Substitutions and Variations

There are several ways to make swaps in this recipe to ensure that it is something you enjoy and love. I want this to be a recipe you can come back to over and over.

• Leave out the onions. If onions (of any kind) aren’t your thing, you can leave them out. Feel free to replace them with a clove of fresh garlic and a little bit more onion powder. You can replace the bulk they take up by adding more celery, green peas, or if you are feeling adventurous, green olives.
• Swap out the celery. If celery isn’t really your thing you can swap it for something else. One option that I love is frozen green peas – no need to thaw them before adding them. Another great option is more pickles.
• Exchange the yogurt for sour cream. If yogurt isn’t really your thing, use some low fat sour cream. It will give it the same great zip without adding a lot of calories.

Other Great Lunch Recipes

• Creamy Tomato Bisque
• Greek Quinoa Salad
• Crab Salad

If you make this Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I love hearing from you.