Tuna Stuffed Tomato

When you make some tuna salad and use it to stuff into a fresh ripe tomato, you end up with something wonderful.

As the saying goes: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

It’s possible that Aristotle had loftier things in mind when he first made that statement, but I think it applies to cooking too!

Tuna salad: good! Fresh tomato: good!

Tuna stuffed tomato: GREAT!

This is especially true during tomato season, when tomatoes are fresh and ripe, bursting with flavor. Find some at a farmer's market if you can, for the best tasting tomato possible.

Why I Love this Recipe

First of all, you have to love tomatoes and tuna salad to even consider this recipe. If you dislike either, this combo is not going to change your mind! LOL!

I love a good, fresh, in-season tomato. Especially heirloom tomatoes, they have the best flavor! But they are definitely more spendy, so I like to use them in recipes that really allow that flavor to shine!

This recipe does just that. The tomato serves as a receptacle for the tuna salad. And while you’re eating the salad, you can cut up the tomato and decide how much and when you’d like to have it. I personally like a piece of tomato included with every bite of tuna salad, others might prefer eating all the tuna salad and then having the tomato separately. (of course, in this scenario, there’ll be at least a little of the tuna salad taste on the tomato)

There’s just something about edible receptacles for food, don’t you think?

Ingredients Needed

Essentially this recipe needs tuna salad and tomatoes. Pretty easy, right?

But I do put a little spin on tuna salad here. The most basic tuna salad is made of canned tuna and mayo. I also add celery and onions, which are very common. A little less common? Hard boiled eggs. I always put some in my tuna salad.

And one more addition, that I only use when making stuffed tomatoes: apple. Some diced apple in the tuna salad provides a burst of sweetness which is delicious, and also helps balance the innate acidity of the raw tomato. I learned this trick at a restaurant I worked at a looooong time ago. The chef was an unusual guy, but I really loved his tuna stuffed tomatoes. Diced apple was his secret ingredient. 😀

How to Make a Tuna Stuffed Tomato

The beauty of this recipe is the simplicity. First, simply mix up the tuna salad.

Then, cut the tomatoes. There are two different ways to cut the tomatoes, and how you choose is partially based on the shape of your tomatoes as well as how you feel about the final presentation.

One way is to just cut off the top (stem end) of the tomato, scoop out the insides to make a cavity, then drain the tomato upside down.

The other way is more decorative. Cut the tomato into a star shape. Use the stem side down for a more stable base, and make sure you are not cutting all the way through the tomato. When making a star shape, leave all the “insides” intact. There will be less liquid that will drain, but still place the cut tomatoes on paper towels to help absorb whatever liquid does drain out.

Then, to stuff the tomato, you can spoon the tuna salad into the cavity. Or gently separate the star shaped pieces and scoop a mound of tuna onto the middle. An ice cream scoop works well for this.

If you’d like a garnish on your tuna stuffed tomatoes, try sprinkling a little chopped fresh parsley. It helps give a little extra pop of color. 😀

Recipe FAQ

If you like “food inside food” like I do, here are some more ideas to try:

• Grilled stuffed peppers
• Grilled stuffed tomatoes
• Twice baked potatoes on the grill
• Vegetarian stuffed acorn squash
• Jack O’Lantern stuffed peppers
• Mini bell pepper poppers

📖 Recipe

Would you like to save this recipe?

I'll email this post to you, so you can easily come back to it later!

5 from 70 votes

Print Pin it! Save Saved!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes

A delicious and easy way to serve tuna salad. The tomato becomes an edible bowl to deliver tuna salad in a low carb way!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Calories: 122kcal

Author: Sula

Ingredients

• 5 ounce can tuna drained
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons onion
• 1 egg hard boiled, chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons mayo
• ½ apple chopped fine
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 3-4 medium tomatoes

Instructions

• Make tuna salad by mixing all ingredients (except tomatoes) in a bowl.
  5 ounce can tuna, 1 stalk celery, 2-3 tablespoons onion, 1 egg, 2-3 tablespoons mayo, ½ apple, Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Prepare tomatoes by cutting star shapes -or- slicing off the top and scooping out the interior. Place on paper towels to drain before filling.
  3-4 medium tomatoes
• Place tomatoes on serving plate and scoop tuna salad into each one. An ice cream scoop works very well for placing on star-shaped tomatoes, whereas a small spoon may work better for the hollow cavity.
• Serve and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 398mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1096IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.