Chickpea Stuffed Tomatoes with Vegan Pesto and Crispy Breadcrumbs
Baked tomatoes stuffed with pesto chickpeas, onions and herbs, topped with Italian breadcrumbs and vegan parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
Tomatoes
- 6 vine tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Stuffing
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 3 tbsp tomato pulp (reserved from the inside of the tomatoes)
- ¼ cup finely diced onion
- ¼ cup vegan pesto
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Topping
- 2-3 tbsp Italian breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup vegan Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Prep
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Next, slice off the top of each tomato and use a spoon to remove the pulp. Reserve the the tops and pulp for later.Then add the olive oil, salt and pepper to a 9x13 baking dish. Place the tomatoes in the pan and toss to coat in the olive oil and seasoning, making sure both the inside and outside of each tomato is thoroughly coated. Set aside.
Make the Stuffing
- Next make the stuffing by mashing the chickpeas with a fork. Then add the mashed chickpeas to a mixing bowl along with the onions, pesto and lemon juice. Spoon in 3 tbsp of the tomato pulp from earlier (if there’s not enough tomato juice, simply roughly chop the core of the tomato and add it all to the bowl)
Assemble
- Mix well and spoon into the center of each tomato. Tip: Avoid pressing down or tightly packing the stuffing. It’s better to gently spoon it in, piling it high over the top of the tomato to create a slight dome shape. Then generously sprinkle the top of each tomato with breadcrumbs.
Bake
- After 15 minutes, sprinkle on the vegan Parmesan cheese and place the top of each tomato on top.Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.
Serve
- I like to serve these stuffed tomatoes as a side dish or as summery Italian dinner with fresh green salad, warm bread and glass of wine. Enjoy!