Stuffed tomatoes are an easy meal to knock together with some basic ingredients. But it’s also easy to stuff a few too many. So, what do you do with all those leftovers? Can they be frozen or not?
Can You Freeze Stuffed Tomatoes?
Yes, you can freeze stuffed tomatoes for up to 3 months. Make your favourite recipe to the point just before baking and then place them onto a lined baking sheet in the freezer. Once solid, they can be transferred to a freezer bag.
Do Do Stuffed Tomatoes freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Stuffed Tomatoes? Yes
How to Freeze Stuffed Tomatoes
Before freezing stuffed tomatoes, follow your favourite recipe up to the point where you would normally bake them. It is better to freeze unbaked stuffed tomatoes. Got them? Then follow these 5 steps:
- Freeze: Without actually baking the tomatoes, place them, prepared, onto a lined baking sheet. Transfer that lined baking sheet to your freezer, where the tomatoes will flash freeze.
- Transfer to a Bag: After a few hours have elapsed, transfer the flash-frozen tomatoes into a large freezer bag. This is the best way to eliminate excess air.
- Remove Air: Once the tomatoes are in the bag, press the bag to remove any further excess air that might get in the way of the freezing process.
- Seal: When the air has been pressed out of the bag, seal the bag tightly and ensure that there are no gaps or leaks in the seal.
- Freeze: Then, transfer the bag into the freezer. It’s a good idea to include label that lists the filling too.
Yes, you can freeze cooked stuffed tomatoes but only for 2 months. They will lose their texture much quicker than unbaked tomatoes. You’ll also find it far easier to over bake them when warming them up.
3 Tips for Freezing Stuffed Tomatoes
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing stuffed tomatoes to have the best results:
Remember Tomatoes are High in Water
Water is the enemy when it comes to freezing things. Water expands as it freezes, which often damages food items as the water molecules expand. Tomatoes are high in water which often leads to their texture becoming ruined.
Consider the Stuffing
An assembled meal will only freeze as well as its weakest item. Consider how easy or hard to freeze different items within your tomatoes are – that will help you gain an insight into how well the whole meal will freeze.
Flash Freezing is Vital
Flash freezing your tomatoes is essential since that will give them the structure required to not fall apart in the freezer. If the tomatoes werenāt flash frozen, then itās very likely that you would end up with smushed tomatoes during the packing and freezing process.
How Long Can You Freeze Stuffed Tomatoes?
You can freeze stuffed tomatoes for around three months, after which freezer burn is likely to have set in. In that instance, the food will still be safe to eat, but the quality will be much lower.
You can expect the exterior texture of the tomato to become quite mushy and soft.
Leftover stuffed tomatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They should be popped into the fridge as soon as they are cold.
How Do You Defrost Stuffed Tomatoes?
The best way to defrost stuffed tomatoes is to transfer them directly from the freezer to a hot oven. Bake them until theyāre steaming hot throughout and bubbly on top, and youāll be good to go with a tasty meal!
Can You Refreeze Stuffed Tomatoes?
As long as your stuffing doesnāt contain any meat or poultry, you should be good to go! We would advise bearing the water content of your food in mind, though, as high water-content tomatoes wonāt benefit from repeated freezing.
Refreezing vegetable-filled tomatoes will be safe but it might not be an enjoyable eating experience.
Do Stuffed Tomatoes Freeze Well?
Yes, stuffed tomatoes do freeze well – provided you get to them before freezer burn sets in, you can easily preserve a bright taste of the summer in the freezer.
Be warned, however, that over time the texture of the tomato will suffer when frozen. It can become mushy and soft and this can be hard to fix. The tomato will be fine to eat but might not be quite as enjoyable.
Stuffed Tomatoes Freezer Recipe
Tomatoes can be stuffed with various ingredients, including meat, pulses and cheese. We’ve kept things low cost, easy and vegan with our freezer-friendly version.
Either assemble the tomatoes before baking them and then freeze, stuffed. Or, you can bake them, cool them and freeze them for a little less time:
Freezer-Friendly Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe
4
servings25
minutes1
hour1
hour25
minutesThese Greek-inspired stuffed tomatoes are easy to make in bulk and perfect for popping in the freezer for a quick lunch or dinner.
Keeps the screen of your device ON
Ingredients
1tbsp Olive Oil
8 Large, Beef Tomatoes
40g Pine Nuts
1 Onion, Finely Diced
3 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
1tsp Dried Oregano
1tsp Crushed Chilli Flakes
300g Cooked Brown Rice
Large Handful Parsley Leaves, Roughly Chopped
2tbsp Dried Currants
Salt
Black Pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Take a very small slice off the bottom of each tomato so that they stand upright. You don’t want them falling over! Then slice the top off so you can get inside and scoop all of the seed and pulp out. Do not throw the top or pulp away.
- In a large frying pan, toast the pine nuts for 4 minutes until they are fragrant and turning golden brown. Remove the pine nuts from the pan.
- Add the olive oil and onion to the pan, with a pinch of salt, and cook for 5 minutes until the onion has softened. You can then add the garlic, oregano and chilli flakes to cook for a further 5 minutes. Stir the tomato pulp, rice, parsley, current and pine nuts into the pan and warm everything through.
- Fill the tomato carcasses with your filling then pop them into a baking dish. Place the tomato tops back on the tomatoes. Add a little water to the dish, cover with foil and then bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a final 10 minutes.
Notes
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing stuffed tomatoes or stuffed vegetables in general, then these may help:
Yes, yemista (or gemista) can be frozen for around 3 months. Once cooled, freeze each stuffed vegetable on a baking tray until solid. They can then be popped into an airtight container to be stored for the longer term.
Yes, stuffed tomatoes that contain meat can be frozen for up to 3 months. You should avoid refreezing them as this is when bacteria can form on the meat content.
