A delicious little appetizer bursting with flavor! These stuffed cherry tomatoes have a cream cheese filling with fresh dill and garlic.
Perfect for adding to an appetizer buffet table.
Why make these appetizers
These stuffed cherry tomatoes are perfect for any party! I am taking these to our staff Christmas party, but these would also be perfect for a summer BBQ!
Cherry tomatoes are usually available year round in most grocery stores which means you can make these anytime of the year!
When I think of party food, I always want a variety of foods - hot, cold, rich, decadent, crunchy, spicy, and fresh and healthy.
These stuffed tomatoes are a combination of fresh, healthy and decadent! They are a great option to add to a buffet and they always disappear.
These stuffed tomatoes are gluten free which is perfect for many of my friends.
Some of my favorite appetizers include wonton cups, stuffed mushrooms, coconut shrimp, beet hummus, crab stuffed mushrooms and cocktail meatballs.
Key ingredients
- Cherry tomatoes
- Fresh dill
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Garlic
When I first started planning these stuffed cherry tomatoes, I thought about using my homemade Boursin cheese as the filling. I think it would be fabulous in these tomatoes, but then I started thinking about using fresh dill.
You could easily substitute the Boursin cheese spread for the cream cheese filling I made, or you could even use store bought Boursin. The filling isn't difficult to make. It takes no time at all.
What does take time is scooping out the seeds from all those cherry tomatoes!
Seeding Cherry Tomatoes
I went through a few different techniques before I finally landed on one that worked. I also discovered the larger sized cherry tomatoes are much easier to work with than the small ones.
- The bigger the cherry tomatoes, the better. Cherry tomatoes come in all shapes and sizes. The big round ones worked best for me.
- Cut off the top ¼ of the tomato.
- If you have small, oblong shape tomatoes, turn them on their side and cut off the top ¼ of the tomato.
- No need to level the bottom of the tomatoes. Once your tomatoes are hollowed out you can smoosh them down slightly and the bottom becomes flat!
- Use a small spoon to scoop out the tomatoes. I used a ¼ teaspoon spoon. It was small enough to fit into most of the tomatoes.
You can see that I used different sized tomatoes and finally turned the smallest of the tomatoes on their side. It was much easier to scoop out all the seeds and pulp this way.
Stuffing the tomatoes
The easiest way to stuff your tomatoes is with a piping bag and cake decorating tip. You can make the filling ahead of time, but make certain it's at room temperature before filling the tomatoes. Otherwise the filling will be too stiff.
Recipe tips
- Make certain butter and cream cheese are at room temperature
- Can prepare tomatoes ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to fill. If excess liquid has formed in tomatoes, just dump out prior to filling.
- Add fresh herbs on top as a garnish
- Stuffed tomatoes are best served the same day they are made
Flavor Options
You can change up the herbs used in the cream cheese filling. Use what you have on hand or use your favorite! Just replace the dill with the following options.
- Basil - add 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil
- Chives - add 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped chives
- Thyme - add 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
- Rosemary - add 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- Cilantro - add 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
- Parsley - add 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
More Favorite Appetizers
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my delicious appetizer recipes!
Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 2 Tablespoons butter (at room temperature)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh dill (chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 48 cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine cream cheese and butter. Mix well.8 ounces cream cheese, 2 Tablespoons butter
- Add fresh dill and garlic. Set aside.2 Tablespoons fresh dill, 1 clove garlic
- Cut top quarter of cherry tomatoes off. Use a small spoon and scoop out seeds and pulp.48 cherry tomatoes
- Push tomatoes down just slightly so bottom of tomatoes becomes flat.
- Put cream cheese mixture into a piping bag. Pipe into each cherry tomato.
- Cover and refrigerate until needed. Best served at room temperature.
Notes
- Amount of tomatoes may vary depending on size of tomatoes.
- The larger round tomatoes are easier to manage than the small tomatoes.
- Make certain butter and cream cheese are at room temperature
- Can prepare tomatoes ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to fill. If excess liquid has formed in tomatoes, just dump out prior to filling.
- Add fresh herbs on top as a garnish
- Stuffed tomatoes are best served the same day they are made
- Basil - add 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil
- Chives - add 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped chives
- Thyme - add 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
- Rosemary - add 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- Cilantro - add 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
- Parsley - add 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Melisa says
Great recipe. I used thyme and rosemary in mine. Tasted great but needed something added a teaspoon of Italian seasoning and it was just right. Tip on where to cut the tomatoes: cut them on the bottom so the top where the stem came off sits flat on the plate. 🙂
Kathy says
Thanks for the great tip!
Whitney says
Can these be made the night before?
Kathy says
Hi Whitney,
I would prepare the tomatoes and the cheese filling the night before, but don't stuff the tomatoes until the day you need them.
Let me know how they turn out.
Kathy
Fred G says
Great idea for alternate snacks
Fran @ G'day Souffle' says
These tomatoes would go well with your puff pastry straws, combining the crunchy of the straws with the 'savory fruitiness' of the stuffed tomatoes. I love anything stuffed with cream cheese!
Adina says
How cute! I love this kind of appetizers as well, sometimes I organize some dinner parties (smaller parties) where I only serve appetizers, 6-7 kinds of them and lots of fresh bread. Everybody enjoys them a lot.
Nicoletta says
These are just too adorable and very delicious also! Would look great among other holiday appetizers!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
So perfect for holiday parties! Love little one bite apps like this and you have them stuffed so perfectly!! Pinned!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
This is my kind of healthy little appetizer for the holiday season Kathy! The filling sounds delicious! Pinned!
Kathy says
We need a balance! We need to have at least a few healthier options!
David @ Spiced says
These tomatoes are perfectly poppable appetizers! I agree that these would be great for a summer party as well as a holiday appetizer, but the red + white is really quite festive for this time of the year. Nice and easy and delicious...that's how I like to roll during the holidays! Great recipe, Kathy!
Kathy says
And you don't feel too guilty about popping several of these babies!