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gemista (greek stuffed peppers and tomatoes) in a baking dish with potatoes.
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4.89 from 9 votes

Greek Stuffed Tomatoes and Peppers (Gemista)

Juicy, filling, and flavourful ground beef and rice Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers baked in the oven with roasted potatoes and tomato sauce!
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Additional Time15 minutes
Total Time3 hours 45 minutes
Course: Greek Dinner Ideas
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: gemista, stuffed peppers, stuffed tomatoes
Servings: 10 -12
Calories: 563kcal
Author: Ria Mavrikos

Equipment

  • Large deep baking dish (At least 14" x 10" and 2 1/2" high)
  • Medium size cooking pot
  • Grapefruit spoon (this spoon saves so much time when scooping tomatoes!)
  • Medium-sized glass mixing bowls

Ingredients

Preparing the tomatoes and bell peppers

  • 6 tomatoes and 5 bell peppers yellow, orange, or red
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoons tomato juice from scooped tomatoes
  • Grated parmesan cheese optional
  • Breadcrumbs optional

Gemista (stuffed tomatoes and peppers) filling

  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 white onions 2 cups finely diced
  • 3-4 garlic cloves peeled and diced
  • 500 grams of lean ground beef
  • 1/2 teaspoon white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cavender's all-purpose Greek seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry oregano
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint washed, de-stemmed, and chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil washed, de-stemmed, and chopped
  • 3/4 cup Italian parsley washed, de-stemmed, and chopped
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts lightly roasted
  • 1 cup short-grain white rice

Roasted potatoes

  • 5-6 Yukon gold potatoes approximately 1 person per person
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Tomato sauce (to add over the vegetables and in the baking dish)

  • 1 small can of Italian whole plum tomatoes 14 oz
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon white granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Wash and prepare the bell peppers and tomatoes.
    Peppers: Cut the bell peppers along the tops (as close to the top as you can) so that you have a bottom and a lid. Remove and discard the seeds and filling from the peppers.
    Tomatoes: For the tomatoes, cut along the top of the tomato to create a lid or a cap. But don't slice all the way through. Leave a little bit of the lid attached to the tomato. Use a knife to cut around the perimeter and a spoon to scoop out the inside of the tomatoes. You'll need to keep the flesh of the tomatoes because we will add it to the gemista filling. Once you've scooped out all of the tomato filling, use your hands or a fork to squish the tomato filling into smaller pieces. Reserve about 1/4 cup of this tomato filling because we'll be adding it to the bottom of the bell peppers later in this recipe. Place the tomatoes and peppers upright in your baking dish.
  • Roast the pine nuts.
    Preheat your oven to 200°F on bake. Spread the pine nuts on an oven-safe pan and bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly toasted. Remove and set aside.
  • Make the gemista filling.
    Heat up 3/4 cup of olive oil in a large pot. Sauté 2 cups diced onions on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a few more minutes until fragrant. Add in the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces, and cook for about 20 minutes. Add salt, sugar, italian seasoning, black pepper, Greek seasoning, and oregano. Mix well.
    Add in the tomato filling (from the scooped tomatoes). Stir in chopped mint, fresh parsley, fresh basil, and roasted pine nuts. Simmer for 10 minutes on low heat, then mix in the rice and remove from heat. The rice in the filling will still be crunchy, but it will finish cooking in the oven.
  • Cut and season the potatoes.
    Peel and quarter the potatoes lengthwise. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the potato wedges, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix together so that the potatoes are well coated and set aside.
  • Assemble the gemista.
    Add about 1 tablespoon of tomato juice (from the reserved amount of tomato flesh earlier) and a pinch of salt inside each pepper. Sprinkle salt and sugar inside the tomatoes.
    You won't need to add any tomato juice to the inside of the tomatoes since they will release their own juices as they bake in the oven. Fill the vegetables with the prepared filling, gently pressing it down. Place the lids back on the peppers and the tomatoes.
  • Bake the gemista.
    Arrange the seasoned potatoes around the stuffed vegetables in the baking pan. Pour the can of plum tomatoes (and the juice) into a separate bowl and use your hands or a fork to squish the tomatoes together to make a sauce. Add 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar to the crushed tomatoes and mix them together. Pour the tomato sauce over the vegetables and potatoes. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and grated parmesan cheese on the tomato and pepper lids. Bake the gemista uncovered in the oven at 350° F on convection bake. The tomatoes and peppers should be soft and slightly wrinkled when they're ready!

Notes

  • Ideally, the tomatoes and peppers should be similar in size so that they bake evenly. Try to pick bell peppers that have four points on the bottom so that they can stand up in the baking dish.
  • Pine nuts have a high fat content, so be careful not to have the heat too high and keep an eye on them so that they don't burn.
  • Sprinkle a little bit of salt and sugar on the inside of the hollowed-out tomatoes. Add only a little bit of salt to the inside of the hollowed-out bell peppers.
  • The tomatoes will release juices as they cook, so I like to add a little bit of tomato juice (from the scooped-out tomatoes) to the inside of the bell peppers before adding the stuffing.
  • The ground beef in the filling should be fully cooked before stuffing the peppers and tomatoes. The rice in the filling should still be crunchy when you stuff the peppers and tomatoes, but it will cook and soften as the gemista bake. The rice will expand slightly, so it's good to leave a little bit of room and not fill the gemista all the way to the top.
  • When slicing the tops of the tomatoes, keep the edge of the lid on (don't fully slice the whole lid off)
  • As the gemista is baking in the oven, check about halfway through to ensure there's enough liquid in the baking dish. Have 1/3 cup of warm water on hand in case you need to add it to the pan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 563kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 31g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 1606mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g