Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
If you’re craving pizza but not the calories, these baked Parmesan tomatoes are like a pizza without the dough. Bakes fast and only has 4 ingredients!
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Table of Contents
About Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
Now that we’re past Valentine’s Day, I’ve been on the hunt for some low-calorie side dishes, and these baked tomato slices have easily become my top choice. Now, don’t get me wrong – the holidays are great. In fact, the holidays are wonderful, especially with all the festive food they bring. But age is quickly catching up with me, and once a holiday passes, I need to readjust my eating to more sensible options, if only for a little bit.
And dishes like these baked tomatoes with cheese make that transition not only easy, but actually kinda enjoyable. I mean, c’mon – you can’t go wrong with baked tomatoes with Parmesan, amirite?!
Another perk of the holidays is that they help keep me in check. Since I moved to Phoenix, it’s hard to keep track of the seasons here, where flowers bloom all year long and palm trees don’t shed their leaves, but the holidays help break up the year and keep me thinking about my diet (or lack thereof)
Thanksgiving and Easter? Get ready for New Years Resolutions of “new year, new me.”
Valentine’s Day and Easter? Better start thinking of fair-weather clothes because that’s what I’ll be wearing to survive the 120 degree heat.
But of course, there’s more going on right now than just the holidays. We are in the second half of winter, after all, and soon our days will be filled with more sunny heat than we can handle.
And for an aspiring chef like me, it also means that soon I’ll have the perfect excuse to start making all sorts of grilled foods (as well as their complimenting starchy and filling sides) that an old friend of mine and I can handle.
So while I’ve definitely got big plans for the coming weeks (chicken and ribs and steaks, oh my!) the keyword here is “soon.”
I’m still recovering from the calorie onslaught of the last holiday, and though I fully plan on indulging more this summer, I’m hoping dishes like these baked tomato slices will still be a great side dish option to a freshly grilled steak or perfectly cooked salmon.
But as for right now? These baked tomatoes are also filling another void in my life:
I tend to go through what I call “craving crazes” where I feel as though I could live off of just one food for days or weeks or sometimes even months. It could be anything – shrimp, pasta, you name it – and lately, the food I’ve been craving the most has been pizza.
Because of course I want doughy greasy pizza right when I start feeling the need eating a little better. But when I’m down 10 pounds? I actually have the nerve to forget to eat.
Totally figures.
Thankfully this baked tomatoes with cheese dish has gone a long way in calming my pizza cravings, which was an awesome surprise for a recipe that boasts itself to be low calorie and healthy.
Not too shabby, amirite?
And, better yet, these baked tomato slices turned out to be an ideal lunch – not too much, not too little, and lots of flavor without needing to make it spicy (as so many low-calorie meals tend to be).
notes & tips for baked tomatoes with Parmesan
- You can use any type of tomato for these baked Parmesan tomatoes, but I tend to prefer large varieties like “beefsteak” or “steak sandwich.” You can read more about the different varieties of large tomatoes here.
- While I normally think you can substitute dried herbs for fresh ones, this is a recipe where I highly recommend you stick to using fresh herbs. There are only four ingredients in this recipe so you want to make sure you’re getting as much flavor as possible from every part.
- If you’re looking for more “healthier” dishes and snacks, be sure to check out Crispy Parmesan Garlic Edamame.
- If tomatoes are one of your favorite snacking foods, there’s also Easy Sausage Skewers, Caprese Mozzarella Bites, Mango Shrimp Salsa, and Caprese Pasta Salad.
This recipe was originally published on November 4th, 2014. It received a TLC update with new photos on February 16th, 2017.
Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 3 large tomato, sliced
- 1 teaspoon oregano, fresh and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- In a 9x13 baking dish, arrange sliced tomatoes as you see fit. It's okay if tomatoes overlap (as pictured above).
- Drizzle olive oil on top of tomatoes. Recipe calls for 1 tablespoon, but feel free to use more or less as desired.
- In a small bowl, mix together Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle Parmesan mixture evenly across tomatoes in the baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted.
- Garnish baked Parmesan tomatoes with freshly chopped oregano. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I'm not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
