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A stuffed tomato and pepper on a plate.
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5 from 1 vote

Easy Gemista: Greek stuffed peppers & tomatoes

This easy Gemista recipe is the traditional, gluten free and vegetarian version of Greek stuffed peppers and tomatoes. And it comes straight from my yiayia’s kitchen! No need to cook the filling ahead of time! Just mix uncooked rice with fresh herbs, tomato juices, and a splash of olive oil, then stuff your veggies and let the oven do the rest. It’s simple, healthy, and full of that classic Mediterranean flavor.
Prep Time1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 667kcal
Author: Makos

Ingredients

  • 5 tomatoes large
  • 5 bell peppers
  • 1 ½ cups short grain rice see note#1
  • 1 zucchini grated
  • ½ eggplant grated
  • 1 onion large, grated
  • ⅔ bunch fresh parsley
  • ⅔ bunch fresh dill
  • ⅔ bunch fresh spearmint or mint, only the leaves
  • 3 ½ teaspoons fine salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoons black pepper freshly grated
  • ⅔ cups extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 large potatoes cut in small wedges
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preparation: Choose your vegetables, wash them well and find a pan that fits them snugly.
    For 10 large vegetables a 12-inch (30 cm) round pan or a 14 x 10.5 inch (35.5 x 26 cm) casserole dish should work well (see note #2).
    Rinse the rice thoroughly and set it aside to drain.
    Bell peppers and tomatoes in a casserole dish.
  • Cut the top of each vegetable with a sharp knife.
    Don't cut straight across horizontally. Instead, angle the knife toward the center. This helps you get the maximum volume out of each vegetable.
    Using a spoon or a melon baller, scoop out the insides of the tomatoes into a bowl. Scrape carefully to remove as much flesh as possible without damaging the outer shell. Do the same with the bell peppers, and transfer the white flesh from inside the peppers to the same bowl as the tomato flesh.
    👉 Don’t discard the white pepper flesh, it adds extra flavor!
    A hand hollowing a tomato with a spoon.
  • Using the coarse side of a box grater, grate the zucchini, eggplant and onion into a large bowl. Finely chop the parsley, dill and spearmint and add them to the grated vegetables.
    A hand grating a zucchini through a box grater.
  • Add the salt, pepper, rice, and half of the olive oil to the bowl and mix well.
    A hand adding the rice to a bowl.
  • In a food processor, blend the tomato and pepper flesh, then transfer to a measuring jug. Add enough water so that the total liquid is 2.5 times the volume of the rice. If you're not scaling the recipe, for 1½ cups of rice, the total liquid should be 3¾ cups.
    Adding the tomato flesh to a food processor.
  • Add the tomato mixture to the bowl with the rice mixture and mix well.
    Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 375 °F (190 °C).
    A hand adding the pureed tomatoes to a bowl.
  • Using a spoon, stuff the vegetables with the filling, leaving about ½ inch (1 cm) of space at the top, as the rice will expand during baking. Arrange the vegetables in your baking pan and place the potato wedges in the gaps between them.
    👉 Potatoes are optional, but they help keeping the vegetables upright during baking.
    A hand filling a tomato with the rice mixture.
  • Pour some water to the pan, about ¾ inch (2 cm) high. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with some extra salt. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, then check to see if the rice is cooked.
    Remove from the oven and let them rest for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy with feta cheese and crusty bread.
    👉 Cover with aluminum foil if the vegetables brown too much on top.
    👉 Depending on the baking dish and the size of the vegetables, they may need more time. If all the water in the pan has evaporated, add about 1 cup more and continue baking until the rice is al dente.
    👉 Resting the Gemista allows the filling to absorb the juices evenly.
    A hand drizzling the vegetables with olive oil.

Video

Notes

Note #1: Short-grain rice such as Arborio or Carnaroli works best. A general rule to estimate how much rice you'll need is to calculate 2 heaped tablespoons per vegetable. However, this will depend on the size of your vegetables. If you have leftover filling, you can pour it into the pan or bake it separately in a small ramekin.
Note #2: Contrary to what I used in the video, I reccomend using a metal baking pan as a ceramic or glass casserole dish will require more baking time (mine took almost two hours).
👉 Gemista are best served warm or at room temperature. Feta cheese is always on the side!
👉 In some recipes, raisins and roasted pine nuts are used in the filling. I like these additions when making Gemista with ground beef (recipe coming soon!).
👉 Neither garlic nor oregano are traditionally used in Greek Gemista without meat (yalantzi).

More Greek recipes to Try:

Nutrition

Calories: 667kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Sodium: 1658mg | Potassium: 1498mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 5517IU | Vitamin C: 218mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 6mg
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