With a cream cheese filling that’s loaded with fresh herbs and real bacon, these cherry tomato appetizers are literal BLT flavor bombs you and your guests will love! Serve Bacon Cream Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes at cookouts, parties, for holidays, showers, even brunch.
Why BLT Stuffed Tomatoes Are the Perfect Appetizer
- Who doesn’t love a BLT? These little tomatoes carry all the flavors of a fresh summer BLT sandwich in one easy bite!
- Stuffed Tomatoes look so tempting! Your guests won’t be able to help popping one in their mouths. They are always the first finger food to go… and go fast!
- The dreamy cream cheese filling is loaded with fresh herbs (that you can change to your liking) to create a true savory flavor bomb that is perfectly complemented by the light, sweet freshness of a cherry tomato.
- Cherry tomatoes are always tasty and available year round in grocery stores because they can be grown in a green house. So these party appetizers are equally yummy during the summer and at the holidays!
Ingredients
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!
Look for specifics at the end of the post in the recipe card.
- cherry tomatoes
- cream cheese
- real mayonnaise
- finely grated Parmesan cheese
- bacon
- chives
- basil
- garlic
- salt & pepper
Recipe Variations
- Instead of basil, try fresh dill and a splash of lemon juice.
- I love subbing out the cream cheese in this recipe for goat cheese!
- Leave out the bacon to go meatless. Garnish with paprika and more chopped chives.
- Use a whipped garlic & herb or chives & onion cream cheese as a short cut.
How To Make Cream Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes
How to Core Tomatoes for Stuffing. Use a sharp knife to cut off the bottom of each tomato (NOT the stem end). Cut off about ¼ of the tomato. Cutting off the bottom end instead of the stem end will make sure your tomatoes stand up and not roll around.
Use a tomato corer, small melon baller or a ¼ measuring teaspoon to remove the core of the tomato and hollow out the inside of each tomato. Rinse out the tomatoes after coring and turn upside down on a paper towel to drain.
Prepare the Filling. In a small bowl, add cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mayo, chives, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Use a mixer or fork to mix well. Fold in the bacon pieces.
Assemble. Load filling into a piping bag/gun or zip top bag (cut the corner tip off the zip top bag). Pipe filling into each tomato. Garnish with more chopped chives and bacon. Serve immediately or chill and serve later.
Making Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes Ahead of Time
These little tomato bites almost have to be made ahead of time simply because coring and stuffing tiny tomatoes can get tedious. They do perfectly well if made 1-2 days in advance.
If you want to prep this cream cheese snack in two parts, then make the filling a day or to before you intend to stuff the tomatoes. The tomatoes, however, do best when cored and stuffed the same day. Their skin can get wrinkly if they sit too long with nothing inside.
Tips
- Room temperature filling is the easiest to pipe into or fill the tomatoes with.
- I keep a paper towel handy to wipe away any stray filling that gets on my fingers, on the tomatoes and to clean up the edges when needed.
- Choose the largest cherry tomatoes you can find. They are the easiest to core and stuff.
- Use REAL bacon pieces (even if they’re packaged) not imitation bacon bits.
- Also real mayonnaise and real cream cheese– not low fat– works best.
- The same goes for the Parmesan cheese. Finely grated REAL cheese delivers the best results.
- Don’t skip rinsing out the inside of the tomatoes and turning them upside down on a paper towel before filling them.
- Don’t rush. This is not a hard recipe, but you do have to just settle in and handle all those tiny tomatoes. It’s completely worth it!
How to Serve These Appetizers
- These bite-sized beauties are delicious when served at cookouts while the burgers are grilling.
- They can also fill in as a tasty, fun side dish next to a steak and baked potato.
- Offer them at brunch with New Orleans BBQ shrimp and cheese grits or Sausage Egg and Cheese Brunch Cake.
- Add Stuffed Tomatoes to your charcuterie boards.
- If you’re serving them at an appetizer party, I’ve got plenty of tips and suggestions below!
More Bite-Sized Appetizers You’ll Love
If You Make This Recipe, I Can’t Wait To Hear About It!
Leave A Comment & Rating Below Or Snap A Photo To Share.
Bacon Cream Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 24-30 cherry tomatoes, washed & dried
- 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons real mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
- 8-10 medium basil leaves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoons real bacon pieces
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to cut off the bottom of each tomato (NOT the stem end). Cut off about ¼ of the tomato. Cutting off the bottom end instead of the stem end will make sure your tomatoes stand up and not roll around.
- Use a tomato corer, small melon baller or a ¼ teaspoon to remove the core of the tomato and hollow out the inside of each tomato. Rinse out the tomatoes after coring and turn upside down on a paper towel to drain.
- In a small bowl, add cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mayo, chives, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Use a mixer or fork to mix well. Fold in the bacon pieces.
- Load cream cheese mixture into a piping bag or zip top bag (cut the corner tip off the zip top bag). Pipe filling into each tomato.
- Garnish with more chopped chives and bacon. Serve immediately or chill and serve later.
Video
Notes
- Room temperature filling is the easiest to pipe into or fill the tomatoes with.
- Keep a paper towel handy to wipe away any stray filling that gets on your fingers, on the tomatoes and to clean up the edges when needed.
- Choose the largest cherry tomatoes you can find. They are the easiest to core and stuff.
- Use REAL bacon pieces (even if they’re packaged) not imitation bacon bits.
- Also real mayonnaise and real cream cheese– not low fat– works best.
- The same goes for the Parmesan cheese. Finely grated REAL cheese delivers the best results.
- Don’t skip rinsing out the inside of the tomatoes and turning them upside down on a paper towel before filling them.
- Don’t rush. This is not a hard recipe, but you do have to just settle in and handle all those tiny tomatoes. It’s completely worth it!
Nutrition
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