Need a new veggie side to serve with dinner? Try these simple baked tomatoes with a melted parmesan topping!

I can’t believe Christmas is just two weeks away! This December has been full of traveling for me, so I feel like I haven’t been home much. In fact, as you’re reading this Monday morning, I’ll be in the sky traveling to Chicago for an overnight trip.

A couple weeks ago, I was in Galveston, Texas for a work conference. My coworkers and I went out to dinner at a fancy seafood restaurant that was AMAZING. I always order seafood when I’m out on work dinners– because Nick hates seafood and it’s my only chance, haha! Anyway, we went to this restaurant that overlooked the ocean and we ordered some delish seafood– appetizers were panko crusted asparagus with creamy crab sauce. I ordered the crab cake stuffed shrimp with macaroni and cheese and parmesan tomatoes.

I didn’t really know what the parmesan tomatoes were when I ordered them, I just assumed they were chopped tomatoes sauteed with some type of cheese. Well to my suprise, these cute little tomato rounds with crusty, melty parmesan were sitting on my plate!

And oh my, they were so good. Like little baby pizzas with all the good tomatoes and cheese and none of the crust. The cheese was so thick, you had to cut them with a knife! I knew that I had to remake these when I got home.

These are so simple, I really don’t need to give you a recipe. All you need are some big, juicy tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and dried herbs. You can add any type of cheese to the tomato slices, but parmesan will taste the best and will give you that nice brown color.

VIDEO: HOW TO MAKE YOUR BAKED PARMESAN TOMATOES

WHAT TO SERVE WITH YOUR BAKED PARMESAN TOMATOES

After preheating the oven, you just pop these in and ten minutes later, you have a yummy side dish. I like them along side a fish or seafood meal, like shrimp or baked tilapia. You could also serve them alongside a pasta dish or alfredo! An easy and delicious way to get your lycopene. :)

QUICK TIPS FOR YOUR BAKED PARMESAN TOMATOES

Make sure you pick out ripe tomatoes at the market! You can tell if they are ripe if they have a slight give when you squeeze them.
Quality parmesan makes a huge difference, see if you can find parmesan that is still in a block. It’s usually higher quality than the pre-grated stuff, and you can use a grater to shave it down.