BLT bites: cream cheese mixed together with spinach, bacon, and Parmesan cheese, and stuffed in a cherry tomato… it’s a bite-size grain-free BLT sandwich!
Cherry Tomato BLT Bites
There is a good reason that the Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich is such a beloved food. The crunchy fresh lettuce, sweet/tart tomatoes, salty bacon, and creamy mayo are the perfect combination. I’m not a fan of consuming too many grains, so I’ve been finding new ways to make this classic.
These BLT bites take all the flavors of a BLT sandwich and puts them in a nice little package. In this form they travel well and can be taken on picnics, or packed in lunches, or served as an appetizer at a party.
BLT Bites: Fancy Appetizer or Lunch To-Go
Cherry tomatoes are one of the easiest things to grow. It’s so fun to see their jewel-bright skins peeking out between the greenery of the plant. Cherry tomatoes grow in clusters and keep producing all summer, so if you feel like you’re going to be buried under the cascade of little tomatoes, this recipe might be the answer!
For this recipe it’s best to use the largest cherry tomatoes you have. It can get challenging if you’re working with itty bitty tomatoes. Each tomato is scooped out and filled with a cream cheese, bacon, and spinach mixture. To hollow out the tomatoes, first slice a small piece off the bottom of the tomato opposite the stem. The tomato will sit flat on the stem side, so it’s the rounded side that needs to be cut off.
After cutting off the bottom use a ¼ teaspoon measure to scoop out the seeds and pulp. You won’t need the seeds and pulp for this recipe, but there are lots of other things they can be used for. Salsa and homemade tomato soup are a couple good ones, and if nothing else the pulp and seeds can be composted.
After the tomatoes are hallowed out, use the same ¼ teaspoon measure to stuff the cream cheese mixture in. The BLT bites hold up quite well and can be made a couple days in advance as long as they are in a sealed container. Just keep in the refrigerator until serving.
BLT Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 25 large cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp spinach
- ½ cup cream cheese (softened)
- 1½ tbsp parmesan cheese (grated)
Instructions
- Cook bacon.
- When cooked, allow the bacon to cool and then crumble and set aside.
- While the bacon is cooking, cut a small slice off the bottom of each tomato.
- Use a ¼ teaspoon measure to scoop out the seeds and pulp of each tomato.
- Finely chop the spinach.
- In a small bowl, combine the crumbled bacon, chopped spinach, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese.
- Mix well.
- Using the ¼ teaspoon measure, fill each tomato with the cream cheese mixture.
- Keep chilled until serving and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure that when you cut the slice off the tomato it’s off the bottom. The tomato will naturally sit flat on the side the stem was attached to, so you want to slice off the opposite, rounded end.
- You can make these ahead of time and keep them refrigerated until it’s time to serve them.
Nutrition
What is your favorite way to enjoy the flavors of a BLT sandwich? Share below!
