Easily Hollow Out Cherry Tomatoes With A Measuring Spoon

If you're looking for the cutest appetizer ever, try stuffing your cherry tomatoes. There are a myriad of ingredients you can use to make the filling — everything from a cream cheese, cucumber, and dill combo to a pizza popper-inspired mixture of mozzarella, herbs, and seasonings. You'll wind up with perfectly bite-sized stuffed fruits that can easily be held between two fingers and popped into your mouth, giving you a burst of sweet tomato juices and the creaminess from the cheese stuffing.

But before you get there, the first step is to hollow out your cherry tomatoes — which is no easy task considering the fruits' miniature size. In some cases, even your smallest spoon isn't tiny enough to do the trick. So what should you do? Turn to an even tinier spoon: a measuring spoon. These are the only utensils that make your life easier here, as they're the perfect size for scooping out the tomatoes' flesh without cutting into their walls. In general, a ¼ teaspoon is the perfect option for these cherry-sized fruits, which range from 1 to 1½ inches wide.

Before you get to scooping, there are a few steps you'll need to follow to hollow out your cherry tomatoes. First, cut a little off of the end of the fruit that's opposite the stem end so that your tomatoes will stand upright when you lay them out on a plate. Use a sharp knife to make your cut as clean as possible (aka to avoid crushing your tomato or letting all the juices spurt out). Then, once you've scooped out the insides (including their seeds), rinse the tomatoes and drain them upside down on a paper towel, just in case you missed any flesh or juices. If your party day has not yet arrived, you can hollow out your fruits ahead of time and let them sit in the fridge until you need them — just make sure to re-drain them right before you use.

Once you have your stuffing all mixed together, the easiest method is to pipe it into your hollowed-out cherry tomatoes with a piping bag. But if you don't have fancy tools on hand, you can also use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off. And if your filled tomatoes are falling over just a little, you can stick them to your plate with a little drop of your cheesy filling.