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greek stuffed calamari on a dish ready for eating

Greek Stuffed Calamari Recipe (In Tomato Sauce)

This stuffed calamari recipe is a simple and flavour-packed Greek seafood dish, baked in a light tomato sauce with herbs, rice, and lemon.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Greek
Servings 4 people
Calories 797 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Baking Dish roughly 23cm x 34cm

Ingredients
  

  • 8 Calamari tubes see notes for whole squid
  • 2 Calamari tubes for stuffing
  • ¼ cup Olive oil
  • 3 Garlic cloves minced
  • 2 Tomatoes (large) diced
  • 1 tablespoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Black pepper
  • ½ tablespoon Dried oregano
  • 1 cup Medium grain rice washed
  • ½ cup Parsley chopped
  • ½ cup Mint chopped
  • ¼ cup Dill chopped
  • 1 Lemon zest and juice

Sauce ingredients

  • 400 grams Tomato passata
  • ¼ cup Olive oil
  • ¼ cup Water
  • Salt and pepper to taste (on top of calamari)

Instructions
 

Prepare The Calamari

  • Rinse the squid/ calamari tubes well under cold water and place them on a tray.
  • Dice the extra tubes (for stuffing) into small pieces and set aside in a bowl.
  • Close the narrow end of each whole tube with a toothpick so they’re ready for stuffing.
  • If you're using whole squids, see the notes below.

Make The Stuffing

  • In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and cook the diced squid pieces for around 2 minutes.
  • Add the onion and garlic. Sauté until soft and fragrant.
  • Stir in the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix everything together.
  • Add the rice, parsley, mint, dill, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes, then take it off the heat.

Prepare Sauce, Assemble & Bake

  • In a large baking dish, mix together the tomato passata, olive oil, and water.
  • Spoon the stuffing into the tubes, leaving some space at the top. The rice will expand and the squid will shrink a bit, so don’t overfill.
  • Use a toothpick to seal the open end of each tube.
  • Place the stuffed calamari in the sauce and turn them gently so they’re lightly coated.
  • Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top of each stuffed tube.
  • Cover tightly with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (fan forced) / 355°F for 25 minutes.
  • Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes. The calamari should be tender when pierced with a fork.
  • Serve with crusty bread and spoon extra sauce on top.

Video

Notes

    1. Using Whole Squid: If you're using whole squid, remove the heads and legs, dice them, and use them in place of the extra tubes for the stuffing. This works great but if you don't know how to clean them properly I recommend sticking to tubes.
    2. Big Calamari Tubes? If your squid tubes are large, you can increase the rice slightly to make sure you have enough stuffing to fill them.
    3. Cooking Time: The cooking time can vary depending on the size of your calamari. Check towards the end and avoid overcooking as they can turn rubbery.

Nutrition

Calories: 797kcalCarbohydrates: 73gProtein: 54gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 699mgSodium: 1918mgPotassium: 1524mgFiber: 6gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 2238IUVitamin C: 62mgCalcium: 177mgIron: 8mg
Keyword stuffed calamari, stuffed squid
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