There’s something magical about Greek summer cooking: the smell of ripe tomatoes, sweet peppers, and olive oil slowly simmering together until they taste like sunshine on a plate. Yemista — stuffed vegetables — is one of the most beloved dishes in every Greek home, a recipe passed from yiayia to grandchildren and perfected over generations.

This deconstructed version captures all the flavors of classic yemista without the stuffing and baking. It’s comforting, colorful, and effortless, bringing the essence of the traditional dish into a single, rustic, one-pan meal. With tender vegetables, aromatic herbs, and a generous finish of crumbled feta, it’s everything we love about yemista… simply served in a different way.

Serves: 4
Style: Rustic, ladera, summer Greek comfort food
Time: ~45 minutes

Ingredients

Vegetables & Base

  • 2 bell peppers (mixed colors), diced
  • 2 tomatoes, diced (or 1 cup grated tomatoes)
  • 1 medium zucchini, diced
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 carrot, diced (optional)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt & black pepper

Rice & Herbs

  • 1 cup medium-grain rice (or Carolina)
  • 2 ½ cups water or vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp dried mint
  • 2–3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2–3 tbsp fresh mint or basil (optional)

To Serve

  • Crumbled feta (as in your photo)
  • Extra chopped herbs
  • Drizzle of olive oil

Method

1. Sauté the base

  1. Heat olive oil in a wide pan.
  2. Add onion and sauté until soft.
  3. Add garlic, peppers, zucchini, and carrot; cook 6–8 minutes until they start to soften.

2. Build the yemista flavor

  1. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, dried oregano, dried mint, salt, pepper, and sugar.
  2. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the tomatoes break down.

3. Add the rice

  1. Add rice and stir to coat in the juices.
  2. Pour in the water/broth.
  3. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and cook uncovered for ~20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    (You want it saucy, not dry.)

4. Finish

  1. Stir in fresh parsley (and fresh mint/basil if using).
  2. Taste and adjust salt/pepper.

Serve

Spoon into shallow bowls and top generously with:

  • Crumbled feta
  • Fresh herbs
  • A drizzle of good olive oil

Tips & Variations

  • Add raisins or pine nuts for a more traditional yemista flavor.
  • Make it vegan: skip the feta or replace with vegan feta.
  • Make it heartier: add diced potato with the vegetables.
  • Even better next day: like real yemista, it tastes deeper after resting.