Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (2024)

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By

Nancy Gaifyllia

Nancy Gaifyllia

A resident of Greece, Nancy Gaifyllia is a cook who writes about the country's regional specialties.

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Updated on 08/3/22

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Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (1)

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Greek cuisine has a great variety of seafood dishes that take advantage of the country's proximity to the sea and its delicious, nutritious offerings. Kαλαμάρια γεμιστά, (pronounced kah-lah-MAH-reeyah yeh-mee-STAH) is one such famous Greek dish, which features juicy squid stuffed with a tasty sauce packed with classic Mediterranean flavors, like tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, garlic, and onions.

The firm and tender meat of calamari makes them easy to work with, while their bold and nutty flavor leads to great seafood dishes, whether served on their own or combined with other shellfish, like shrimp or scallops. Usually referred to as calamari, from the Italian term for squid, these tasty mollusks are a great source of protein, with 13 grams per 3-ounce serving.

Squid makes a simple and tasty appetizer when pan-fried or deep-fried and served with wedges of lemon. That said, our stuffed calamari is a wonderful and filling main dish, especially if accompanied by other Mediterranean-inspired plates, such as sun-dried tomato pasta, horiatiki salata, grilled vegetables, and fresh bread.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 pounds squid, cleaned

  • 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 1/2 cup dry wine, white or red

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped

  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/4 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

  • 2 1/4 cups water, divided

  • 3/4 cup rice, preferably long-grain

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (2)

  2. Cut the squid tentacles from the bodies and chop them up into small pieces. Reserve.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (3)

  3. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the tomato paste with the wine until smooth. Preheat oven to 340 F.

    See Also
    Lemon Rosemary Muffins Recipe on Food52

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (4)

  4. Add the olive oil into a large frying pan and sauté the onion, garlic, and half of the chopped tentacles.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (5)

  5. When the onion has softened and everything is steaming, stir in the mixture of wine and tomato paste.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (6)

  6. Stir in parsley and cook until the mixture thickens slightly.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (7)

  7. Add half of the water and bring to a boil.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (8)

  8. Stir in the rice, turn off the heat, cover, and wait for the rice to hydrate and expand, or about 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper, taste, and adjust if necessary.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (9)

  9. Using a small teaspoon, fill the squid tubes with the rice stuffing up to 1/2 inch from the top. Thread the top with one or more toothpicks to close tight and place in a baking pan. Repeat the process with the remaining squids and stuffing.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (10)

  10. Mix any leftover stuffing with the reserved chopped tentacles and remaining water, and add the mixture on top of the stuffed squid.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (11)

  11. Bake the squid for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Carefully remove toothpicks before serving.

    Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (12)

  12. Enjoy!

Which squid is best to buy?

This recipe works well, whether your preference for squid size is medium or small. Stuffing small squid can be more difficult than stuffing squid that are larger in size. However, if you have a choice, always buy fresh over frozen squid and always choose the medium size over the small.

Most commercially available small frozen squid can be bought already cleaned, saving you a great deal of time. They might not include the tentacles, however, which are needed for our recipe. So you might need to buy them separately, which isn't always convenient, or cheaper.

When buying larger fresh squid, you get the entire body, even if the necessary cleaning process falls to you. Cleaning the 2 1/2 pounds of squid required for our recipe might take up to 40 minutes. If buying from a local fishmonger, call ahead and ask if they can prepare them for you.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
368Calories
20g Fat
14g Carbs
27g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories368
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g26%
Saturated Fat 3g16%
Cholesterol 396mg132%
Sodium 433mg19%
Total Carbohydrate 14g5%
Dietary Fiber 0g2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 27g
Vitamin C 10mg49%
Calcium 67mg5%
Iron 1mg8%
Potassium 475mg10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

  • Tomato
  • entree
  • greek
  • family dinner

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Article Sources

The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Squid, Raw. FoodData Central, United States Department of Agriculture

Greek Recipe for Kalamaria Yemista: Baked Stuffed Squid (2024)
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