Angus, Stirling, and Ochil and South Perthshire fell to the Tories, with the SNP retaining Falkirk, Perth and Perthshire North and both Dundee seats.
Kirstene Hair overturned an 11,230 SNP majority to take Angus from Mike Weir, who had held the seat since 2001.
The SNP's Stewart Hosie and Chris Law retained their seats in Dundee East and Dundee West with reduced majorities.
Another SNP MP, Pete Wishart, held on to Perth and Perthshire North with a majority of just 21. He told BBC Scotland: "You don't get nights that are more nerve-jangling than that.
"That was two recounts and a majority of 21 - but I'll take that.
"I'll personally go out and see if I can find those 21 souls and thank them personally.
"I'm just really, really pleased, on a tough night for the SNP."
In Stirling, where voter turnout was 74.3%, Stephen Kerr won the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 148.
Conservative Luke Graham, who came third in the 2015 election in Ochil and South Perthshire, won the seat from the SNP's Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh with a majority of 3,359.
The SNP's Johnny McNally held Falkirk with a majority of 4,923, a drop of 14,778 from the 2015 election.
The Conservatives have gained three seats from the SNP in Tayside and Central Scotland.