Bring the tangy, tart, traditional taste of Southern Fried Green Tomatoes to your own home without traveling down-state. What could be better than tomato slices seasoned, battered, and fried until golden brown so they’re crispy on the outside and tender in the middle?
Not from the South? Me neither! I’ll show you how you can make this delicious delicacy on the stove top and in an air fryer. Serve with a side of dipping sauce or stuff them in a sandwich.
Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe
Growing up, summer always meant an abundance of green tomatoes in our garden, and fried green tomatoes were a tradition in my family. The crispy, golden exterior paired with the tart, tender tomato inside was a taste of home that we were excited for each year.
Our Fried Green Tomatoes recipe takes slices of unripe green tomatoes, dredges them in a savory batter, and fries them to a golden crispy crunch. The result is a contrasting crunchy crust surrounding a soft, but not mushy, middle. Every bite is bursting with the juicy, bold, tart taste of green tomato sitting inside a perfectly seasoned breadcrumb coating.
Green tomatoes are a great sign that summer is soon ending and fall is on its way. This recipe is an easy must-make when cooler weather calls for comfort food.
Fried Green Tomatoes Ingredients
- Green tomatoes: Green tomatoes are just unripened red tomatoes. They are a bit more tart (in a very delicious way) than a fully ripened red tomato. Remember that all tomato varieties taste different, so that also goes for green tomatoes. Choose your favorite variety and make sure it is firm. A great place to find green tomatoes is at local farmers’ markets.
- Vegetable oil: I find that tomatoes fried in vegetable oil work best for this recipe because of its neutral flavor and high smoke point.
- All purpose flour: I recommend using regular all-purpose flour instead of heavier whole grain flours. All-purpose flour will keep the tomatoes light and crispy.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds a nice tang, but if milk is all you have, that will work too.
- Egg: Egg helps the breading mix stick to the outside of the tomato slices.
- Hot sauce
- Bread crumbs: You can use regular breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs for the breading.
- Yellow cornmeal: Do not use seasoned cornmeal for this recipe. Yellow cornmeal is a Southern staple that improves the flavor and crunch.
- Lawry’s seasoning salt
- White pepper
- Garlic powder
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Fried Green Tomatoes
- Prepare The Produce: Slice the tomatoes and blot away as much excess moisture as possible with paper towels.
- Set Up A Dredging Station: Set out 3 shallow dishes. In the first dish, add the flour; in the second, whisk together and add the buttermilk, eggs and hot sauce; in the third make a mixture of bread crumbs, cornmeal, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Create The Coating: Dredge each tomato slice in flour, dip each flour-coated green tomato into the buttermilk mixture, then coat each slice in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Fry: Place 3-4 tomatoes at a time into the 350 degree Fahrenheit oil. Fry for 2 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown. Remove and place them onto the prepared plate to absorb excess oil.
- Serve: Sprinkle with kosher salt and serve. Enjoy!
How To Air Fry Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried green tomatoes easily be made in an air fryer instead of fried in oil. This is great if you are avoiding fried foods, but the air-fried green tomatoes will not be as crispy as the traditional pan-fried ones. Be sure to follow your air fryer instructions for this method.
Serving Suggestions
These fried green tomatoes should be enjoyed right away. They taste great eaten warm or at room temperature. Serve them as an appetizer, snack, side dish, or part of the main meal.
Serve With Sauce: Pile your fried tomatoes on a plate with a side of sauce for dipping. Some ideas include salsa, guacamole, bean dip, or ketchup.
Stuff Them In A Sandwich: Green fried tomatoes taste great inside my Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich or as a red tomato swap for a BLT. They also make a delicious topping for burgers or grilled chicken in a bun.
Serve In A Salad: Slice and serve your fried tomatoes with mozzarella and basil stacks, toss them in a tomato cucumber salad, or prepare them for a BLT pasta salad.
Tips & Variations
- Keep the Heat Constant: It is best to use a thermometer to accurately read your oil temperature. You want to make sure your oil stays at 350°F the entire time. If you have an electric fryer, that will also work great.
- Blot Before Breading: To help the breading adhere, it’s important to draw some of the juice from the tomato slices. Don’t skip the step of blotting with paper towels!
- Cut Thin To Crisp: For the perfect crispy fried green tomato, slice it thin and evenly. I suggest you cut your tomatoes into ¼-inch thick slices.
- Serve Them Spicier: If you like a little spicy kick, increase the amount of hot sauce in your buttermilk mixture. You can also substitute 2 teaspoons of a creole seasoning blend for the other spices in your breadcrumb mixture.
- Create the Coating: While this recipe uses the traditional cornmeal, breadcrumb, and flour coating, you can coat your tomatoes with finely ground cracker crumbs or a batter similar to that used to fry fish.
- Go Gluten-Free: For a gluten-free Southern fried green tomato version, use gluten-free flour and replace the bread crumbs with gluten-free bread crumbs.
- Prepare With Parmesan: Grated parmesan cheese (or even grated pecorino) will add a nutty flavor to the crust.
- Swap The Seasoning: If you want to make your own seasoning, you can use a combination of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, sage, or coriander.
Proper Storage
- To Store: Let them cool completely to avoid sogginess. Refrigerate in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate, covered, for up to 2-3 days.
- To Freeze: Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2-3 months. Reheat frozen tomatoes at 400°F for 15-20 minutes until crispy.
- To Reheat: These are best served immediately, but if you have some leftovers, bake at 375°F for 10-15 minutes or air fry at 350°F for 5-7 minutes.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Tomatoes used to make fried green tomatoes are tomatoes that are cut from the vine before they have matured and ripened nice and red. Unripened tomatoes are firmer and will hold up better when fried.
Just like a cooked red tomato, green tomatoes are perfectly safe to eat and have a long history rooted in Southern tradition.
If the oil is not hot enough, you end up with soggy-crusted, limp green tomatoes. If the oil is too hot, the outside will brown too quickly and your tomatoes won’t be cooked all the way through. Keep your oil level shallow – you don’t want to submerge the slices in the oil completely.
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Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 3 Green tomatoes sliced
- Vegetable oil for frying you will need enough oil to come up about 1½ inches in your skillet
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 6 dashes hot sauce
- 1 cup regular bread crumbs
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- kosher salt for garnish after frying
Instructions
- In a heavy-duty skillet that is at least 3 inches deep, heat your oil to 350°F. It is best to use a thermometer so that you have an accurate reading of your oil temperature. *If you have an electric fryer, that will work great also.*Vegetable oil for frying
- Prepare a clean plate with paper towels to place tomatoes on once fried and set aside.3 Green tomatoes
- Slice your tomatoes into ¼ inch thick slices and lay them on a plate lined with paper towels. Once all of your tomatoes are sliced, place another paper towel on top of them and blot away as much excess moisture as possible.
- Set up your dredging station by setting out 3 shallow dishes (about 2 inches deep). Pie plates work great for this.
- In the first dish, place your flour.1 cup all-purpose flour
- In the second dish, place your buttermilk, eggs and hot sauce. Whisk them together.1½ cups buttermilk, 1 egg, 6 dashes hot sauce
- In the third dish, place the bread crumbs, cornmeal, seasoning salt, garlic powder and pepper. Mix them together until they are evenly combined.1 cup regular bread crumbs, ½ cup yellow cornmeal, 1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon white pepper
- You will start dredging your green tomato slices by first evenly coating them in the flour. You will want to carefully shake off any excess flour back into the dish.
- Next, dip your flour-coated green tomato into the buttermilk mixture again, allowing any excess buttermilk to drip off back into the dish.
- Finally, you will place your buttermilk-coated green tomato into the last dish with the breadcrumb mixture. Make sure all sides are evenly coated, and any excess mixture is gently shaken off back into the dish.
- Gently place your coated green tomato slice onto a clean plate and repeat this process until all of your green tomatoes are ready to be fried.
- Carefully place 3-4 tomatoes into the hot oil and allow them to fry for 2 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown. Make sure to not overcrowd your skillet and keep an eye on your oil temperature. You want to make sure your oil stays at 350°F.
- Remove the fried green tomatoes and place them onto the prepared plate to absorb excess oil. Repeat this process until all the green tomatoes are fried. At this point, you can sprinkle a small pinch of kosher salt onto the hot fried tomatoes.kosher salt
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Let them cool completely to avoid sogginess. Refrigerate in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate, covered, for up to 2-3 days.
- To Freeze: Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2-3 months. Reheat frozen tomatoes at 400°F for 15-20 minutes until crispy.
- To Reheat: These are best served immediately, but if you have some leftovers, bake at 375°F for 10-15 minutes or air fry at 350°F for 5-7 minutes
Thank You For Sharing JEN 👍🏼♥️ G-d♥️Bless😊GREAT TIME of Year to MAKE THIS FOR SURE ❗️❗️❗️