A classic southern dish, these Fried Green Tomatoes are easy, tasty and a surprisingly delicious appetizer or side dish to accompany any meal!
A TASTY SOUTHERN CLASSIC
If you have never tried Fried Green Tomatoes you are missing out. They are one of my favorite snacks to munch on especially during the spring and summer months when I can grab the tomatoes straight from my own garden. They are super simple to throw together and oh so tasty. You can practically serve these with anything or just eat them alone like I love to do. If you want to try an old Southern favorite, you have to make my Fried Green Tomatoes recipe.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
These fried tomatoes have a slightly tangy flavor that contrasts nicely with the crispy crunchy coating. The frying process mellows them out a bit. The tomatoes are firm and don't turn to mush after frying.
Yes! That is all they are. Green tomatoes are much firmer than the ripened red tomatoes. They are a lot less juicy which makes them hold up really well to the frying process.
Generally I like to use large beefsteak tomatoes. They are big and meaty but you can't always find them in the grocery stores. Just go with the largest green tomato you can find. If you have a local farmers market, check there since they will have some of the freshest ones you can buy.
This helps keep the coating on these light but it is not absolutely necessary to use. You can replace it with all-purpose flour.
Yes, it is perfectly safe to eat raw green tomatoes.
Yes, to get the texture and flavor that we want you will want to use buttermilk for this recipe. You can easily make buttermilk at home. For this recipe you will take 1 ½ cups regular whole milk and add 1 ½ Tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice and stir it together. Let this mixture sit for about 5-10 minutes and stir again.
Ranch dressing, hot sauce, remoulade, garlic aioli, etc will work perfectly with these.
These are best when they are first made as they become soggy over time. You can however store these in the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 3 days. If you are going to reheat place on a wire rack in oven until heated through and crispy.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- self-rising flour
- buttermilk
- eggs
- salt and pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- sweet paprika
- yellow cornmeal
- green tomatoes
HOW TO MAKE FRIED GREEN TOMATOES:
Place one tablespoon of the flour into a medium shallow bowl. Add the buttermilk, beaten eggs, pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
Stir together until smooth, set aside.
In another medium shallow bowl add the remaining flour and cornmeal, stir together.
Slice the tomatoes into ¼ inch slices, you will get 4 slices. Discard the stem portion.
Add peanut oil to a large skillet, I like to use cast iron. Add enough oil to go ¼ inch up the side of the pan. Heat oil over medium heat to 350°F. I like to use a candy thermometer to make sure the oil stays at the right temperature. Place a tomato slice into the buttermilk mixture.
Then coat it in the flour mixture, letting the excess flour shake off.
Place the tomato into the hot pan and let it fry for about 2 ½ minutes per side or to your desired browning.
Take out of the skillet and place it on a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up any excess oil. Immediately transfer it to a wire rack that is sitting on top of a sheet tray so they don’t get soggy. Repeat with the remaining tomato slices.
Serve with ranch dressing or hot sauce.
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Fried Green Tomatoes (+Video)
Ingredients
- 3 large green tomatoes
For the wet coating:
- 1 Tablespoon self-rising flour
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs, well beaten
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
For the dry coating:
- 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
- ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
To fry:
- peanut oil (enough oil to go ¼ inch up the side of the pan you're using)
Instructions
- Slice 3 large green tomatoes into ¼ inch slices, you will get about 4 slices. Discard the stem portion.
- Place 1 Tablespoon self-rising flour into a medium shallow bowl. Add 1 ½ cups buttermilk, 2 large eggs, well beaten, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder and ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika.
- Stir together (using a fork or a whisk) until combined, set aside.
- In another medium shallow bowl add 1 ½ cups self-rising flour and ¼ cup yellow cornmeal, stir together.
- Add peanut oil to a large skillet, I like to use cast iron. Add enough oil to go ¼ inch up the side of the pan.
- Heat oil over medium heat to 350°F. I like to use a candy thermometer to make sure the oil stays at the right temperature.
- Place a tomato slice into the buttermilk mixture.
- Then coat it in the flour mixture, letting the excess flour shake off.
- Place the tomato into the hot pan and let it fry for about 2 ½ minutes per side or to your desired browning.
- Take out of the skillet and place it on a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up any excess oil. Immediately transfer it to a wire rack that is sitting on top of a sheet tray so they don’t get soggy. Repeat with the remaining tomato slices.
- Serve with ranch dressing or hot sauce or whatever you prefer!
Video
Notes
- You can add more cornmeal to this recipe as desired.
- Self-rising flour can be substituted with all-purpose.
- Other spices can be used, see some suggestions above.
- I do not recommend freezing these.
- Use any of your favorite dipping sauces for this, or eat them plain as they already have tons of flavor.
- This recipe can easily be doubled.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Neuroticmom
I grew up on these, absolutely love them! My mom however coated them in fine breadcrumbs and fried in bacon grease.
SpinninJenny
I pick the greenest tomatoes that I can find-no pink allowed! I always peel my green tomatoes and pat dry and I use some corn starch in my flour mixture. Peeling the tomatoes and using corn starch prevents the batter from falling off during the frying. I’ve rarely been disappointed with this method. My late granddaughter hated red, ripe tomatoes but loved fried green tomatoes!! We’ve made bushels using this method.