Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle, these Fried Green Tomatoes are addictive! Serve them as an appetizer or side dish, a party snack, or make them the main attraction piled high on a BLT! This recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes is a variation of Southern Cooking’s version: skipping the sugar, adding a bit of cayenne for kick and finishing with flaky sea salt for extra flavor and crunch.
If I’d known how easy it was to make Fried Green Tomatoes, I would have done it years ago. The growing season here in the High Desert of Oregon is short and when the weather begins to cool it means business. We’ll have freezing overnight temperatures within days and that means that all of those green tomatoes on the vine must be picked.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here because, before we met Parker, we didn’t have tomatoes to pick, green or otherwise.
Parker is our neighbor, a brilliant horticulturist and a new entrepreneur. He’s also a 7th grader. It was a school project to grow plants from seed that ignited his interest in growing plants. His success with the project gave him the idea to create his own plant start business and that’s how Parker’s Plants came to be. Over many months he started over 400 plants from seed – cultivated in his family’s garage and house. (Nice parents, right? It must have been a jungle over there!) He was able to sell enough plant starts to buy a greenhouse and, to me, he looks pretty excited about filling it. Look out world!
A couple of days ago, Parker harvested 15(!!) pounds of green tomatoes to protect them from the coming frost and was kind enough to share some of his best slicing tomatoes with us. Hmmm…what to do with a batch of firm and gorgeous, shiny green, unripe tomatoes? Make Fried Green Tomatoes of course! They’re more than a poignant and funny movie from the early 90s and well worth trying. They’ll taste better from your kitchen then they would fresh from The Whistle Stop Cafe. 😉
The process is quick and easy. I recommend serving these with Remoulade Sauce for dipping or, for a classic Southern combination, with Shrimp Remoulade!
More of My Favorite Southern Recipes
How to Make Fried Green Tomatoes
1. Start with medium-sized firm green tomatoes sliced into 1/4-inch thick circles.
2. Follow a classic breading style: dredge in plain flour, dip in egg wash, dredge in a seasoned mixture of cornmeal and flour. (Some recipes call for panko in this mixture, but I prefer the traditional breading where cornmeal crunch is the star.)
3. Shallow fry for 3 to 4 minutes in 1/4-inch of high heat oil like avocado oil, sprinkle with flaky salt and serve!
Simple, right?
The next time you find yourself with the happy dilemma of too many green tomatoes you’ll know just what to do.
Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe Video
Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 medium green tomatoes about 12 ounces
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour divided
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- pinch ground cayenne pepper
- avocado oil or other high vegetable heat oil, for frying
- flaky sea salt such as Maldon, for finishing
Instructions
- Slice tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick rounds.
To Make Breading Mixture:
- Whisk egg and buttermilk together in a shallow bowl.
- Scoop 1/4 cup flour onto a medium plate.
- To a second medium plate add remaining flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper and cayenne; combine thoroughly with fork or small whisk.
To Bread Tomatoes:
- Dredge a tomato slice in plain flour, shaking off any excess; dip in egg mixture; dredge in cornmeal mixture until evenly coated and transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining tomato slices.
To Fry Green Tomatoes:
- Line a plate with paper towels; set aside.
- In a heavy skillet (ideally a cast iron skillet) heat 1/4-inch of high heat oil to 375°. (It's important for the oil to be very hot to keep tomatoes from absorbing it. Be sure to reheat between batches!) Carefully place tomatoes into hot oil and cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer to paper towel lined plate (keeping tomatoes in a single layer so they don't get soggy) and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Repeat with remaining tomatoes. Serve hot.
Hi there, if I don’t have cornmeal, is there a recommended substitute?
Hi there, Jamila! Do you happen to have polenta or corn grits? Either would make a good substitute. You can bread them with just flour and they’ll taste good, but they won’t have the same crunchy crust.
Marissa, We had tomato plants and potatoes volunteer this year so I just harvested green tomatoes and purple potatoes this afternoon. Thank you so much for publishing the fried green tomato recipe and the remoulade sauce one too. I look forward to having a yummy dinner with my family!
Colleen
It’s my pleasure, Colleen! How wonderful to have volunteer tomatoes and potatoes!! Hope you and your family enjoy!! 🙂
Can these be sliced and dipped and ready to fry a few hours early and kept in the refrig?
Hi there, Sally. I wouldn’t recommend breading them that far in advance. I’m concerned that the cornmeal will become soggy and they won’t crisp up properly when you fry them.
Hi Marissa!
I bought some tomatoes the other day. This maybe a stupid question, but are they same as green tomatoes?
As a kid my Mama used to fry green tomatoes with a little bit of red pepper, salt with no breading and serve it with Sunnyside up (2 eggs). It tasted really good.
Thanks my dear for your time!
Blessings,
Mallika
Hi there, Mallika! Not a stupid question at all!! Green tomatoes are unripe tomatoes so they are more firm and will hold up to frying. Red ripe tomatoes would fall apart. Hope that’s helpful! 🙂 p.s. Your mother’s tomato and egg dish sounds delicious!
Absolutely delicious! A keeper, and am going to try this breading mix for onion rings too, think it would be fantastic!
So glad you enjoyed these, Vicky! Great idea to use the batter for onion rings!
I am definitely making these tomorrow after shopping. I have really missed these staples! My wife is Canadian and I moved here about 10 years ago. I lived in the American South for over 20 years and love the cooking. I’ve been converting my Canadian wife into a “food rebel” since we got married and she’s never had these. She’s totally in love with cornbread and hush puppies. She will kill for a second helping of sausage, gravy and biscuits. She won’t let me buy Pillsbury any more since she had my biscuits.
Our growing season is relatively short, even though we’re 100 Kn south of Detroit on the map (Guelph, Ontario – home of the invention of the “Yukon Gold” potato from University of Guelph) My mother-in-law just returned from vacation and brought me about 10 Kg of green tomatoes from her garden which overgrew while they were gone.
Hi there, Walker! You’ve named some of my favorite comfort foods! What a great gift from your mother-in-law. I love that you’re going to add these Fried Green Tomatoes to the list – I hope that she loves them!
Thank you, I didn’t know you can freeze them! It will be a treat to eat fried green tomatoes in the winter!!!
My pleasure, Miriam!
It might be interesting for you to know that you can freeze slices of green tomatoes and keep them for use all year ’round. You can slice the tomatoes and leave them plain, or you can roll them in flour – either way will work. Slice the tomatoes to your desired frying thickness, Set out cookie sheets. Line the cookie sheet with wax paper. Layer the tomato slices on the cookie sheet and cover the tomatoes with two layers of wax paper. Two layers of wax paper helps when you’re ready to remove the potatoes. On top of the double layer of wax paper, lay out another layer of sliced tomatoes. You can repeat the process for about three total layers of tomato slices on each cookie sheet. Cover the top layer of tomatoes with wax paper, and you can cover it all with aluminum foil or plastic wrap if you prefer. Place cookie sheets in the freezer and allow the tomato slices to freeze. After they’ve frozen, remove the cookie sheets, pull off the wax paper, and drop the frozen tomato slices in a freezer bag. After they’ve been frozen, they won’t stick together in the freezer bag, and you can pull out as many slices as you want when you decide to fry more green tomatoes. Don’t thaw the slices before frying. Just remove the slices and do what you’d normally do to prep them for frying them. You can also use this method for zucchini and squash.
Great tips, Debra! Thank you!!
i need to make fried green tomatoes for a large group. What’s the best way to hold them.
Hi Jane! I recommend transferring each batch of tomatoes to a 200°F oven to keep them warm while you finish frying. Enjoy!
I have had an infatuation with fried green tomatoes ever since I first visited Atlanta!
Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! They really are SO good! Thanks, Jill!
Your fried green tomatoes look so crunchy and good. Using buttermilk in this recipe had to add extra flavor.
Thank you, Karen! Yes, the buttermilk adds a tangy layer of flavor that I love!
Love fried green tomatoes! Our grocery is finally selling them and I am so excited. The squirrels ate all my tomatoes this year except for a few small ones. Wish I had Parker and his greenhouse next door!
Squirrels! They’re cute, but definitely in to everything. 🙂
These are perfect!! I love fried green tomatoes. Bookmarking this one!
Thanks, Jessie!
Now you’re talkin’ my kind of language with these fried green tomatoes! I grew up around fried green tomatoes, but I’ve only ever made them once or twice at home. I think we’ve got several green tomatoes out in the garden, and I should rescue them before the coming frost. And then fried green tomatoes it is! Oh, and try turning those bad boys into a fried green tomato BLT…it’ll knock your socks off! 🙂
That’s perfect, David! I really do need to try them on a BLT – always looking for opportunities to knock my socks off! 😉
Ummmm where can I get a Parker? lol. Seriously, I know I always joke about picking up our house and dropping it right next to yours, but now I’m thinking I REALLY need to make that happen, because it would be a two-fer! I’d get you AND Parker as neighbors!!! Hello winning! 😉 I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE fried green tomatoes. Like, it’s almost to the point where it’s a lil’ creepy. I could eat them for every single meal and be one happy lady! Needless to say I am just LOVING yours!! Totally adore that you skipped the sugar, added a cayenne kick and finished it off with flaky sea salt. This is heavenly! And your video makes me SUPER HUNGRY! Pinned! Cheers, sweets! XOXO
We’ve got to figure out that house dropping idea, Chey. It should be possible, right? 😉 Thanks, as always, for your super sweetness. xo
I haven’t had green tomatoes for a long time, and indeed it’s hard find them around the place we live. That’s probably because we don’t have any neighbors like Parker:) Anyway, the only one way I normally use green tomatoes is in salads, so these fried tomatoes sound like a cool and delicious dish. Also, you can make jam out of green tomatoes and send a jar to me (Cause I’ve never tried it either):)
Ben, you had Keith and I cracking up with this comment! Sounds like I need to make you some green tomato jam! 😉
Wait wait wait. How did I not know you live in Oregon? I grew up in Eugene! And now I’m feeling a little homesick 🙂 Will you ask Parker if he would like to come down to Phoenix and help me grow something, anything, besides cacti? I’ll give him all the cookies he can eat. LOVING these fried green tomatoes! I never met one I didn’t go gaga for!
Wow! Eugene is so close…great town! I’m sorry though, I can’t let you have Parker. 😉
Thanks so much for the sweet comment!
For a while, I thought green tomatoes were a different kind, haha!. You have the best neighbor Marissa, and I have craved fried green tomatoes since that movie too!
Paula, I totally thought the same thing – for years!! Parker and his family are pretty wonderful. 🙂 Thanks, friend.
These look fantastic Marissa! It isn’t easy for us to get green tomatoes. I actually only got these from a family member’s garden. But they’re so delicious! 😀
Thank you, Lorraine! Aren’t they amazing! I’d love to know who came up with the idea of frying them!
Oh my gosh, Marissa, I’ve never done fried green tomatoes and tomatoes are my favorite food on the planet! I love this easy, fun recipe and I’m going to do it for Canadian Thanksgiving which is only 2 weeks away. There are still plenty of tomatoes at the farmers’ markets so it’s perfect.
Love your beautiful photos – wow!
Thank you so much, Robyn! I’m so excited that you’re going to try them for your Canadian Thanksgiving feast!
I love your idea of putting them in a BLT! Yum! The crispiness would be perfect!! Cheers!
Confession: my best friend Mary has been raving about a BLT that has fried green tomatoes on it along with pesto mayo. Now I’ll just have to get Parker to give me a few more green tomatoes to give it a try. 😉
Hi Marissa! I have only tried fried green tomatoes a few times and was sorely disappointed each time. They were soggy and mostly flavorless. I suspect they were not seasoned or fried properly. That said, these look delicious! We didn’t do the garden this year and tomato season is nearly ended here. I will have to try these next year, hopefully from our garden. Parker sound like quite a guy!
Dorothy, I think you and Gary should hop right over here and I’ll make you a batch! I promise they won’t be soggy! xo