Whether you love fried green tomatoes or you’ve never had them, you’ve come to the right place. This is the perfect Southern side dish that complements almost any meal!
If you’re not from the South, you might be unfamiliar with our friend the Green Tomato. So let me tell you a little about them. Green tomatoes are underripe tomatoes which are firm and sour. They aren’t great eatin’ when raw, but when cooked, they’re wonderful. Their tanginess adds zing to sauces and other dishes. And in fried form, they’re a crispy, unique, and delicious treat.
There are also green heirloom tomato varieties that are not unripe red tomatoes. These green tomatoes are their own thang. They retain their green color even when fully ripe. They usually have vertical stripes and some variation in their coloring, feel soft when pressed, and taste a lot like a red tomato. A soft ripe green tomato isn’t what you want for this recipe, but if a bit underripe and firm, they’ll do just fine.
Where Can I Buy a Green Tomato?
You might not have green tomatoes at your local grocery store. For many of us, these are coming straight from our gardens. In a tomato garden you’ll find that there are often a good portion of your tomatoes each season that just won’t get to full ripeness.
When selecting your tomatoes for the fried green tomato recipe, you want to avoid picking a soft ripe tomato as well as really unripe tomatoes. Go for those which are a bit underripe – still green, but not hard as a rock.
But if you don’t have a garden and you just want to buy some, you might have better luck finding tomatillos. We also use these in our Southern Style Pork Pozole recipe!
Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes, and are covered in a husk. They have a similar firmness and tanginess that makes this dish yummy. Try to find ones on the larger side. Just peel off the husks and then follow the recipe for your own version of Fried Green Toma…tillos!.
Tomatillos can be used if you can’t get your
hands on any green tomatoes!
Green tomatoes
Options for Fried Green Tomatoes
In addition to salt and pepper, you can stir a bit of other seasonings into your flour mixture, depending on what you enjoy.
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- cajun seasoning
- paprika
- cayenne pepper
Now let’s talk dipping sauce. Some folks don’t dip their fried green tomatoes, but I sure do. A few great options are Ranch dressing, hot sauce, or my personal favorite – remoulade sauce!
We’re frying these tomatoes up in canola oil to keep this recipe a bit healthy. Vegetable oil also works nicely. But if you want to make this dish extra-Southern, you can use shortening or bacon grease for frying.
Frying the Green Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 green tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp buttermilk (can use regular milk as a substitute in a pinch)
- 1 cup fine ground cornmeal
- canola oil, or the oil/shortening of your choice, for frying
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and any other seasonings.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg with the buttermilk.
- Pour the cornmeal into a third bowl or shallow dish.
- Coat each green tomato slice in the flour and shake off excess. Then dip them in egg mixture, and finally, coat them in cornmeal. Set your coated slices on a tray.
- Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in your cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is about 375 F. To test if the oil is ready, flick a little water into the oil. If the oil sizzles, it’s ready.
- Fry as many breaded slices that fit in a single layer in the skillet. Fry until golden brown on one side, flip with tongs (gently, so the breading doesn’t flake off), and then fry until golden brown on the second side.
- Transfer the slices to a paper towel on a baking sheet to absorb excess oil.
- Fry the remaining slices until done.
We hope you’ll enjoy our Southern Fried Green Tomatoes recipe!
Southern Style Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 green tomatoes sliced
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp buttermilk (can sub with regular milk)
- 1 cup cornmeal fine ground
- canola oil for frying
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and any other seasonings.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg with the buttermilk.
- Pour the cornmeal into a third bowl.
- Coat the green tomato slices in the flour and shake off excess. Then dip them in egg mixture, and finally, coat them in cornmeal. Set your coated slices on a tray.
- Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in your skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is about 375 F.
- Fry as many coated slices that fit in a single layer without crowding. Fry until golden brown on one side, then fry until golden brown on the second side.
- Transfer the slices to paper towels on a baking sheet to absorb excess oil.
- Fry the remaining slices until done.
