Southern Fried Green Tomato Recipe
If you’re looking for a great Southern Fried Green Tomato Recipe, you’ve come to the right place. These crispy tomato slices are a Southern classic, perfect for an appetizer, side dish, or as a topping on a sandwich. Serve them with a creamy remoulade sauce and you’ll see why they are addictive!
You know it’s summertime in the South when every roadside stand, farmers’ market, or backyard garden is overflowing with tomatoes. And every year, I not-so-patiently wait for the first “green” tomato on the vine. When it gets big enough to fry, I pick it! Nothing else screams summertime like a big plate of fried green tomatoes.
If you love old-fashioned southern cooking, then you’ll have to try my pan-fried okra, my simple biscuits, or my cornbread salad recipe. Serve any of these with my fried tomatoes to bring all the flavors of the season to your plate.
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💗 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Southern Classic: This recipe is a tried and true classic.
- Simple Ingredients: All you need are a few pantry staples and tomatoes.
- Make Ahead: You can prepare the batter for fried green tomatoes in advance, as well as make the remoulade sauce.
🛒 Ingredients Needed
For the Remoulade Sauce:
Remoulade sauce is a dunking sauce for fried green tomatoes. Some call this comeback sauce. But no matter the name, it’s fantastic! You can enjoy the tomatoes on their own, but the sauce adds an extra layer of flavor to each bite. Make the sauce before frying the tomatoes and refrigerate it until ready to serve.
- Mayonnaise: Adds a creamy base for the sauce.
- Mustard: Gives a nice kick and tang.
- Ketchup: Balances the spices and seasonings.
- Horseradish: Adds a little heat and flavor.
- Lemon Juice: Adds zing and brightens the flavors.
- Creole Seasoning and Garlic Powder: Adds a taste of southern flair.
For the Green Fried Tomatoes:
The ingredients are easily found at your local grocery store, and during the summer, tomatoes are often available at home gardens and farmers’ markets.
- Green Tomatoes: Look for green, firm tomatoes for the perfect texture. Red tomatoes will not work for this recipe.
- Flour: The flour gives the buttermilk mixture something to stick to. If you don’t have self-rising flour, all-purpose flour can also be used.
- Buttermilk: Adds flavor and tang. You may use milk if you don’t have buttermilk.
- Egg: A beaten egg is mixed with the buttermilk to coat the tomato slices.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: Adds a crisp texture. Plain, Italian, or Parmesan-seasoned breadcrumbs will taste great.
- Cornmeal: Gives that classic crunch.
- Seasonings: Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and Pepper are my seasonings of choice. Feel free to swap these out with your favorites.
- Vegetable Oil: Use a neutral oil. The amount needed will depend on the size of the skillet you are using.
🔪 How to Fry Green Tomatoes
Step 1: Start with the sauce. Go ahead and whip up the sauce, then pop it into the fridge while you fry the tomatoes so that it will get nice and chilled.
Step 2: Slice the tomatoes. Cut your green tomatoes into slices that are ¼ to ½ inch thick. Not too thin—you want them to hold up during frying. Set up the breading station: Use three shallow dishes or pie plates. Flour goes in first. Whisk the buttermilk and egg together in the second. Mix panko, cornmeal, and seasonings in the third.
Step 3: Bread the tomatoes. Dip each slice into the flour (shake off the excess), then into the buttermilk-egg wash, and finally into the cornmeal mixture. Press gently so the coating sticks.
Step 4: Heat the oil. Add oil to a cast-iron skillet and heat it over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. A little sizzle when you drop a breadcrumb in is a good sign it’s ready.
Step 5: Fry to a golden brown. Fry 3–4 slices at a time, about 3–4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
Step 6: Transfer to a plate. Transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any grease.
Step 7: Serve. Serve as a side or appetizer.
Step 8: Serve with a sauce. Serve hot with the chilled Remoulade Sauce. Watch them disappear!
💭 Pro Tips
- Use Firm Green Tomatoes: Avoid any tomato with a red color and spots. You’ll need very firm tomatoes for this recipe.
- Heat the Oil: Make sure your oil is hot before adding the tomatoes to the pan.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Pan: Don’t crowd the pan, or they’ll steam, not fry.
- Use a Wire Rack: If you’re making a big batch, place fried slices on a wire rack to keep them crispy.
❔ Recipe FAQs
Green tomatoes are best eaten when cooked or fried. They are very firm and have a tart flavor. Eaten off the vine; they are not very tasty, in my opinion. They are best used in cooked dishes or fried to a golden brown.
Green tomatoes are simply tomatoes plucked from the vine before they’ve fully matured. They are firm to the touch and have a tart flavor. They are best when cooked in foods or fried to a golden brown. They are a true Southern fried food that is hard to resist.
Make sure your oil temperature is hot before adding the tomatoes to the pan. This will prevent them from absorbing a lot of oil. Drain tomatoes on paper towels and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Keep them in the oven while you finish frying the rest. Do not stack the tomatoes on top of each other. Keep the tomatoes in a single layer, uncovered, on the pan.
Leftovers: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a day or two.
Reheat: Place tomatoes in a 350-degree oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for several minutes. This will give you a nice and crispy crust. I do not recommend putting them in the microwave. They will come out soggy.
More Classic Southern Dishes
If you’ve tried this Southern Fried Green Tomato Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please consider leaving a 🌟 star rating and sharing your feedback in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
👩🏻🍳 Recipe:
Southern Fried Green Tomato Recipe
Ingredients
Remoulade Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons creamy prepared horseradish
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Green Tomatoes Ingredients:
- 3 large Green Tomatoes firm
- 1 cup Self-Rising flour
- ½ cup Buttermilk you may use milk if you don't have buttermilk
- 1 Egg beaten
- 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs plain, Italian, or parmesan
- ¾ cup Cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1½ cups Vegetable Oil for frying
Instructions
Remoulade Sauce:
- Start with the sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Fried Green Tomatoes:
Prep:
- Slice the tomatoes. Cut tomatoes into slices that are ¼-½ inch thick.
- Set up the breading station. Set up the breading station with 3 separate dishes. Pie plates work great. 1st dish: flour2nd dish: whisk together the buttermilk and egg.3rd dish: combine the breadcrumbs, cornmeal, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and pepper.
- Oil. Add oil to a cast iron skillet.
How To:
- Bread the Tomatoes. Dip each tomato slice in the flour (shake off excess), followed by the buttermilk mixture, and finally, the cornmeal mixture, pressing gently.
- Use a Wire Rack. Place the breaded tomato slices in a single layer on a wire rack or a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let sit while you heat the oil.
- Heat the Oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large cast iron skillet until it reaches 350 degrees. The oil should sizzle when the tomatoes are added.
- Fry to a Golden Brown. Carefully add 3 to 4 battered tomatoes to the hot skillet. Do not overcrowd the skillet. Fry until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Drain on Paper Towels. Transfer the fried tomatoes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Fry the remaining tomato slices.
- Serve. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
I love eating fried green tomatoes, but have never made them- you make it seem so simple! Can’t wait to try these out!
Can’t believe how crunchy these turned out and I think the remoulade sauce will be going on everything this summer.
What a great way to use green tomatoes! Love it! And we particularly enjoyed your remoulade sauce recipe! Thanks!
I never tried it but I can tell it looks good. This is perfect to put on my sandwiches or bun.