Fried Green Tomatoes

“TOWANDA!” These fried green tomatoes are crispy, crunchy, and so flavorful! Coated in crispy cornmeal and fried to golden perfection! The post Fried Green Tomatoes appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Food & Nutritions Jul 2, 2024 0 21 Add to Reading List

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I absolutely love making my crispy fried green tomatoes with a tangy buttermilk batter. I spent hours testing different versions until I found the perfect recipe. The crispy batter fried onto each slice creates a perfectly crunchy crust. The inside is juicy and the ultimate bite of Summer. These tomatoes are a standout dish that always impresses at any meal!

overhead view of fried green tomatoes on a wire rack.

“TOWANDA!” Have you ever seen the 1991 movie, “Fried Green Tomatoes”? If you’ve never seen it, you need to run to the grocery store (or outside to your own garden), gather up some plump green tomatoes, and put this recipe into action. It’s time to plan a movie night with your best girlfriends! It’s one of my favorites— and so is this recipe.

What Are Fried Green Tomatoes?

Fried green tomatoes are just what they sound like— green (unripe) tomatoes coated in a crispy breading and fried to golden perfection! Green tomatoes have a tart flavor and a firmer texture than fully-ripe tomatoes. I made these for Easter Brunch and have made them quite a few times since.

The fry mix really clings to these tomatoes thanks to the initial flour step and the tangy, rich, sticky, and creamy buttermilk egg dredge. The result is a perfect, crisp crust on each and every slice of green tomato. The batter is thick enough to stand up to the thick cuts of tangy green tomato, making these a true showstopper at Sunday Supper. They. Are. Perfect.

Here’s what you’ll need to make fried green tomatoes:

Green Tomatoes: These underripe tomatoes can be found at farmers’ markets and the grocery store in early springtime and towards the end of tomato season. If you grow your own tomatoes, don’t be afraid to pluck a few before they ripen!
All-Purpose Flour: Helps seal in the moisture of each tomato slice and helps bind the egg and buttermilk to the tomatoes.
Cornmeal: Adds a delightful crunch and a slightly sweet flavor. This gives the tomatoes a perfect texture!
BBQ Rub Powder: If you can’t find BBQ seasoning, you can skip this and save a little money, but it definitely adds great flavor and contributes to the beautiful color once fried!
Salt and Pepper: Enhances the natural flavor of the tomatoes.
Eggs and Buttermilk: Form a culinary glue to help the seasoned cornmeal stick to the tomatoes.
Canola Oil: Helps the tomatoes fry up crispy and golden brown.

Can I Fry Red Tomatoes?

In my experience, red tomatoes are usually too juicy for frying. They have a softer texture and are too wet for the breading to really stick properly. Underripe green tomatoes are the best choice for this recipe.

I like to slice off just a sliver from the end of each tomato where the rounded bottom and stem are, so I can use as much of the tomato as possible. Doing this ensures there’s enough of the moist inner part of the tomato surface exposed for all of the yummy ingredients to stick to.
Using just cornmeal to coat these tomatoes caused the breading to fall off, so I mixed in flour to help bind everything together. The method in this recipe yields a perfect fried crust that covers the tomatoes completely!
You can flip the tomatoes as many times as you need to while frying, but I recommend babysitting them a bit! If you burn one batch, the next batch will have a burnt flavor, too. I like mine a little darker in color, but no one likes them burnt! If you watch the film, you’ll see Ruth would agree. ;) Flipping them too often can sometimes make the breading fall off. Just keep an eye on them!
Fried treats are yummy in moderation, but leftover cooking oil is no fun! I found some great tips on using leftover fry oil that I thought you might enjoy.

Serving Suggestions

Fried Green Tomatoes can be served on their own (trust me, they are THAT good) or with our sriracha pimento cheese, crumbled goat’s cheese, homemade ranch dressing or BBQ sauce. (As Sipsey would say, “The secret’s in the sauce!”)

They’re also great to jazz up a classic BLT or can be served in a salad over a bed of mixed greens or arugula.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Total Cost ($6.57 recipe / $1.31 serving)

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Total Time 50

Servings (3 slices each)

Calories 292kcal

Author Jess – Budget Bytes

Equipment

Deep Stainless Steel Skillet

Ingredients

4 large green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices $3.49
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided $0.07
1/2 cup cornmeal $0.38
1 Tbsp BBQ rub powder, optional $0.69
1 tsp salt, divided $0.02
1/2 tsp black pepper $0.03
1/2 cup buttermilk $0.32
2 eggs $0.34
1 1/3 cups canola oil* $1.23

Instructions

Cut the tomatoes into 1/3-inch slices horizontally, discarding the end with the stem and the very bottom which is smooth.
Combine 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1 Tbsp BBQ seasoning powder, and 1/2 tsp salt in one small bowl. Whisk to combine.
In another small bowl, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup flour by itself.
In a third bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk.
In an assembly line fashion, dip your cut tomatoes into the flour, then the buttermilk egg mixture, and finally the cornmeal BBQ seasoning mixture. Place each slice of tomato off to the side and continue this assembly line process until all tomatoes have been dredged in this magical trio!
Once your tomatoes are dredged and off to the side, heat up the canola oil in a thick bottom pan on high heat until it is very hot! (Take a droplet of water on your finger and drip it into the pan. Once it lands, if it pops and hisses, it’s ready to fry the tomatoes!)
Gently place 3-4 tomatoes (depending on the size of your frying pan) into the hot oil using a spatula. Let the tomatoes fry in the shallow oil for 2-3 minutes. Flip and fry the other side for around the same time, sometimes a minute longer.
Remove tomatoes as they are done to a paper towel lined plate or cooling rack so they aren’t sitting in any excess oil.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*You want the oil to cover about half of the tomato’s height when it’s in the pan. These aren’t deep fried (completely submerged) so the other side will get nice and crispy when you flip them.

**If you like a thicker crispy fried coating, you can add ½ cup of panko breadcrumbs. The version I tested with ½ cup cornmeal and ½ cup panko also came out fantastic!

Nutrition

overhead view of 3 fried green tomatoes on a white plate.

how to make Fried Green Tomatoes – step by step photos

sliced green tomatoes on a cutting board.

Cut 4 large green tomatoes into 1/3-inch slices horizontally, discarding the end with the stem and the very bottom which is smooth.

flour, cornmeal, and bbq seasoning in a white bowl.

Combine 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1 Tbsp BBQ seasoning powder, and 1/2 tsp salt in one small bowl. Whisk to combine. In another small bowl, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup flour by itself.

In a third bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and 1/2 cup buttermilk.

dipping a green tomato in seasoned flour and cornmeal.

In an assembly line fashion, dip your cut tomatoes into the flour, then the buttermilk egg mixture, and finally the cornmeal BBQ seasoning mixture. Place each slice of tomato off to the side and continue this assembly line process until all tomatoes have been dredged in this magical trio!

breaded green tomatoes on a baking sheet.

Once your tomatoes are dredged and off to the side, heat up 1 1/3 cups canola oil in a thick bottom pan on high heat until it is very hot! (Take a droplet of water on your finger and drip it into the pan. Once it lands, if it pops and hisses, it’s ready to fry the tomatoes!)

Gently place 3-4 tomatoes (depending on the size of your frying pan) into the hot oil using a spatula. Let the tomatoes fry in the shallow oil for 2-3 minutes. Flip and fry the other side for around the same time, sometimes a minute longer.