A southern favorite, southern fried green tomatoes are crispy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. The perfect appetizer or snack! A mix of cornmeal and flour with a perfect blend of seasonings paired with an egg wash with a splash of milk makes for the best batter to coat your ripe tomatoes in. These are the easiest and quickest appetizer and the ways to serve them are endless!

Simple Fried Green Tomatoes 101:

What type of tomatoes for fried green tomatoes?

So, green tomatoes are just unripe red tomatoes. Around June of every year, you can get unripe green tomatoes at most farmers markets or grocery stores. However, don’t sit on them too long, because they will start to turn red quickly once picked!

What sauce goes with fried green tomatoes?

There are so many amazing sauces that can go with fried green tomatoes. From ranch to hollandaise to remoulade, the possibilities for sauces are endless. However, you can always just eat them plain!

What if the green tomatoes are a little bit red?

That’s ok! Still do every process as labeled below in the recipe! You’ll definitely want to lay them out with the salt and paper towels. Don’t skip that step! They may not be as ideal as the really unripe green ones, but they will still fry and be delicious!

Equipment You’ll Need

So the first thing that essential to making these deep fried green tomatoes are a large cast iron pot or Dutch oven. If you have a deep fryer or other way you like to fry things, by all means do that. However, I’m traditional and just like to fry everything the old-fashioned way.

To fry perfectly, a thermometer is essential. I heat my oil until it’s about 315-350 degrees. You don’t want it any hotter because you’ll burn your batter before the tomato is cooked. Then, I use metal tongs to flip and take it out of the grease. I then lay them flat on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Unripe Green Tomatoes:

Get about 3-4 unripe green tomatoes. The harder the tomato the better. You cut them into about 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices, lay them flat on a paper towel, sprinkle them with a tiny bit of salt, then lay another paper towel on top of them. Let them sit for around 5 to 10 minutes. This will draw up any excess moisture from the tomatoes, and prevent them from becoming too soggy.

Vegetable Oil:

I always like to fry with vegetable oil. I know it’s not necessarily the healthiest option, but honestly nothing is when frying! I fill up my pot to where the oil is 1-2 inches deep. You’ll want it to be just deep enough to where the tomatoes won’t touch the bottom, and you’ll potentially lose your breading.

Breading:

For the breading, I used equal parts cornmeal and flour then added in my spices and baking powder. I use baking powder when frying everything, because it will draw out a lot of the moisture and ensure a nice, crispy breading. I used salt, pepper, lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and dried parsley flakes. Those are the ones that I personally like to use but you can always season them how you like.

Egg Wash:

I made a mixture of three eggs and a quarter of a cup of buttermilk, beat it with a fork and then used it as my egg wash. If you run out before you finish, just add in some more.

Southern Fried Green Tomatoes

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Prep 20

Cook 5

Total 25

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American, Southern

Servings 4

Equipment

Large Pot or Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Cooking Thermometer

Metal Tongs
2 Large Mixing Bowls
Measuring Cups

Plate lined with paper towels

Ingredients

3-4 Unripe Green Tomatoes
Pinch of Salt

Vegetable Oil (Enough to fill your pot 1-2 inches deep)

Breading

1 cup Flour
1 cup Cornmeal

1 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Pepper

2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Lemon Pepper

2 tsp Paprika

Egg Wash

3 Eggs
1/4 cup Buttermilk

Instructions

Fill a large pot or cast-iron Dutch oven with oil about 1 to 2 inches deep. Heat on medium to high until grease reaches 325-350 degrees.
Slice tomatoes into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices. Lay them out flat on a paper towel, sprinkle them with salt, and lay another paper on top of them. Let them sit for around 10 minutes. This will draw out the excess moisture, and prevent them becoming too soggy.
Mix all the ingredients for the breading together in one large bowl and the egg wash ingredients in another. Using your tongs, take a tomato slice, dip it in the egg wash then the breading two times. After it's double coated, place in your 350ish degree grease. Fry on one side until you can start to see the edges turning golden for about 2 minutes then flip. Repeat this process with each tomato slice. Enjoy!

Notes

Can you make these ahead?

I personally would not. Tomatoes are very temperamental, and I don’t know how these could be affectively done ahead of time.

Can these be served leftover?

They can, however, be aware they could be a little soggy. I would not keep them longer than 24 hours.

Keywords Appetizer Recipes

Before you go…

These are the best fried green tomatoes. Trust me! The batter and seasonings are so perfect for this recipe. If you make them, please let me know what you thought. Contact me here or leave me a comment below! Also, what sauce did you use? Give me all the details. Happy Cooking!