How to Make Fried Green Tomatoes

There are about a hundred ways you can fry a green tomato. Everyone has an opinion, and most of them will get you a tangy, tasty final result. This recipe is a good basic (because I like the basics) and you can easily adjust or build the flavors to your preference. 

When I was a kid, my mom made these in the spring and summer and it was the only time my dad would get the plate and walk around the table doing the “One for you, one for me,” thing. Everyone wanted to make sure they got their fair share.

For the best results, slice them as thinly as possible. For the picture above I actually sliced them thicker than I normally would. I had to make sure they would show up when I photographed them. When you make yours, shave off about a third of what you see here and you’ll get what’s almost like a crispy green tomato chip. Now that’s good country cooking.

And it’s perfectly fine to make some adjustments to the recipe if you want to. Like adding hot sauce to my buttermilk for a little punch, or some granulated garlic to the dry ingredients–if you wanted that, I mean. But no self respecting country cook puts garlic on a fried green tomato. Good heavens.

And before we get to the recipe, take a look at this monster:

It’s an heirloom tomato called a “heart” something…I don’t know the rest of the name. This beast is growing in my garden along with about 6 of his friends and will be a pink, low acid variety when it’s ripe. Use one of these, and one batch of fried green tomatoes would feed a crowd!

Watch me make them here:

How to fry green tomatoes

Fried green tomatoes are totally southern, tangy and the perfect addition to your dinner table. Try this basic recipe and then spice it up if you want to. 

Prep Time 6 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 16 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Author Rachel Ballard

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 to 5 medium green tomatoes cores removed and sliced thin
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup self rising cornmeal mix
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• vegetable oil for frying
• hot sauce optional

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, add the buttermilk and a couple dashes of hot sauce if you want it, then stir to combine. 
• In a separate shallow dish add the flour, salt, pepper, and cornmeal mix. 
• Batter your tomatoes in this order: first into the flour/cornmeal, then into the milk and back into the flour.
• Add about four tablespoons of oil to a regular skillet and warm over medium-high until the oil sizzles as soon as a tomato touches it. As they cook, some of the oil will absorb, so you may need to add a tablespoon more between each batch. 
• Fry the tomatoes in batches, being careful not to crowd them. Fry about 5 minutes per side and the breading should be golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with a little extra salt if needed. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 153kcal

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Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

*Note: self rising cornmeal mix is found near the flour in the baking aisle. It’s not straight cornmeal. More finely ground, it’s blended with a little flour and I like it best in this dish. If you only  have cornmeal and flour, you can use that to.