When you hear “Fried Green Tomatoes” you probably think of the 1991 movie by the same name, and/or Southern cooking. If you look into the history of Fried Green Tomatoes however, you’ll find that most recipes from the 1900s–1960s were found in the North or Midwest, with many southerners claiming that growing up, they didn’t even know about Fried Green Tomatoes. This delicious recipe most likely arrived on the food scene in America thanks to Jewish immigrants—now it can be found all over from high-end restaurants to cozy diners.
Red, ripe tomatoes are soft, juicy and slightly sour with a bit of sweetness, but they don’t hold up to this recipe like green tomatoes do. Now, you can use red tomatoes that haven’t fully ripened (a great way to use up end-of-summer green tomatoes that won’t have time to ripen before frost) or green tomato varieties that are still green when fully ripe. Green tomatoes are deliciously sour, moist but firm, and soften to a nice, mush-free texture when cooked.
Many recipes call for eggs and cornmeal/wheat flour crusts, but I’ve come up with three dairy-free variations using gluten-free flour combos that made the toughest critic in my home say “those are delicious and I don’t even like tomatoes.”
Tools:
Skillet or frying pan
Large plate
Serrated tomato knife
Ingredients
Unrefined, virgin coconut oil
4–5 green tomatoes of any size you like (small to large) sliced into 1/4″ rounds
Fine-ground sea salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
“Buttermilk” Dipping Sauce
1 cup coconut milk (preferably from BPA-free can for thickness)
1 tbsp + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup cashews, soaked
2 tsp Sucanat (can sub 1 tsp raw, wild-harvested honey or 2 tsp demerara, turbinado, muscovado or coconut palm sugar)
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 tbsp fresh parsley (optional)
1/2 tsp fine ground sea salt, or more to taste
Pinch fresh ground pepper
Fried Green Tomato Coating: Fine
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour (can sub garfava flour)
1/4 cup brown rice flour (can sub sorghum or all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1/4 cup sorghum flour (can sub brown rice or all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fine-ground sea salt
1–2 pinches of cayenne pepper (optional)
This is the coating in the photos for this post. It makes a fine-floured, light coating.
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Fried Green Tomato Coating: Crunchy Cornmeal
1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour (can sub garfava flour)
1/4 cup brown rice flour (can sub sorghum or all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1/2 cup non-GMO blue or gold cornmeal
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fine-ground sea salt
1–2 pinches of cayenne pepper (optional)
This is a more “traditional” coating for Fried Green Tomatoes.
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Fried Green Tomato Coating: Crunchy Almond
1/2 cup brown rice flour (can sub sorghum or all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fine-ground sea salt
1–2 pinches of cayenne pepper (optional)
This is a corn-free coating with similar texture to the traditional cornmeal crust.
Let’s get started.
1. In a small skillet, sauté 1/4 cup minced onion for 7 minutes and transfer to the blender. Add remaining dipping sauce ingredients…
… and blend until smooth. Set aside.
2. Now, slice tomatoes into 1/4″ rounds…
… lay out on a plate, platter or cutting board, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don’t be shy about seasoning them.
3. Now, in a large bowl, use a fork to toss together Fried Green Tomato Coating of your choice until thoroughly mixed.
4. Place a tomato slice into coating…
… and generously cover each side of each tomato slice with coating mixture and set aside. Repeat until all are covered.
5. Place 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan heated to medium-high and place flour-coated tomatoes into pan. Allow to fry on each side 5 minutes, then flip and fry 5 more minutes. Add more oil as needed to fry up all tomatoes until golden brown.
6. Serve warm with dipping sauce and enjoy!
I want to hear from you: what do YU think of this recipe? Which crust will you try? Tell us with a comment below.