Crispy Fried Green Tomatoes—The Ultimate Summer Bite

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! All recipes are rigorously tested in our Nashville Test Kitchen to ensure they are easy, affordable, and delicious.

Easy Recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes

“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.

Nutrition Information

how to make Fried Green Tomatoes step-by-step photos Prep the tomatoes: Start by cutting 4 large green tomatoes into ⅓-inch slices horizontally.

Discard the end with the stem and the very bottom, which is smooth. Make the breading: Add ¼ cup flour, ½ cup cornmeal, 1 Tbsp BBQ seasoning powder, and ½ tsp salt in one small bowl. Whisk to combine.

In another small bowl, pour in the remaining ¼ cup flour by itself. In a third bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and ½ cup buttermilk.

Bread the tomatoes: Dip your cut green tomatoes into the flour, then into the buttermilk egg mixture, and finally into the cornmeal BBQ seasoning mix. Set each slice of tomato off to the side and continue this assembly line process until all tomatoes have been dredged in this magical trio!

Heat the oil: Once your tomatoes are dredged and off to the side, heat up 1⅓ 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!)

Fry the tomatoes: Very carefully, 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. These crispy, crunchy fried green tomatoes are the perfect summer appetizer!

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.

Tips and Suggestions

• 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 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, chicken burger, or can be served in a salad over a bed of mixed greens or arugula.