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Traditional Fried Green Tomatoes are soaked in buttermilk and fried in cornmeal, and they are absolutely delicious. Serve with a side of homemade remoulade, and meet your new favorite recipe!
It took me 35 years and a formal culinary education to finally try Fried Green Tomatoes. And all I can say is, it was worth the wait! These are ridiculously good.
The homemade remoulade puts them right over the top, too. Between the creamy sauce and the crunchy coating on the green tomatoes, you’ll be hooked!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Buttermilk: To make your own buttermilk, whisk together 2 cups whole or 2% milk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and let stand for 10 minutes to curdle.
- Cajun seasoning: To make your own, whisk together 1 ½ tablespoons paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper, 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme, and 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder.
- Green tomatoes: Unripened green tomatoes are firm, tart, and perfect for this recipe. Heirloom tomatoes work too.
Step-by-step instructions
- To make the remoulade, in a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup, lemon juice, mustard, anchovy paste, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Add salt, pepper, Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Stir to combine and garnish with fresh parsley. Cover and chill until serving time.
- To make the tomatoes, in a medium bowl, combine buttermilk and cajun seasoning. Add tomato slices and turn until evenly coated. Set aside to marinate for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Working with one tomato slice at a time, remove from buttermilk and add to cornmeal, tossing to coat. Remove to a plate and continue with remaining tomato slices.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry each tomato slice until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip each slice and continue frying until second side is golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Serve with remoulade.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 4 servings from 3 pounds of tomatoes, about 3 slices tomatoes and ¼ cup remoulade per serving.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The remoulade can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. The buttermilk can be made the day before (store covered in the refrigerator), and the cajun seasoning can be made up to 6 months in advance. The tomatoes are best fried right before serving time.
- Serving suggestions: These are great on their own or on the side of other Southern favorites. Or, pile fried tomatoes on your next BLT or burger.
- Dipping sauce: Thousand Island dressing or Ranch dressing are non-traditional but equally delicious options for dipping fried green tomatoes.
- Mardi Gras: Gearing up for Fat Tuesday? I’ve pulled together 30+ Mardi Gras Recipes to help you celebrate. My One Pot Cajun Pasta is a easy and delicious, and you can never go wrong with a Shrimp Po’ Boy, some Jambalaya, a platter of Shrimp Étouffée, or a Muffaletta. Wind down the meal with a slice of King Cake or some Beignets and a Sazerac, the official cocktail of New Orleans.
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Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade
Ingredients
For the remoulade:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste or 3 filets minced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and ground white pepper to taste
- Tabasco sauce to taste
- Worcestershire sauce to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
For the tomatoes:
- 2 cups buttermilk (see note 1)
- 1 teaspoon Homemade Cajun Seasoning or store-bought (see note 2)
- 1 pound unripened green tomatoes sliced ½ inch thick (about 3 medium, see note 3)
- 3/4 cup corn meal white or yellow
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying (to 1/4-inch deep)
Instructions
- To make the remoulade, in a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup, lemon juice, mustard, anchovy paste, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Add salt, pepper, tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Stir to combine and garnish with fresh parsley. Cover and chill until serving time.
- To make the tomatoes, in a medium bowl, combine buttermilk and cajun seasoning. Add tomato slices and turn until evenly coated. Set aside to marinate for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Working with one tomato slice at a time, remove from buttermilk and add to cornmeal, tossing to coat. Remove to a baking rack set upon a rimmed baking sheet, and continue with remaining tomato slices.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry each tomato slice until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip each slice and continue frying until second side is golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Buttermilk: To make your own buttermilk, whisk together 2 cups whole or 2% milk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and let stand for 10 minutes to curdle.
- Cajun seasoning: To make your own, whisk together 1 ½ tablespoons paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper, 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme, and 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder.
- Green tomatoes: Unripened green tomatoes are firm, tart, and perfect for this recipe. Heirloom tomatoes work too.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 4 servings from 3 pounds of tomatoes, about 3 slices tomatoes and ¼ cup remoulade per serving.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The remoulade can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. The buttermilk can be made the day before (store covered in the refrigerator), and the cajun seasoning can be made up to 6 months in advance. The tomatoes are best fried right before serving time.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
Really good! I’m mean REALLY good, sauce & all!
Thanks Dawn! – Meggan
I tried the fried green tomatoes and remoulade sauce and it was absolutely delicious. Required a little time to prepare but quite worth the effort. My husband loved them and with corn on the cob, a meal hard to beat.
Thanks Faye! So glad you both enjoyed! – Meggan
It’s hard to find experienced people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
I made your recipe tonight and it was a huge hit with my family. Followed your instructions, marinating the green tomatoes in a buttermilk bath for 2 hours. Simply the best fried green tomatoes and remoulade we’ve ever enjoyed.
Hi Bob, thank you so much!!! I absolutely ADORE this recipe. We made it in culinary school and I liked it so much, I ended up making a variation for one of my final exams. I’m delighted that you liked the recipe too. Makes my day! Take care and thanks again. -Meggan
Uh, where are the eggs in the ingredient list? I assume 2 yolks. How about the olive oil? Did you substitute the mayo in the list for these ingredients?
Hi Jacqui, I’m so sorry and terribly embarrassed. When I first posted this recipe, I had a from-scratch version of remoulade (the one we made in culinary school, with egg yolks), but then I decided that was way too fussy and no one would ever make it. So I swapped it out for a mayonnaise-based version with the same flavors added in. It still tastes great but maybe someone might actually make it?! But regrettably I ONLY updated the ingredients, not the instructions, which leads to your question… what is going on here?! So I fixed the instructions, and I’m sorry, and if for some reason you want the original from-scratch version of remoulade, please let me know. I should probably just post both versions. Thanks and sorry again, I’m horrified at the terrible mistake!
I love fried green tomatoes. Will have to try this out sometime! Thanks for sharing :) Beautiful photos
This is the best recipe for these I’ve ever seen.