My vegan fried green tomatoes are juicy on the inside, crispy and golden on the outside, and totally addictive! Made with tangy unripe tomatoes and a crunchy cornmeal coating, they’re the perfect snack, appetizer, or Southern-style side.
Anyone who grows tomatoes needs this vegan fried green tomato recipe in their life. We’ve all got plenty of vegan recipes for ripe tomatoes — my tomato tart, cherry tomato pasta, and tomato risotto are a few personal favorites. But sometimes you need to cook with green tomatoes for one reason or another. Me? I’m constantly picking them early, because once they turn red they’re likely to be gobbled up by insects… or Howard, the chubby little groundhog living under my shed.
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Other folks might just have too many tomatoes on their hands and need some variety. And then there’s the fact that fall is right around the corner — you’re going to want to grab all those green tomatoes before they freeze.
Putting the need to use up green tomatoes aside, you should make vegan fried green tomatoes because they are delicious. These babies are decadent: juicy, tangy, crispy, and loaded with flavor. Yes, they’re fried, as the name indicates — but really, how often are you going to indulge in them?
Never mind. Don’t answer that. Once you try this recipe, they’ll be in constant rotation until tomato season comes to a close. Sorry, not sorry.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Green tomatoes. Make sure you're using unripe tomatoes. Some heirloom varieties are green when they're ripe, and that's not what we want for this recipe! Unripe green tomatoes are firm, so they fry up nicely without falling apart or getting soggy. The best place to get them is at a farmers' market, or in your own backyard, if you happen to grow tomatoes in the summer.
- Salt & pepper.
- Flour. We're using all-purpose wheat flour for this recipe. Will other varieties work? Probably, but I haven't tried them, so no promises.
- Non-dairy milk. Use unflavored soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, or whatever you normally like to drink. If you're not a non-dairy milk drinker, read my guide to dairy-free milk to help choose one.
- Ground flaxseed. This will gel when mixed with the milk, helping to thicken the batter a bit. Flax added to non-dairy milk is a great vegan egg substitute, and in this recipe it works similarly to the egg you'd find in traditional fried green tomato recipes.
- Cornstarch.
- Vinegar. The recipe calls for white vinegar. By mixing this with non-dairy milk, we're creating vegan buttermilk. Red wine, white wine, or apple cider vinegar can be substituted if you don't have any white vinegar on hand.
- Cornmeal. This might be called corn flour in some countries, but don't confuse it for cornstarch, the powdery thickener. Cornmeal is a product similar to polenta or grits, but finer.
- Panko breadcrumbs.
- Spices. We're just using some paprika and a little cayenne pepper.
- Vegetable oil. Pretty much any neutral high heat oil can be used to fry your tomatoes — peanut, corn, and canola are all fine!
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Salt your tomatoes. Arrange them on a work surface, sprinkle them with salt, and let them sit for a bit. This helps to both season the tomatoes, and draw out excess water so they don't get soggy.
Step 2: Prepare your dipping stations. Fill one bowl with flour. In a second bowl, whisk together non-dairy milk, flour, ground flaxseed, cornstarch, and white vinegar. In a third bowl, stir together cornmeal, panko, spices, salt, and pepper.
Note: Some of the tomato slices pictured above came from heirloom varieties with unusual coloring. That's why they look a little orange in the middle — they're not ripe.
Step 3: Heat your oil. Add it to a skillet, making sure it's at least â…› inch deep, and place it over medium heat.
Step 4: Bread the tomatoes. Blot them with a paper towel, then dip them in the flour, followed by the batter, then the breading.
Step 5: Fry the tomatoes. Add them to the hot oil when it starts to shimmer, then fry them for a few minutes on each side, until they're golden brown.
Step 6: Remove and repeat. Place the finished fried green tomatoes on a wire rack to drain when they're done, then keep dipping and frying tomatoes in batches, until they're all done.
Frequently Asked Questions
They're best served immediately, but if you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. To reheat, place them under a preheated broiler for a few minutes on each side, until they start to sizzle and get crispy again.
You could probably use an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, but I haven't tried this myself.
I don't recommend it. Ripe tomatoes are much softer. They'll be difficult to handle when frying and will probably come out soggy.
So many ways! You can serve them as an appetizer with dipping sauce, such as hot sauce or aioli. They also make a great side dish when paired with comfort food like vegan biscuits and gravy, vegan refried beans, or vegan cornbread. They're also FANTASTIC on a sandwich. Put them on a vegan BLT or try them on my vegan fried green tomato sandwiches.
More Vegan Southern Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 3 medium green (unripe) tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes) sliced ¼ to ½ inch thick
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
For the Batter
- ¾ cup unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar
For the Breading
- ½ cup cornmeal
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For Frying
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, or more as needed
Instructions
- Arrange your tomato slices on a work surface, then sprinkle them with about one teaspoon of salt. Let them sit for about 5 minutes, while you prepare your dipping stations.
- Prepare the dipping stations. Place ¾ cup of flour into one medium bowl. Whisk the batter ingredients together in another medium bowl, then let the mixture sit for at least 5 minutes so the flaxseeds can gel. Stir the breading ingredients together in a third medium bowl.
- Very generously coat the bottom of a medium nonstick (preferably cast iron) skillet with the oil, making sure it's at least â…› inch deep. Place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil begins to shimmer, you're ready to fry the tomatoes. Use a paper towel to blot the excess salt and moisture from each slice before dipping. Dip a slice into the bowl containing the flour, getting it fully coated. Next, dip it into the batter to coat. Finally, dip and coat it in the breading.
- Place the tomato slice into the skillet. Repeat the dipping process, arranging a few tomato slices in the skillet at a time, making sure they're not touching. Fry the tomato slices for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until crispy and golden. Be careful when turning and removing them from the skillet.
- Place the fried tomato slices on a wire rack to drain when they come out of the skillet. Continue cooking the tomatoes in batches until they're done, adding oil to the skillet between batches if needed.
- Serve.
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Dee-lish! I put some of these on a plant based biscuit with some vegan ranch. Incredible!
Thank you for posting the recipe for these amazing vegan FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. They're awesome!
Absolutely amazing recipe. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I just finished making these fried green tomatoes and they're awesome.
I made this and it worked out well.
Due to the other comments about the flax, I used half as much
I also used panic instead of cornmeal because it was what I had and it was fine.
Things I would consider next time...
There was an excess of batter left over and maybe not quite enough of the coating... could adjust measurements...
Also I think I would add more herbs/spices for flavor
I ate mine with hot sauce!
I made your recipe, but I have this bag of GF flour blend that already has thickeners in it, so I just added some rice milk I had to the flour and used that as the first batter, and cornmeal-ricecrumb blend for the second coat.
(I had to use rice crumb because I was almost out of cornmel, i think straight corn meal tastes better).
My batter didnt really want to stick, those green tomatoes are silky! but it worked and came out absolutely delicious.
I had 1 lb (~4 tomatoes) from the local co-op, and they were green and hard (maybe almost too underripe).
My husband wouldn't eat them because of the alkaloid green tomatoes have - can cause some people reactions.
I enjoyed them in 2 portions, dinner and leftovers for brunch.
He ate 1 slice of the leftovers and did get a small headache - I had no reactions from my small portions but I do advise against overdoing these guys. Be esp careful if you know you are sensitive to nightshades.
The trick is to pat them dry before battering! I noticed it was the only step that was missing. These were delicious, we just made some with some remoulade! Also, we added a lot more seasoning in the dry mix (garlic powder, onion powder, extra paprika and pepper and bulgogi seasoning). If they're wet, the batter won't stick. :)
Sorry you didn't like them! The flax is in there as an egg substitute, so if you were to make them without it you'd need to figure out some other way of replacing the egg.
if you are in the USA or near the border, JUSTEgg might work nicely. it isn't here in canada yet.
Great idea!
Can these be made in the air fryer?
I don't have an air fryer, but from what I've heard about them, I think they could. Unfortunately I can't be sure or offer any suggestions on how to make it work. I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
How many slices per serving?
About 3, but it will vary depending on the size and how thick you slice your tomatoes.
Hmmm...were they firm to start with? If they're getting close to ripening I could see how they might be a little too soft for frying. The only other thing I can think of is to turn the heat up a bit so they cook quicker - every stove top is different and yours might be on the cooler side.
Wow! These look so great! Would it be weird to use pickled green tomatoes?
I actually had another reader suggest that, and I think it would be delicious!
OOh, this looks so nice and simple and yummy! I must try it the next time I pick green tomatoes from the garden. I also love to pickle them. And sometimes pickle AND fry them. (Can't go wrong with a fried pickle, right?)
I've never picked them but was thinking of doing it this year. Now I'm definitely going to try frying some of them if I do!