In junior high, I was just a little obsessed with the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, I think we even had it on VHS. Something about the empowering transformation of Kathy Bates’ character and watching her ram a Beetle with her Ford Land Yacht – those girls deserved it! But I’ve never tried fried green tomatoes, I honestly thought that wasn’t a real dish and green tomatoes couldn’t be edible. Tonight I learned they are and actually delicious because I have a garden full of them, probably enough to fill a few buckets.
I planted free heirloom starters from my dad late in the season and they’ve been flourishing with plenty of huge heirloom tomatoes. But they’re not turning red which I’ve only recently learned could be from over watering.
I harvested a few for dinner to try my luck at a fried green tomato recipe, one I threw together after combing through many recipes ranging from the lighter side to the very non-vegan, country-fried kind with more dairy, flour, and eggs than actual tomatoes!
I wanted a vegan friendly version that was quick, had more protein, and used ingredients that most vegans probably have on hand.
Simple Fried Green Tomatoes
- 6 medium or 3 large green tomatoes, cut into 1/4 – 1/2″ slices
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1 tsp. of seasoning blend of choice
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
- Mix chickpea flour, seasoning blend, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Coat each side of tomato slices in the flour mixture and place into skillet.
- Cook 1-2 minutes per side, until edges are crispy.
- Place onto paper towels to absorb the extra oil while cooling.
- Serve with a creamy and/or spicy sauce drizzled over the slices. Makes about 3-4 servings.
Traditionally vegetable oil is used for frying in most of the recipes I came across and you could use that in place of the coconut oil. But I adore cooking with coconut oil as much as I do using it in raw recipes for it’s rich flavor depth and I think it added a lot to this simple recipe.
This is a lighter recipe using less flour compared to some and not coating the tomatoes in batter focusing more on the tomato.
I threw together this fast Creamy Peppercorn Hemp Ranch dressing to drizzle over the tomatoes.
It made a simple and elegant dinner with plenty of flavor pop. The flavor of green tomatoes is actually wonderful, they have a fresh and tangy taste with a slight bitterness that worked great with the creamy and rich garlic from the dressing.
There is fried comfort in this recipe, but the tomatoes also remained firm and fresh in the centers preserving more of their natural glory.
And a vegan recipe that my non-vegan hubby approves of and would make again.
I love everything about this post! The FGT’s. The coconut oil you fried them in. And the Creamy Peppercorn Hemp Ranch dressing! I want it all!
Aw thanks, it was a fun recipe project and the dressing came out really great with it.
Oh WOW!!!! I’d LOVE to try this! I might have to! I haven’t yet purchased their Coconut Oil…but I can see it in my near future!
It’s good coconut oil and I noticed Costco is even carrying it now. I’ve been ordering it from Amazon on a Subscribe and Save shipment since I go through a lot of it for skin and hair too.