Who likes fried green tomatoes 🍅!? In the spirit of Southern cooking, I came up with this incredible Air Fryer Fried Green Tomatoes recipe, tasty and wholesome at the same time. They were so good I have already made them several times since the weather started to warm up!
To spice everything up, I then paired the fried tomatoes with a low-fat Avocado Horseradish sauce 🥑. Again, fully plant-based and incredibly quick to prepare -everything took me less than 15 minutes! And the best thing is that this meal is great for all health goals – including weight loss! Who says that staying in shape equals eating bland meals?! 🙌🏽
Air Fryer Green Tomatoes, my favorite healthy plant-based appetizer! 🍅
Fried green tomatoes remind me of my childhood, and I simply cannot get enough of them! They are so utterly crunchy and satisfying, with the right balance of saltiness from the fried batter and sourness from the green tomatoes. However, as we all know, eating fried food is not the best choice when it comes to our health. Plus, let’s be honest, deep-frying in the Summer heat is anything than enjoyable!
This is why I came up with this incredible air fryer fried green tomatoes recipe, easy, healthy, and great for all the family! Since I bought a new air fryer earlier this year, I cannot stop using it. It allows me to reproduce the crunchiness of all my favorite foods without the need of using unnecessary oils and fats. Plus, it works as a sort of mini-oven, which means that you won’t encounter any of the health risks commonly associated with cooking with burnt or overly-heated oil!
I have then decided to pair all this goodness with a light and creamy avocado and horseradish sauce, made with a base of plant-based Greek yogurt, an awesome source of healthy fats and proteins. This allows me to create a more balanced meal, as the fats and proteins from the sauce complement the complex carbs contained in the breadcrumbs I used to coat the green tomatoes.
For a fully gluten-free recipe, you can easily swap the whole-wheat Panko and the flour with a gluten-free alternative. There are some options in the better-supplied grocery stores that you can use in this recipe, such as this one from Ian’s.
Fried Green Tomatoes: How To Make Them Perfectly Crispy in the Air-Fryer! 🔥
To say that I love my air fryer is an understatement! Besides being a great alternative to deep frying, it is easy and quick to use, and almost mess-free, which is also a good thing, especially if you do cook a lot or have limited time to spend in the kitchen like me!
What’s more, with a few simple tricks, I found a way to create perfectly crispy and golden air fryer-fried green tomatoes that have nothing to envy to their traditional deep-fried counterpart! Here’s how you can make them too.
- Slice Thickness: Ensure your tomato slices are uniform in thickness, preferably around 1/4 inch thick. This helps in even cooking and ensures they become crispy without burning.
- Drying the Tomato Slices: Before coating the tomato slices, pat them dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. This helps the coating adhere better and ensures crispiness during cooking.
- The Perfect Coating: Use a coating mixture to help achieve that crunchy texture. You can use a combination of breadcrumbs (preferably panko for extra crispiness), regular flour, cornmeal, and a mix of your favorite herbs and spices for flavor. Dredge each tomato slice in the coating mixture, ensuring it’s evenly coated.
- Preheat Your Air Fryer: Preheating your air fryer can help jumpstart the cooking process and promote crispiness. Set your air fryer to the appropriate temperature for a few minutes before adding the tomato slices.
- Arrange Properly: Arrange the tomato slices in a single layer in the air fryer basket, making sure they’re not overcrowded. Overlapping slices can lead to uneven cooking and soggy patches.
- Spray with Water: Before air frying, lightly spray the coated tomato slices with water. This helps the coating adhere better and promotes crispiness during cooking.
- Cooking Time and Temperature: Cook the tomato slices in the air fryer at a moderately high temperature. I typically do around 400°F (or 200°C). Cooking time can vary but start with around 8 minutes per side. Flip halfway through the cooking time to ensure even crispiness on both sides.
- Shake or Flip: If you notice that the tomato slices are not cooking evenly or sticking to the basket, gently shake the basket or flip the slices halfway through the cooking process. This helps ensure uniform crispiness on all sides.
- Serve Immediately: Once done, remove the fried green tomatoes from the air fryer. Serve them immediately while they’re still hot and crispy. Enjoy them as a snack or with your favorite dipping sauce!
- Egg Wash Alternative: Instead of using eggs to help the coating adhere to the tomatoes, you can try alternative options like buttermilk or a mixture of non-dairy milk (such as almond or soy milk) and a splash of vinegar or lemon juice. This helps create a slightly tangy flavor and promotes crispiness.
- Seasoning: Last but not least, don’t be shy with your seasoning! Experiment with different herbs and spices to add layers of flavor to your coating mixture. Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and dried herbs like thyme or oregano can all add delicious complexity to your fried green tomatoes.
Air Fryer Fried Green Tomatoes: Ingredient Selection Tips
Green Tomatoes 🍅
My green tomatoes are from my garden, and I encourage you to start growing some of your food if you have the opportunity. But if not, green tomatoes are not always easy to find in an ordinary grocery store. You will probably find them at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or the farmer’s market, if not your local grocery. It is best to get them organic, as they are on the Dirty Dozen list (produce with potentially harmful pesticide content). When buying, choose the firm ones. The season to easily find green tomatoes is now – at the end of the summer and early fall.
Cornmeal 🌽
Selecting this ingredient may be confusing. There are many ways corn is processed, such as grits, polenta, coarse cornmeal, fine cornmeal, blue cornmeal, corn flour, and more. Cornmeal is dried and ground field corn and this is what we need in this recipe. If you are able to find cornmeal at your local market, you can get it on Amazon at this link.
Avocado 🥑
A ripe Hass avocado should have a creamy, moderately soft texture. Ripe avocados are soft when you touch them and will also have skin with a bumpy texture. If you want to use the avocado right away, choose one that is darker and gives in when you press lightly on its exterior. If you plan to use one in a couple of days, select one that’s a brighter green. To ensure that the avocado you’re choosing is ripe and creamy, and not too ripe, peel back the small stem at the top. If the area underneath is green, the avocado is good, but if the area is brown, the avocado is probably overripe. Avocados tend to start to feel hollow when they are overripe as well.
Air Fryer Fried Green Tomatoes: Noteworthy Health Benefits
Green Tomatoes 🍅
Green tomatoes provide nearly as many vital nutrients as red tomatoes. They support hydration and are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K. These vitamins are contributing to a stronger immune system, and because vitamin K is fat-soluble pairing it with healthy fat sources can enhance its absorption.
Cornmeal🌽
This traditional gluten-free meal, contains carbohydrates, protein, and essential minerals like iron, zinc, and magnesium. As a good source of fiber and plant-based protein (as compared to other grains), cornmeal aids the digestive system functioning properly.
Horseradish 🌱
This root is filled with healthy compounds that may provide antibacterial and anticancer effects. It contains an oil known as allyl isothiocyanate, which gives horseradish its telltale odor and taste and may irritate your eyes, nose, and throat. Because of this, we usually consume horseradish in very small amounts. It is also low in calories and contains small amounts of calcium, potassium, magnesium, and folate.
If you liked this recipe, here are other recipes you might like.
- Four Bean Salad with Homemade Zesty Italian Dressing.
- Creamy Lemon Zucchini Pasta (plant-based recipe).
- Vegetarian Mexican Fajita Cornbread Casserole.
- Banh Mi Sliders with Edamame Patties – Vegan Vietnamese Recipe.
Before you go…
I hope you will love these recipes as much as I do! If you have tried it, please let me know how you liked it in the comments. And don’t forget to tag my socials (all the links are below). 💗
Air Fryer Fried Green Tomatoes with Avocado Horseradish Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large Green tomatoes cut 1/4 inch rounds
- 3/4 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or regular bread crumbs (better if whole wheat)
- 3/4 cup Cornmeal
- 1 tsp Salt or less if you’re watching sodium
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 2 tsp Oregano
- 2 tsp Parsley
- 1/2 – 1 cup Flour
- 1 cup Plant-based milk unsweetened, better soy or almond
Avocado Horseradish Sauce ingredients
- 1/4 cup Plant-based Greek yogurt you can make it at home following this recipe
- 1 Hass avocado
- 2 tbsp Horseradish
- 1 Lemon zest and juice
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Set up an assembly line of three bowls. Place flour in the first, milk in the second, and the remaining ingredients in the third bowl.
- One slice at a time, powder the tomato slices in the flour bowl, dip it in the milk, and then batter them in the third bowl with the breading mix. Roll them around and manually place breading on the tomato if needed. Place on a plate and repeat until all the slices are battered.
- Air fry the tomato slices in batches for 16 minutes at 400° F (or 200°C). Rotate them midway.
- For the sauce, puree all the ingredients in a processor until they are well combined.
Notes
