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These fried green tomatillos are like their Southern cousins, with a Southwestern flair. They are perfectly fried and paired with a Greek yogurt sauce.
I have been craving fried green tomatoes. I had some recently when I went to Richmond for a work trip, and dear lord, I could have eaten the whole plate.
Unfortunately, I was sharing with coworkers and didn’t feel as though they would appreciate me hogging all the tomatoes.
When I got home from Virginia, I thought, “Oh, I will just make some fried green tomatoes!” It’s like my southern grandmother had just shown up in my kitchen and told me to get all down-home cooking.
Then I went to the store, and my fake Southern heart was crushed. There were no green tomatoes, none, zip, nada.
As I was walking around the grocery store, I spied some tomatillos. They look like green tomatoes, so why not try them instead?
The great news. It’s not the same, but man, was it delicious! Especially when served with a homemade spiced Greek yogurt dipping sauce!
Ingredients needed
- Tomatillos
- Buttermilk
- Egg
- Cornmeal
- All-purpose flour
- Spices
- Vegetable oil
- Greek yogurt
- Cilantro
- Lime juice
- Lime zest
- Spices
How to make fried green tomatillos
Making these crispy fried tomatillos isn’t hard, but they require a little time to batter and fry. It’s worth it, in my opinion! They are great served alone with the Greek yogurt dip, or you can serve them alongside any of your favorites like Tex Mex Chicken and Vegetable Skillet, Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas, or Slow Cooker Taco Soup.
FAQ’s about Fried Green Tomatillos
More tomatillo recipes
Fried Green Tomatillos
Ingredients
For tomatillos:
- 4 large tomatillos, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, more as needed
For sauce:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
For tomatillos:
- Remove husks from tomatillos and clean the skin. Cut in slices and set aside.
- In a shallow dish, whisk together buttermilk and egg. In another shallow dish, stir together cornmeal, flour, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Dip tomatillo slices into buttermilk mixtures and coat in cornmeal mixture. Once all the slices have been coated start heating you oil.
- Coat the bottom of a 12-inch frying pan with vegetable oil and set over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add in coated tomatillo slices and fry until golden brown, flip and fry till the other side is golden brown. About 3-5 minutes per side.
- Lay fried tomatillo slices onto a wire rack lined baking sheet.
- Add more oil to the pan as needed while frying each batch of tomatillo slices.
- Serve immediately with cover with sauce. You can also sprinkle with minced cilantro and more smoked paprika if desired.
For sauce:
- In a small bowl mix together all ingredients.
- Taste and season with more seasoning if needed.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Notes
- It is normal for the tomatillos to feel sticky after you remove the papery husk. To remove the sticky residue, simply rinse the tomatillos under cool water.
- Serve with the creamy dipping sauce and salsa, or serve plain. You could also put them on top of a burger! Try them on my Cheesy Salsa Burger or my Baja Burger.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh wow these tomatillos are gorgeous! I tend to buy tomatillos spur-of-the-moment then get home and have no clue what to make besides salsa. Now I know I can fry them 😀
Fried green tomatoes are definitely one of my newest summer OBSESSIONS. I tried them for the first time last year and now I can’t get enough. I’m pretty sure tomatillos are the perfect substitute.and they probably have a slighter better flavor than green tomatoes do anyway!
this is really a super duper idea, and i’ve never seen it done! it’s an attractive and undoubtedly delicious dish.
You may also try frying them in bacon grease and top them with crumbled bacon. Yummy!
I LOVE that idea!
I looked up this recipe today after I had a grocery store trip and had a taste for fried green tomatoes. So as I was in the store having a conversation with the produce person and saw tomatillos on sale, I opted for those. I believe once I use your recipe with a few of my extras, they will be a hit. After sharing my story with the produce person, he said bring me some and I said, certainly I will. So wish me luck, I’m excited about using these for the first time. The comments are most helpful in knowing other foodies think the same way as I do.