Vegan fried green tomatoes (air fryer or pan fried)
These vegan fried green tomatoes can be made 2 ways in the air fryer - with a potato chip or panko coating. The potato chip coating is extra crunchy and decadent. While the panko coating feels lighter and lets the spices shine. I also give directions to pan fry instead for people who don't have an air fryer. Just check out the notes section.
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 358kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup potato chip crumbs made from 3 big handfuls of potato chips or panko bread crumbs
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon granulated onion
- Pinch of salt
- Dash of pepper
- 1 medium-sized green tomato sliced thin with the top stem area removed (or 2 small green tomatoes)
- Spritz of oil spray Only needed if using panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- If you are using a potato chip coating, start by processing your potato chips into crumbs. Put 3 big handfuls of potato chips (roughly 3 ounces) into a food processor. Grind them on a low setting until they become crumb-sized. You may need to stop occasionally to stir for even grinding. That should make about ½ cup of potato chip crumbs. If you don't have enough crumbs, add more potato chips to the food processor and grind them, as needed. (If you're using panko bread crumbs, you can skip this step, of course.)
- Next, set up your work area with 3 plates. Put cornstarch on one plate, vegan mayonnaise on the second, and potato chip crumbs or panko bread crumbs on the third.
- Add dried basil, dried oregano, granulated onion, salt, and pepper to the crumbs. Combine thoroughly with your fingers or a spoon.
- Blot the slices of green tomato on a clean towel, so that they are as dry as possible. Then dip each slice into the cornstarch, making sure it's totally covered. Tap each slice against the plate to knock off any excess cornstarch.
- Then dip each slice in the vegan mayonnaise. Use your fingers to kind of "paint" the mayo onto each slice. Make sure each slice gets fully coated in mayo, but wipe off any excess. You don't want there to be big blobs of mayonnaise. It should feel smooth and painted on.
- Finally, dredge each slice in the crumb mixture, making sure each one is totally covered.
- Put the slices in an even layer across the bottom of the air fryer basket.
- If you're using a potato crumb mixture, there's no need to spritz oil on the green tomatoes. They have plenty of oil in them already. Air fry the slices at 400 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes. Don't flip or shake them. Because the potato chip crumbs are on the heavy side, they will fall off if you jostle them too much in the air fryer.If you want to make additional batches of fried green tomatoes, they likely won't need to air fry for quite as long, because the air fryer will be warmed up. Remember to only do one even layer of green tomatoes in the basket for every batch.
- If you're using a panko bread crumb mixture, give the green tomatoes a spritz of oil. Air fry at 400 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes. Stop to check on them. Once they are nicely browned, they are ready to flip. Flip them, give another spritz of oil, and air fry for 2 more minutes. Add another pinch of salt to the green tomatoes just before serving.If you want to make additional batches of fried green tomatoes, they likely won't need to air fry for quite as long, because the air fryer will be warmed up. Remember to only do one even layer of green tomatoes in the basket for every batch.
Video
Notes
When breading the green tomatoes, I recommend only doing one step at a time, so that you can minimize how often you need to stop and wash your hands. First, coat all of the tomato slices in cornstarch, then cover all of them in mayo, and then coat all of them in potato chip crumbs/panko. Because the mayo step requires two hands, it can get messy otherwise.
Pan frying instructions
These breaded green tomatoes can be fried in oil on the stove. Lightly oil a non-stick pan with organic avocado oil (or other neutral-flavored, high heat oil). Bring the oil to a medium high heat. Evenly lay the slices across the skillet.
Fry on one side until it is toasty brown, about 8 minutes. Then flip the slices. Fry for another four or five minutes, until that side is brown. Remove from the skillet.
(FYI: I've only fried the panko-breaded tomatoes on the stove. Let me know if you try it with the potato chip breading!)
Nutrition
Calories: 358kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 271mg | Potassium: 474mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 395IU | Vitamin C: 18.3mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1.1mg
