Recipe for Fried Green Tomato Grilled Cheese at Life's Ambrosia

I think that every day for the last week I have had a tomato. Whether it be in a salad, on a sandwich or just sliced with a little salt, I have been devouring them. But there is one kind of tomato that I wasn’t able to have until last night. A tomato that I anxiously await all year: the fried green tomato. Oh the crunchiness. The tartness. The down right home cookin’ taste of it. I have dreams about them and their salty goodness. And just when I thought they couldn’t get any better, I decided to try them sandwiched between crunchy French bread and melted pepper jack cheese. Lord have mercy.

I have been in love with fried green tomatoes since I saw the movie way back when. Every year I make as many as I possibly can. I’ve had some turn out amazing and some not so great and I think the key is to pick tomatoes that are very firm. I find that the softer tomatoes don’t hold up to the frying as well and as a result the finished product can be a tad bit on the mushy side. I’ve used unripe red tomatoes and the green zebra tomatoes and both work equally as well.

Fried Green Tomato Grilled Cheese Recipe

Crispy fried green tomatoes sandwiched between melted pepper jack cheese and crunchy french bread.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:

2 – 3 medium to large green tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
½ cup flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 – 2 cups panko bread crumbs
Oil for frying
2 tablespoons butter, softened
8 slices crusty French bread
8 slices pepper jack cheese

Instructions:

Season the green tomatoes liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
Set up an assembly line with the flour, eggs and panko. Dip a tomato into the flour, then into the egg and then press into the panko until well coated. Set aside and repeat until all tomatoes are coated.
Heat 1 inch of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Drop a couple of panko crumbs into the oil and once they sizzle the oil is hot enough. Fry the tomatoes in batches until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat until all tomatoes are fried.
To assemble one sandwich: butter one side of 2 slices of bread, place one slice of cheese on the bread, place two tomatoes on top followed by another slice of cheese and the other slice of bread.
Place sandwich in non-stick pan over medium heat and cook until bread is golden and cheese is melted, 2 – 3 minutes on each side. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Responses to "Fried Green Tomato Grilled Cheese"

“
I lust after fried green tomatoes. It’s a little early for us here in DC, but in a few weeks there will be FGT coming out the wazoo.
”

- StephenC

“
So my boyfriend walked by as I was reading your post and he immediately said “Oh my goodness, you need to make that!!” When I told him it was your recipe he said.. “so, if you get pregnant will you be cooking things like that?” (I talk about your blog a lot, so he knew you were pregnant!) LOL I told him thanks to you I don’t need to be pregnant, I can just get the yummy ideas from you :) lol

I adore fried green tomatoes..but I never thought about putting them on my grilled cheese!! Pure genius!
”

- Jenn's Food Journey

“
What a great idea to put the fried tomatoes in between a grilled cheese sandwich! They are good on veggie, salmon, tuna, or just plain burgers, too. I make them with cornmeal for a Southern twist.

Enjoy last bits of sweet summer!
”

- 90210 Farmgirl

“
This looks fabulous! I want one right now! :)
”

- Kristy

“
I found your blog through pinterest!! And i am so glad I did:) This is the recipe i will be trying first! Being from the south green tomatoes are a way of life so I am so super excited to try it this weekend!
”

- TiffanyS

“
i am so adventurous with food and always love to try new things and after seeing this recipe i’ve realized i’ve never had a fried green tomato!!! what is wrong with me?!?!? lol. I am now going to have my first one using this recipe. looks yummy. loveee tomoatoes!
”

- Dan

“
This was the best sandwich I have eaten in a long time! I was hungry for my “green fried tomato fix”…and this couldn’t have been any better! Thanks for your recipes – I am new to your website but not any longer!
”

- Louise

“
Love grilled cheese! Love green fried tomatoes! This sounds absolutely divine! Only suggestion I might have is to add a few other seasonings to the salt and pepper like basil, garlic, & onion and to grill both sides of the bread before putting the cheese and tomato on it, makes it super good! you could even do these open faced with a small salmon fillet for a well rounded meal.
”

- Shanon