Summer has come and gone, and left our garden with a tangle of vines and a pile of unripe tomatoes. But Alex and I have come to realize this: just because tomatoes aren’t red, it doesn’t mean they’re not tasty! If you’ve got some in your garden or see them at your farmers market, there are so many things to do with green tomatoes. Our best ideas: blend them into a fresh green tomato salsa that tastes just like salsa verde! Or channel your homemaker vibe and make zesty green tomato pickles. But if you’re in a rush: green tomato toast is where it’s at! Slice them up and throw them on toast spread with goat cheese, and you’ve got a delightful appetizer or lunch. It’s the perfect quick use for those tart tomatoes.
What are green tomatoes?
Before we start: what are green tomatoes? Are they all just unripe versions of red tomatoes? Well, yes and no. While the common terminology for “green tomato” is a red tomato that is not yet ripe, there are actually varieties of tomatoes that are bred to be green when ripe. The green zebra tomato is a good example of a green-when-ripe heirloom tomato. We used this variety of tomato in our Mozzarella Tomato Basil Salad to bring in a lovely contrasting color. In this case, the tomato tastes juicy and sweet, just like a red tomato. However, this green tomato recipe is for the opposite kind of tomato! Yes, it’s for red tomatoes that haven’t yet ripened, leaving them green and hard. What people have found over the years, though, is that green tomatoes have a tart, zingy flavor: perfect for things like salsa, pickles and spreading on fancy toast! Green tomatoes are absolutely as delicious in their own right: just different. That said: you can make this green tomato recipe with either the traditional “green tomatoes” or green-when-ripe tomatoes. It will be delicious both ways!
How to make this green tomato recipe
There’s are so many ways to make a green tomato recipe, from frying them to baking them up in a mince meat pie. But our favorite version so far? A toasted open faced sandwich, with the tomatoes in all their raw electric green glory. Spreading the toast with goat cheese is a great contrast to the tomatoes. And topping with garlic salt put it into addictive territory for us! We also used some fresh herbs still hanging on in our garden. I preferred chives, where Alex’s favorite was basil. How to make this green tomato recipe? It’s seriously simple:
Slice the tomato into thick slices. Thinly slice the red onion and then rinse it in cold water: this will mellow the bite of the red onion. Assemble the toast! Spread on the goat cheese, add the green tomatoes and sprinkle on garlic salt and fresh herbs.
This green tomato recipe is a great appetizer, lunch, or light dinner option – we served it the other night as an assemble-your-own dinner right from the cutting board. What’s your favorite green tomato recipe? Let us know in the comments below!
This green tomato recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten-free bread.
Looking for appetizer recipes?
Outside of this green tomato recipe, here are a few of our favorite appetizers: No reviews
Skillet Mexican Cheese Dip Baked Goat Cheese Appetizer Pesto Grilled Cheese Dippers with Marinara Vegetable Hummus Tortilla Rollups Mediterranean Tomato & Feta Dip Loaded Tater Tot Nachos Easy Mango Salsa & Homemade Tortilla Chips Paprika Goat Cheese Spread Happy Hour Platter with Caramelized Onion Dip Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip 5-Ingredient Classic Homemade Hummus Yogurt Dip with Olive Oil & Pomegranate Dark Chocolate Hummus Recipe Garlic and Rosemary White Bean Dip Famous Tomato Dip with Grilled Bread
