Give Your BLTs A Major Upgrade With One Simple Tomato Swap

A few of the ways we suggest elevating your BLT include swapping the store-bought tomatoes with heirloom tomatoes from your local farmer's market or with a more intense tomato jam. However, the tomato swap that'll really bring a major upgrade to your next BLT is fried green tomatoes.

A beloved Southern classic, fried green tomatoes are a textural boon to a BLT, offering both an extra layer of crunch to enhance the chewy crunch of the bacon and a tender and juicy contrast. The crunchy coating will also help lock in the juices of the tomatoes and anchor them into the sandwich. Green tomatoes are firmer and more sour than most of their red counterparts, but the tangy flavor of the tomatoes will pair well with the savoriness of the bacon.

We've got an easy fried green tomatoes recipe for you to try, with a breading station setup that dredges the thin slices through flour, eggs and buttermilk, and then spiced breadcrumbs. A single fried green tomato might be all your BLT can handle, so you can reserve the rest in your batch to serve as an appetizer to dip in remoulade sauce.

Not only will fried green tomatoes elevate a BLT, but they can also inspire even more delicious BLT garnishes, seasonings, and additions. For example, you could utilize fried green tomatoes' Southern popularity to bring more Southern flair to your BLT. Swap the mayo for a hearty slathering of pimento cheese for a savory and spicy garnish to pair with the crispy bacon and fried green tomatoes. You could also swap the mayo for a creamy dipping sauce you might pair with fried green tomatoes, like remoulade, comeback sauce, or a lemony garlic aioli.

The tartness of the fried green tomatoes could use some spicy heat. You can add pickled jalapeños or spike your mayo with sriracha if pimento cheese is too big of a leap. Bring sweet heat to your BLT by candying the bacon with Mike's Hot Honey. We have a recipe for sweet heat BLT to guide you through.

Since a breaded fried green tomato will add some serious weight to the sandwich, you'll need an equally sturdy type of bread to keep the sandwich from falling apart with each bite. Toasted seeded bread or slices of sourdough would work well. If you want a softer chew, try an un-toasted ciabatta loaf.