A creamy Green Tomato Stew for that haul of end-of-summer green tomatoes. This easy recipe takes no more than 15 to 20 minutes to put together, and the reward is a delicious and unique dish with Indian-summer flavors. Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and soy-free recipe.
If you are a late-blooming gardener like I am, you likely have more green tomatoes on your hand right now than you can make Fried Green Tomatoes with. So what's a cook to do?
Make this easy but tasty Green Tomato Stew that pairs the tart unripe tomatoes with the mellow sweetness of coconut milk.
My recalcitrant tomato vine, after spending the summer basking in the sun and doing precious little, suddenly decided to reward me for watering him so assiduously all season. So now I have a small bounty of green tomatoes that are not likely to ripen any time before the cold weather sets in.
I have shared with you my Green Tomato Dal recipe and my Fried Green Tomatoes recipe. Both are stellar, but my favorite -- as a cook and as an eater -- is quite unequivocally this creamy Green Tomato Stew.
Part of the reason I love it so much is because it's got so many flavors going: the tartness of the green tomatoes, the creamy sweetness of the coconut milk, the mellow heat of the green chili peppers all come together to make a dish that's as memorable as it is simple.
And the other part, the part that makes this recipe a winner for me, is that it is so darn easy to make. The only prep here is chopping the tomatoes. The rest of the ingredients come from jars or cans and you probably already have most of these in your pantry already.
Is there a specific type of green tomato I should use?
No, just any green tomato is fine -- heirloom, plum, beefsteaks...anything you have in the backyard or can find at the market would work here. You could even make it with green grape or pear tomatoes, although I imagine it would take more time to halve a bunch of those than it would to slice up two or three large ones.
I don't have curry leaves. Can I use something else?
Use cilantro, which is easier to find hereabouts. Add it at the beginning, where you'd toss in the curry leaves, and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
What do I serve this with?
My favorite way is to serve it with a simple Basmati Rice or Jeera Rice (I've added instructions to the post for making this with brown rice) and a mushroom stir-fry. You can make any other Indian-style vegetable side or something like this smashed potato salad with turmeric and curry leaf dressing.
Looking for more vegan tomato recipes?
- Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes
- South Indian Green Tomato Dal
- Creamy Coconut Curry
- Pasta with No Cook Tomato Sauce
- If you have a batch of ripe tomatoes on hand, make and store my basic tomato onion masala sauce for quick curries.
Green Tomato Stew
Equipment
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 large green tomatoes (diced. Or about 3 cups halved cherry or other small tomatoes)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 2 green chili peppers (like serrano or jalapeno, slit down the middle and deseeded -- unless you like lots of heat)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 heaping tsp ground coriander
- 1 ½ cups coconut milk
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and, when they sputter, add the curry leaves and green chillies.
- Saute for a few seconds and add the green tomatoes
- Add the coriander powder and turmeric and mix. Add a few tablespoons of water and when the water boils, put a lid on the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat about five minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Green tomatoes are firmer and won't break down as much as ripe tomatoes would.
- Add half the coconut milk to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste and let the tomatoes cook another minute or two.
- Add the remaining coconut milk and salt, stir, and heat until the coconut milk is warmed through but not boiling.
- Turn off heat and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Jen Fletcher
Helloo! I make green tomato chutney every year and was looking for something different to do with them. It was just soo lovely! I chopped 2 green chillies, seeds and all, had no coriander seeds left, added a bit of curry powder, some veggies I had in the fridge, loads of coriander, splash of lime juice and chunks of cod thrown on the top of it in the last 5 mins. Absolutely fabulous, thank you so much for the inspiration! Looking forward to trying loads more of your recipes!
Vaishali
Sounds delicious. So happy you tried the stew.
Rachel
I love this recipe. I use cilantro instead of curry and lots of pepper because I like it spicy. I add chicken and brown sugar to bring out the sweetness of the coconut milk. It reminds me of Tom Kha Gai. Not exactly the same but similar. I had two bushels of green tomatoes to use and I made 5-6 different things but once I tried this recipe this is where the rest of my green tomatoes went. I made large batches and froze it
Vaishali
So happy to hear, Rachel!
Anonymous
Loved this recipe! so easy and it's so nice to make use of all of the end of season tomatoes! Thank you.
Randy
I was looking for a way to use my unripe cherry tomatoes as frost approaches the Great Lakes, but I wanted something more interesting than the usual fried green tomatoes, which are great, but not every year.
This recipe is wonderful! It makes the right amount for a lunch for two. I have enough tomatoes to make it three times. My only recommendation would be to specify a small saucepan diameter. I used a wide saucepan on the large burner, and I think it would have been better with the small burner. It took me about double the time to prep, but I'm an amateur in the kitchen.
Wendy
This recipe does not make a lot. I doubled the recipe and it still didn't make a lot. When I selected 16 servings It made 3 good sized bowls. I used only 1 can of coconut milk when I doubled the recipe and it's plenty creamy. I used 2 jalapeno peppers when I doubled the recipe but added black pepper to get the right heat level for me. I thought it was tasty and a good way to use some of my end of season green tomatoes.
Vaishali
That's really strange. Green tomatoes should not be that acidic. Maybe you used some really acidic variety? I've never encountered this problem before.
Sandy
Looking forward to trying this. I have served other stewed green tomatoes over grits. Delicious with a combination of yellow and white stone ground grits.
Vaishali
Sounds so yummy!
Trina
Most amazing stew ever! Made this with green tomatoes I grew in my backyard this year and couldn't love it more!
Tricia
I am making this on Thursday. I have enough green tomatoes to do triple the recipe. Do I just triple all the ingredients? Thanks.
Vaishali
Hi Tricia, yes, just triple the ingredients! Best.
Jen
Amazing soup!!!
Vaishali
Awesome!
Anne K
Vaishali, this was absolutely delicious! My family devoured what they were served and fought over the last bit in the pot. As I was leaving the kitchen my mom was running her finger along the pot to get the last little bit before putting it in the sink to soak. I will have to double it the next time I make it, which will be soon because everyone mentioned having it again in the near future. Thank you so much for this delicious soup recipe; it will be a part of our family culture for years to come. --Anne K
Vaishali
Yay, so happy to hear!
Kathy
So delicious! Finally another use for all these green tomatoes! I served this over lentils for a protein kick. Mmmm
Vaishali
Awesome, happy you loved it!
Susan
So happy to find this recipe! Inundated with green tomatoes!
I modified it a bit for lack of ingredients. I used 1TBSP yellow mustard and about 1/4-1/3 cup of chopped cilantro. I also added about a TBSP of coconut sugar. I seeded 2 jalapeños, but probably could have left some as it was not spicy at all.
Vaishali
So happy you loved the stew, Susan. One of our summer favorites!
Veleta Witcraft
This was delicious! Used fresh green tomatoes; did not blanch just cut them up . Easy peasy. Put maybe a tiny bit more water in the tomatoes when they were breaking down so didn't burn. Also used cilantro.
Cindy
Some of the comments mentioned using frozen green tomatoes. If I want to use frozen tomatoes when making the soup this winter, do I need to blanch the tomatoes before freezing for this recipe?
Thanks!
Sue
Delicious, thank you so much.
Vaishali
Awesome, so happy to hear!
Sumedha Kulkarni
i made this stew for my son and dtr-in law it came out great! thanks Vaishali.
Vaishali
So happy you made it, Sumedha! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Sarah
I had a bunch of green tomatoes I had sliced and frozen at the end of the season taking up room in my freezer. So glad I found this recipe! It was so tasty! I too could not find curry leaves but the cilantro was delightful. I served it over bulgar wheat.
Sarah H
This was excellent!! I had a bunch of green tomatoes I sliced and froze at the end of summer, this was a perfect recipe for them. I served it with bulger and modified it by adding dried red chilis as I did not have fresh and also added zucchini as I had one ready to go. Next time I will add cilantro as I feel that would have been a bonus.
Vaishali
So happy you enjoyed it, Sarah. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Katherine Lew
What a easy, tasty dish to put together! I could not find curry leaves so I used cilantro. How much should I use? This is my new favorite recipe for green tomatoes. I will be making this again real soon. I’m so glad I found holy cow vegan 🙂
Vaishali
Hi Katherine, so thrilled to hear! I would use about 2 tbsp chopped cilantro.
Tom Federlin
I am in the process of making the stew and it seems like there is very little liquid in the recipe. Am I missing something?
Vaishali
You have 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk and also the tomatoes should express their juices. That should be more than enough. Adding water is only going to water down the creaminess and I don't advise it.
A
I was looking for ways to use up my bounty of green tomatoes and I'm so glad I found this one! It was absolutely delicious. I only had access to dried curry leaves rather than fresh, so in the end I tossed in both the dried leaves and a big handful of fresh coriander leaves and it came out so tasty. Thank you so much for sharing. I'll definitely be making it again.
Nancy
I can’t wait to try this recipe with all my green tomatoes! I have dried curry leaves not fresh. Is dried ok and if so, how much should I add. Thank you!
Vaishali
Hi Nancy, dry curry leaves have almost no flavor, so I usually advise against buying them. If you do have them on hand, use about 10 dry leaves. Or you can just throw some chopped cilantro--about 2 tbsp--into the saucepan at the time the curry leaves go in. Will be delicious.
Sarah
Would this recipe freeze well? I have so many green tomatoes that I'd like to find a way to save some for the heart of winter.
Vaishali
Yes, but the coconut milk will likely separate after you freeze and then reheat it. Other than that it would taste great. You could try making the rest of the recipe and then thaw it, add the coconut milk and warm through just before eating.
Anne
What do you do with the half chilies when you serve?
Vaishali
You can discard them or, if you have a love of spice, you can even eat them!
Ginger
What can I substitute for coriander powdef? Thank you.
Vaishali
There's no perfect substitute, but perhaps half a teaspoon of cumin.
Anonymous
One of the best curries I have ever had, I added a few cashews and served it with Jeera rice.
Vaishali
So happy to hear!
AnitaAStark
Are you using canned coconut milk ?
Vaishali
Yes!
Anonymous
I cannot believe how unbelievably delicious and simple this recipe is...thank you so much for sharing!!
Michael
Wow what a great recipe, this one is a keeper. Thank you loved it.
Vickie
I currently only have a gas stove and my apartment utilities are shut off due to finances (had heart surgery and not able to work) but I have plenty of green tomatoes! Can this recipe be modified for a Crock-Pot? Do you have any suggestions on that?
Thank you! I have loved all of the recipes I've seen so far! BEAUTIFUL!!
Vaishali
Hi Vicki, set the crockpot to high heat, and add the oil. When it heats up, add the mustard seeds, chili peppers, tomatoes, curry leaves, turmeric and coriander powder. Stir to mix, add the green tomatoes, and stir again. Cover the crockpot and cook about 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Add the coconut milk and salt and at this point turn off the heat and let the coconut milk warm through with the remaining heat in the pot.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Jessica
Vaishali,
Thanks so much for your reply! That does simplify it. If I wanted to incorporate the other spices in the original recipe, what are your thoughts on conversions? You note in the recipe that cilantro can be used in place if curry leaves. I can do that. Would you still add any powder? I saw that 1 tsp of whole coriander seed can be substituted with 3/4 tsp powder with a caution to certain to use within 2 months because it uses flavor quickly. This site was informative How to Substitute Dry Mustard for Mustard Seed | LEAFtv
https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-substitute-dry-mustard-for-mustard-seed/. I would love your thoughts and more info regarding black mustard seeds. Is the seed texture a big factor for final results? Also, I'm pretty wimpy when it comes to "heat".
Vaishali
Hi Jessica, yes, you should still use the curry powder-- it's very different from the curry leaves (they have nothing in common except the word "curry") 🙂 And no, the seed texture doesn't matter at all -- you will hardly notice the seeds in the cooked dish. The reason mustard seed is used in Indian cooking is to flavor the oil.
Jessica
Vaishali,
I'm so interested in trying this recipe! I live in the south and just stripped my tomato plants of all of their green tomatoes. My question is regarding the spices. I've never made any Indian dishes. I currently only have have curry, cumin, and mustard in powder form. My coriander is in seed form. I've only ever purchased green chilies in a can. Is this recipe amenable to conversion to these ingredients and what measurements would you recommend, if it would be? If I had the answer to these questions, I would head to the kitchen and whip this up right now! Which is saying a lot, since it is shy of 230 am now. Ha!!
Vaishali
Hi Jessica, here's a simple recipe. You will need some creamy milk at the end -- if you don't have coconut milk, you can blend up some cashews with water. Start by heating a teaspoon of oil, add your chopped green tomatoes (about three to four) and saute until they break down a little. Add in the drained green chili peppers (to your taste) and then add 1 1/2 cups coconut milk (or blend 1/2 cup cashews with 1 cup water or vegetable stock) and 1 - 2 tsp of the curry powder and salt. Add the curry powder a little at a time because different blends have different heat levels, so taste as you go. Turn off the heat before the stew comes to a boil.
Hope that helps. Enjoy your green tomatoes. 🙂 I have a few I need to get off the vine before it gets any colder here.
Mm
Tried today and awesome dish. Thanks for sharing.
ValeriaVine
I found your recipe looking for ways to use my green tomatoes. Just made it and ate it.....You are right! super quick, easy and delicious and it does have a yoghurt like tartness to it. Can't wait to make this for my friends! Thank you for this delicious and easy vegan meal.
Cristina
I made this stew and it is delicious! It goes well with peanut butter too! Thanks for posting such a scrumptuous recipe!
Vaishali
So happy you liked it. Thanks for letting me know!
Kumudha
Tamilians are such creative cook. Some tamilians make gravy with water-melon rind and orange peel...
tomato curry looks so yum!
kumars kitchen
yummmmmy lovely stew,would love to make it right now...terrific recipe 🙂
Chitz
It's so tempting.. Makes me wanna make some now 🙂
Julia
this looks fantastic!!
Vaishali Honawar
Ammasdtr, yes, green tomatoes are a beloved food in parts of India, and Tamilians make some great dishes with it, like the masial.
Rice would be the best pairing with this dish.
Foodfeud, duds, indeed. 🙂 I wait for summer each year just so I can harvest the green tomatoes -- I can never find them in a market.
foodfeud
Brilliant use of what others might call duds. I love any curry, I also love most tomato dishes... Gotta get on this!
ammasdtr19
This looks amazing! Are green 'maters an Indian thing as much as they are a southern thing in usa? Does the coconut milk tone some of the acid down? And lastly, what's the best starch to go with this, naan, rice or corn bread?
Vaishali Honawar
Manasi, dry tomato curry with peanuts sounds amazing.
Viswa, thanks.
Shaheen, it would be great with ripe tomatoes too.
Priya, thanks.
Priya Suresh
Omg, stew looks absolutely delicious and fingerlicking.
Shaheen
I so want to have a go at cooking with green tomatoes, sadly I am not growing any this year and its hard to find them at supermarkets here or even at the farmers market, maybe next year.
Viswa
Wow, nice recipe
Manasi
I wish my tomato plants would sprout atleast one small tomato 🙁
I have a black thumb. I managed to grow only 2 green chilies last summer, weak and puny ones at that.
I love the green tomato curry. Manisha (IFR) has a dry version using peanut powder, I have often made that, now I have your curry to depend on too 🙂