This creamy Green Tomato Stew 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.
You might also like these recipes for green tomato dal and vegan fried green tomatoes.
This easy but tasty Green Tomato Stew pairs 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. My favorite recipe to use them in is this creamy Green Tomato Stew.
One of the reasons I love it so much is that it is layered with so many flavors: 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.
Another reason why this recipe is a winner is that it is so easy to make. The only prep here is chopping the green 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 for this stew?
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. Add it at the beginning, where you'd toss in the curry leaves, and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Serve
My favorite way to serve this green tomato stew is with Basmati Rice or Jeera Rice and a simple vegetable side like these Lebanese green beans, mushroom stir-fry or smashed potato salad with turmeric and curry leaf dressing.
More vegan tomato recipes
- 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.
Recipe card
Green Tomato Stew
Video
Ingredients
- 2 large green tomatoes (diced. Or about 3 cups halved cherry or other small tomatoes)
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral 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.
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
Michael Wilson says
I love you. I have about 2 doz. Green tomatoes. Thank-you.
Kennedy says
I realize this is supposed to be vegan, but do you think shredded turkey would work as an additional? Thank you!
Vaishali says
I don't think it would work at all.
Geno says
This is my favorite recipe of all time! It is absolutely amazing! I will go out of my way to find green tomatoes just to make this every summer for the last 4 years since discovering this recipe. I like to serve it with black rice for the wonderful nutty flavor which compliments it so well. This time when I made it I added jackfruit - great idea! I also doubled the recipe and subbed one can of coconut milk for a can of coconut cream and the flavor explosion was phenomenal!
Vicki says
FABULOUS stew!!!!! Definitely going into my top 10 favs!!! Had so MANY green tomatoes this year and just didn’t want any more of the usual. Thank my lucky charms I found this delectable stew! Yum thank you!
Sue says
Just tried this and it’s delicious! Will make again and also freeze some tomatoes at the point before you add the coconut milk to make an easy winter soup. Thanks very much - I wouldn’t have thought of this.
Mini says
Delicious recipe, true to my Kerala roots, ready in ten minutes. Absolutely loved it!!! Used dried Indian red chillies instead of green since I didn't have any.
Jen Fletcher says
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 says
Sounds delicious. So happy you tried the stew.
Rachel says
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 says
So happy to hear, Rachel!
Anonymous says
Loved this recipe! so easy and it's so nice to make use of all of the end of season tomatoes! Thank you.
Randy says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Sounds so yummy!
Trina says
Most amazing stew ever! Made this with green tomatoes I grew in my backyard this year and couldn't love it more!
Tricia says
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 says
Hi Tricia, yes, just triple the ingredients! Best.
Jen says
Amazing soup!!!
Vaishali says
Awesome!
Anne K says
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 says
Yay, so happy to hear!
Kathy says
So delicious! Finally another use for all these green tomatoes! I served this over lentils for a protein kick. Mmmm
Vaishali says
Awesome, happy you loved it!
Susan says
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 says
So happy you loved the stew, Susan. One of our summer favorites!
Veleta Witcraft says
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 says
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 says
Delicious, thank you so much.
Vaishali says
Awesome, so happy to hear!