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Learn how to cook okra in the oven and enjoy crunchy breaded okra every time! This oven-fried recipe is healthy as well as basically hands-free!
In this simple recipe, I’ll show you how to cook okra Southern style. Even though it’s not a quick recipe, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is. It’s my favorite way to enjoy fresh okra from the garden or frozen.
Using only four ingredients, you’ll have a perfect Southern-inspired side dish. I’ll guide you step-by-step, from washing and cutting, coating with cornmeal, and then baking the best okra you’ve ever eaten!
You’ll be amazed at how easy and hands-off it is to cook fresh or frozen. And once you use this recipe, you’ll never try to cook okra on the stove again.
It requires no eggs, no buttermilk, or complicated ingredients and comes out crunchy and delicious every time!
Need suggestions to complete your menu? Check out my sautéed green beans, southern-style mashed potatoes, or roasted carrots followed up with a big slow cooker pot roast, and you have a proper old-fashioned southern-style dinner ready.
Health Benefits of Okra
Not only is okra delicious, but it’s nutritional. Nourish WebMD and Healthline say that it is packed with nutrients of vitamin C, which helps support a healthy immune system, and vitamin K, which helps your body clot blood.
But even more, it’s full of antioxidants that help your body fight off molecules called free radicals that can damage cells and eventually lead to cancer. Okra even supports heart and brain health and helps with controlling blood sugar.
With all this, why would you not want to add this delicious vegetable, whoops, fruit yep, it’s a fruit on your menu?
Okra is in the tomato family, so
Where to Buy Okra If You Can’t Grow It
Okra is known as a staple in the south. I grow and harvest several rows a year. Then preserve it by freezing and enjoy it all winter long here on our homestead.
It grows best in hot, humid temperatures, so my Tennessee weather is perfect for it. But even if you don’t grow it yourself, it can still be found at the grocery store or farmer’s market.
How to Tell If Fresh Okra is Good
Fresh Okra
If you can’t grow your own and you are picking it up in the supermarket or a farmer’s market, you’ll want to choose pods without brown spots or not shriveled.
When picking okra out in the produce section, the best okra is small pods that are 3-4 inches long, firm but not hard, and not shriveled.
Fresh okra can be found in late July – September and into October in the south. It will be firm and have white seeds when you slice it. If the seeds are brown or tan, the pod is probably old and will be tough.
The freshest okra makes for the best-fried okra.
Buying Frozen Okra
But you can also buy okra in the frozen department as well.
For frying, you will want to choose a bag cut into individual sliced pieces without breading. So you can bread it at home for a better flavor.
How Do You Clean Okra Before Frying?
Like any other vegetable or fruit, it should be washed and dried before frying, but it’s simple. The easiest way is to fill a sink with cold tap water, pour your okra pods, and swish them around to remove any debris on them. Then, lay it out on a towel and let air dry overnight.
No matter if you gather okra fresh from the garden or buy it from the market, it should be washed before cooking.
Do You Thaw Frozen Okra Before Frying?
Yes, sort of, let me explain.
As I’ve already mentioned, this recipe uses only 4 simple ingredients. They are salt, pepper, cornmeal, and okra. No having to roll it in eggs or buttermilk and making an extra mess to clean up.
So, how does the breading stick without falling off? This is the best part. It’s fried in a cast-iron skillet, not being stirred a lot, so the cornmeal is not getting knocked off, and the okra itself is baked until it is crispy and crunchy. So it cooks to a perfectly crunchy breaded okra every time.
When working with frozen okra, thaw enough for the ice crystals to melt and form tiny water drops on the individual pieces. Then roll it or stir it in cornmeal. The cornmeal sticks to the water drops and makes for the best oven-fried okra you’ve ever eaten.
If you are using fresh okra that’s not frozen, after washing it, before it’s completely dry, cut it into individual pieces, and the cornmeal will stick just as above.
Don’t worry oven fried okra does not come out slimy.
Can Fried Okra Be Made Ahead?
Sure it can! I do it often. All you need to do is cook it ahead and then loosely cover the bowl with aluminum foil. Don’t use a bowl and a tight fitting lid. A lid fits too tight, and the sweat off the hot okra causes it to soften.
TO REHEAT: When you are closer to serving time, put it back into a cast iron skillet, no oil required, and put it into a 350°F (176°C) oven for about 20 minutes, stirring lightly only once or twice.
Then, pour into a serving bowl and serve hot.
You can use a microwave as well, but it will make it softer and not as crunchy.
How to Cook Okra-Oven Fried Recipe
I grew up with this recipe. It’s one of my mom’s old-fashioned southern recipes she used to make when she was cooking more than she does now.
Thirty years ago, before I married my husband, my mom cooked this as a side dish for the first meal he shared with my family. To this day, it’s his favorite.
As I mentioned, it’s not a quick recipe, but planning for it and that it is such a hand-off recipe, it will become one of your family favorites.
I oven fry with homemade lard. If you don’t have access to lard, organic olive oil will work, too.
Ingredients:
- 2 quarts of cut okra (fresh or frozen) – (about 3 lbs fresh)
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 heaping TBS lard (or ¼ cup organic olive oil)
Thaw okra on the counter for about 2 hours or until it is almost thawed but still has some ice crystals with water drops.
Once thawed, preheat oven to 450°F (232°C). Then, on the stove burner, in a large cast-iron skillet ( I use a 10-inch size), heat lard or olive oil on high to almost smoking. You want your skillet HOT!
Next, in a large bowl, pour in okra and add cornmeal, salt, and pepper on top. Stir with a large spoon until okra is covered well.
Pour into your hot skillet. It will sizzle, and the grease might pop, so be careful when doing this step. Pour all the okra in, and you will have some extra cornmeal at the bottom of the bowl. This is normal. Pour it into the skillet; it will cook to a crunchy brown treat.
Place your full skillet inside a preheated 450°F oven. Set a timer and bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cook undisturbed—no need to stir.
Once the timer goes off, carefully remove the skillet from the oven with an oven mitt. Using a large spatula, carefully turn the okra. It will be somewhat brown on top, with some cornmeal that is still white.
The bottom will become a crispy brown while the center still looks raw. Stir to mix well and then place it back in the oven for 1 hour, undisturbed. Yep, no stirring. Remember, it’s almost hand-free.
When the timer goes off, you will have brown, crispy, crunchy okra that is delicious!
Remove it from the cast-iron skillet with a spatula, put it into a large serving bowl, and serve hot.
More Delicious Recipes
Crunchy Oven Fried Okra
With this old-fashioned fried okra recipe, you'll serve the best breaded crunchy okra every time. Fresh or frozen, it's a no-fail recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts cut okra (fresh or frozen) about 3 lbs
- 2 cups Cornmeal
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 TBS Lard or 1/4 cup Olive Oil
Instructions
- If okra is frozen, thaw for about 2 hours or until ice crystals have turned to tiny water drops
- Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C)
- On the stove top, melt lard or oil in a cast iron skillet on high. (Near smoke temperature)
- Pour okra into a larger bowl and add all ingredients. Mix until okra is covered well.
- Pour into hot skillet and then immediately place it in the oven.
- Bake for 50 minutes WITHOUT stirring.
- Once timer goes off, remove and stir well, then put back into the oven.
- Bake 1 hour WITHOUT stirring.
- Once timer goes off, remove skillet from the oven, stir well and serve hot.
Notes
This recipe can be made ahead. To reheat, place in a cast iron skillet on 350°F for about 20 minutes.
For leftovers - reheat in the microwave.
Dianne Hadorn is the owner of Hidden Springs Homestead nestled in the hills of East Tennessee. She is a Master Gardener and enjoys helping others learn how to grow and preserve their own food and sharing tips for living a more sustainable life.