Roasted Okra
If you’ve ever wondered if you can roast okra or if one could roast okra, wonder no more. Because roasted okra can be done and more importantly, it should be done.
For real, after I finally tried roasting okra, I forgot why I ever fried it (besides the obvious crispy reasons). Roasted okra becomes chewy and rich, a little bitter from the toasty bits, and — crucial information for some people — loses much, if not all, of its slime!
I’ve never been particularly sensitive to okra slime. Or maybe I just like slimy foods (See: nopalitos, gumbo) but with roasted okra I don’t notice it at all. And along with being yummy as hell, roasted okra is also neat and tidy with no oil splatters on your stove, and I’m not even kidding, but leftover, cold roasted okra is truly wonderful for breakfast.
And fried okra ain’t got nothing on that.
(although I still love fried okra and have been known to — regretfully — eat a half pound of it at one sitting. hahaha lololol #IAlwaysRegretIt but #YOLO)
Tip!
This technique also totally works with frozen sliced okra! Just toss the still-frozen okra chunks with the other ingredients and spread on a baking sheet. It’ll take a while longer but eventually, you’ll end up with crispy, browned caramelized okra that’d put the okra queen to shame.
PrintRoasted Okra
Ingredients
12 ounces fresh okra (or frozen chopped)
4 teaspoons oil
2 tablespoons diced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional seasoning: 1/2 teaspoon cumin, turmeric; minced serrano chile
Instructions
Of using fresh okra, slice into pieces a little thinner than 1/2 inch. If using frozen okra, do not thaw.
Toss okra (fresh or still-frozen) with onion, oil, salt and any additional seasonings until evenly coated. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast at 425ºF for 15-20 minutes (fresh) 35-45 minutes (frozen) until well-cooked and toasted. Serve hot.
45 Comments
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Yum! Sounds great. I will take okra any way I can get it! Thanks for the great recipe.
Sure hope I was too 3 for your new signed cook book
Love
Brenda from Texas
If not I will have to buy it
If I have whole frozen okra, can I do it the same way or do I need to cut them into smaller pieces first?
I would try them whole, only because I wouldn’t want to cut a bunch of frozen okra. Let them cook longer though
What do you do to reduce the slime? Is there anything that you can soak it in?
I feel like roasting okra reduces the slime more than any other prep method. Especially if you get it really roasted and toasted
Worked great. How can I get a signed copy of your cookbook?
★★★★★
Excellent! I prefer cooking with fresh vegetables, but due to the covid-19 situation, I’ve had to purchase Frozen in order to prevent extra trips to the grocery store. Recipe came out great. I really appreciate that on your recipe you have tips for fresh or frozen options. Thank you for that and thank you for this. Every other recipe where I use frozen okra hasn’t come out right, and I know it’s because I didn’t cook it long enough.
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I’m so glad you liked the roasted okra, Tiffany! I love it cooked this way
Kroger substituted breaded frozen okra for plain frozen okra. I had planned on putting it in my air fryer I just got to try it out. Could you roast the okra in the air fryer? How long do you think work?
I’ve never used an air fryer but I’m sure there are directions for it somewhere online
Airfired okra is the best
You can do it in the air fryer it at 400 for about 8-10 minutes, shaking halfway through and then just keep checking for preferred doneness. It’s delicious!
Thank you for the tip, Shannon!
Was looking for a different way to cook some frozen okra. Found this recipe and I absolutely love it! Made this last night and making another batch today!! I added a chopped fresh jalapeño to it, cumin, cayenne pepper and seasoned salt. Amazing! Tha k you for this recipe!!
★★★★★
It’s wonderful! Nutty, carmelized and delicious. Thanks for the idea and recipe!
Roasted is one of the best ways to cook okra, for sure 🙂
This is just delicious I bought the frozen baby okra from Mediterranean foods I’ve also used cut okra but prefer the whole baby, tossed with tumeric,onion powder, dash cayenne, olive oil 425 45 minutes then dipped in Greek yogurt as I devour them! Thank you!
I just made the recipe….. very delicious 😋😋 had it for a healthy snack….will definitely make it again real soon.😋😋😋🤤
★★★★★
I made this with frozen okra and it was great! I agree with Tiffany- it’s great that you shared instructions for both fresh and frozen okra.
I used salt, cumin and turmeric for the spices. I definitely plan to make this again.
★★★★★
I’m so glad! I think this is the best way to cook frozen okra 🙂
Great Recipe. You can even make an Indian version of this dish if you add cumin powder, red chili powder and Dry coriander powder( local Asian/Indian store).
★★★★★
Delicious idea!
Yummy outcome. I did broil for 10 min after 20 min of baking fresh okra. It got that crispy texture and flavor I was looking for
★★★★
I made this with fresh okra & used everything but the bagel seasoning & it was delicious!!!!
★★★★★
I’ve 🐝 n eating okra cooked this way for years. It is SOOOOOO good!
I’ve been craving okra and fresh okra is not too readily available as much as I’d like. I was SO happy to see the recipe works with frozen. Yay! I used whole frozen okra with all the recommended seasoning? Yum! It is going to be a definite repeat! It was a huge hit! Thank you!
★★★★★
Glad to hear that! Okra is one of my favorite vegetables, too
Ermagerd
★★★★★
I have tried this recipe a few times now and it’s delicious! Thank you 😊
I made the recipe according to the directions given. The taste was great. Many of the smaller pieces of okra were heavily charred, however. I think I need to adjust the cooking time in my oven. I used frozen sliced okra at 425 degrees for 40 minutes. I will definitely try this again. I really liked the taste of the okra.
★★★★
A downside to stockpiling for the pandemic is buying two packages of frozen okra when you already had two and a half packages at home! I make a chicken creole that obviously calls for okra and I intended to make it a couple times while we are isolating this Winter; the recipe only takes half a package so….I ran across this recipe and LOVED it. I used olive oil and added 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin and turmeric. It only took about 30 minutes rather than 35. Good thing it’s low in calories because I ate the whole 12 ounces with my (canned) salmon cake 😉
★★★★★
Yum! Yes, I can easily eat 12 ounces of okra myself this way. yikes! 😛
Thank you so much for the guidance on roasting frozen okra in the oven. I’m as southern as country cornbread, yet I love trying new recipes. This one hit the jackpot! We absolutely loved it. So delicious and healthy.
I’ll be using this recipe often.
★★★★★
I am so stoked to see someone else do something other than fried (even though I can easily founder on fried okra)! I love okra, crave it at times. It’s delicious, low in calories, and high in fiber. My favorite way is tossed in olive oil and grilled with a touch of s and p. I stab about 10-12 pods on a skewer for easy flipping the same way I do asparagus. I also like to sauté it with onions an garlic for a frittata or a quiche too. I moved from Texas to Cali about 21 years ago and you can’t find fresh okra here very easily. I’m forced to grow my own.
★★★★★
I agree, Brendan. I love okra and it’s so healthy. Your grilled okra sounds great!
If you keep looking, I’m sure you’ll find it fresh. I run into it all the time here in California, even at Walmart and Winco. Failing that, look at various ethnic grocery stores. It’s out there!
I love okra, and I even LOVE the collagen for my joints! Really helps. How do I cook OKRA without losing the gelatinous part my body needs? Perhaps don’t slice it up, but cook whole?
Then the outside might be crispy and would still get my lovely gelatin?
★★★★
Hi Sally, I am also a fan of okra’s “slime”, but as far as I know, cooking it doesn’t make it disappear. It dries it out a bit but the good parts (soluble fiber) are all still there! Roasting whole would probably work, too, though. I am also a fan of sliced okra eaten raw in salads.
Since I didn’t feel like chopping onions, I substituted some jarred minced garlic and used a little onion salt and fresh ground black pepper. Then, when I took it out of the oven, I added a generous topping of shredded Parmesan and let the heat soften the cheese. Exquisite!!
★★★★
This is probably my fav okra recipe. There’s little mess but all the flavor. I use a large cast iron pan in the oven and give it a stir a couple times during cooking. Mostly I use frozen okra that’s already cut, but I use fresh whole okra when it’s in season.
★★★★★
I’m really glad you like this okra recipe. It’s such a good and healthy vegetable!
Great recipe, thank you so much! Terrific alternative to the carb and calorie-laden breaded and fried okra.
My only tweak is that when roasting vegetables, my preferred seasoning is to mix a package of onion soup mix into the oil then shake up in a big plastic bag to coat everything. The bags they give you to put your veggies in at the grocery store work great for this.
★★★★★
That sounds great!
A-mazing! So simple to prepare. And the results far exceed any old corn meal fried okra. Wow. Thanks for opening my eyes –and especially my palate!!!!
★★★★★
I agree roasted okra really gives fried okra some stiff competition!