True Southerners know that Fried Okra recipe is just as much of a Southern staple as collards and cornbread. In my family’s recipe, we coat fresh okra in a well-seasoned cornmeal and breadcrumb breading until it’s fried until golden brown. It’s legit the best recipe you will find. I grew up eating quick pickled okra, okra with stewed tomatoes, and this one is definitely one of my faves!
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Fried Okra Ingredients
- Fresh okra: Cut into small pieces, okra brings a unique texture that crisps up perfectly when fried. Go for fresh okra pods that are smaller in size if you but if you can’t find it, frozen okra is perfectly fine. Just make sure its dried super well before starting your recipe.
- Spices: Salt and pepper, paprika for smokiness and cayenne for spice. Switch out the paprika and cayenne for some cajun seasoning.
- Eggs: Replace with buttermilk if you ran out.
- Breading: The mix of flour, fine yellow cornmeal and pre-seasoned breadcrumbs (for convenience).
- Frying oil: Neutral oil like canola or vegetable works well with a high smoke point. Don’t use olive oil since it will distract from the flavor.
How to Make Fried Okra
Season and Begin Breading
Step 1: Cut up the okra into smaller sizes. Start by seasoning up your okra with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Add eggs to a small bowl and beat them a bit. Then add flour, cornmeal, bread crumbs, paprika and cayenne, if you are using, to another smaller bowl and whisk together until combined.
Step 3: Now let’s get dredging! Dip okra in the dry ingredients making sure to coat well.
Step 4: Then add them into the eggs then finally back into the okra breading.
Rest and Fry Okra
Step 5: Once finished dredging all of your okra, let it set for about 15-20 minutes. This will help that coating stick.
Step 6: Add your oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the okra until golden brown on both sides and drain on paper towels. This is best served up warm.
Fried Okra Recipe
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Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh okra cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne go up if you enjoy the spice
- Neutral Oil for frying
Instructions
- Season okra with salt and pepper.
- Add eggs to a separate small bowl and whisk until combined.
- Combine flour, cornmeal, seasoned bread crumbs, paprika and cayenne into another small bowl and whisk together.
- Begin by dipping okra into dry coating mixture.
- Next add okra to eggs coating on all sides.
- Lastly dip back into the coating and set aside okra on baking sheet.
- Repeat dredging process until all okra is ready. Let them all set for about 15-20 minutes until they are completely set up so the batter stays on.
- Heat oil going up about an 1 inch in a frying pan over medium high heat. You should be looking for a temperature of around 350 F.
- Fry okra until golden brown and drain on paper towels.
- Serve warm.
Video
Notes
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- Refrigerate: Make sure you cool down your breaded okra to room temperature before you store it up. Add in a single layer to an airtight container lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil. It will last about 3 days.
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- Freeze: The best way to freeze these up is to flash freeze them. Spread the leftovers on a baking sheet and freeze for an hour until solid them drop the individual pieces in a freezer safe bag or container removing as much air as possible. They won’t stick this way, and they should keep for about 6 months.
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- Reheat: If you have an air fryer, that’s the way to go boos! It will crisp these babies back up perfectly. Heat at 350 until crispy and hot (about 4-5 minutes. You can also do this with an oven but crank the heat up to about 375 or 400 and bake for 10-15 turning halfway. I don’t recommend using a microwave.
Recipe Tips
- Okra Size: When cutting your okra, make sure you don’t cut the pieces too small. That will make the texture and taste more slimy in the end.
- Frying Temperature: Make sure your oil is at around 350 F before you start frying. If not, the okra will just get soggy because the oil isn’t hot enough to crisp it up.
- Overcrowding: Make sure you take your time and fry it all up in batches so it fries up crisp and doesn’t steam instead.
- Want more crunch?: Double dredge meaning you just repeat the dredging process of adding into the eggs and back into the flour again.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Okra Size: When cutting your okra, make sure you don’t cut the pieces too small. That will make the texture and taste more slimy in the end.
- Frying Temperature: Make sure your oil is at around 350 F before you start frying. If not, the okra will just get soggy because the oil isn’t hot enough to crisp it up.
- Overcrowding: Make sure you take your time and fry it all up in batches so it fries up crisp and doesn’t steam instead.
- Want more crunch?: Double dredge meaning you just repeat the dredging process of adding into the eggs and back into the flour again.
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Recipe Help
If you are grabbing fresh okra, make sure you pick firm okra that isn’t too large. The smaller pods are more tender and taste better texture wise after cooking.
Yep you can boo! Just make sure it is thawed. Then use paper towels to completely dry the pods so the breading adheres to it well. You want to make sure it isn’t too watery and that it maintains its great texture.
There could be a few reasons why your okra is giving off a slimy texture. Don’t chop them too small or it can definitely increase the slime factor. When picking them, make sure they are mostly green and avoid any with black specks.
You can definitely bread the okra ahead of time and store in the fridge before frying. This can cut down your prep time.
Serving Suggestions
- Dips: Serve along with remoulade for a kick or a classic tartar.
- Other Fried Veggies: Drop these on the Sunday supper table alongside some fried zucchini, fried pickles, fried green tomatoes, onion rings, and buffalo fried cauliflower.
- Go Southern: Nothing says Southern eatin like fried okra. Go all out and serve up some fried corn, hush puppies , fried catfish, fried shrimp and fried chicken.
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These are so good, y’all. I swapped the bread crumbs for seasoned panko — just happened to be what I had in the pantry — but otherwise followed the directions as written. They turned out beautifully! Crispy on the outside, pillowy on the inside, and no slime (if you’ve ever worked with okra, you know how the texture can be). Would make this recipe again in a heartbeat.
Wow thank you so much!
I fried it without corn meal because I didn’t have it. Still very delicious and so easy to make. Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m definitely going to try this recipe. Here in Greece we cook small sized okra in a tomato sauce with garlic, onions and vinegar!. The vinegar is used to make the okra less slimy. It is a dish similar to other Mediterranean countries.
I have been wanting to try okra for a while and didn’t know what to do with it. I am definitely giving this a try.
One of the best okra recipes I’ve tried! The texture of the okra and the crispy coating was just perfect! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
OMG! These are so good. It’s my first time frying okra and it won’t be the last time.