Southern-Style Fried Okra Recipe
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A staple side dish in the South, this fried okra recipe is simple, quick, and oh-so-delicious.
Back when I first started Southern Plate, I had an email from a reader asking if I could share a fried okra recipe. Well, y’all know I’ll eventually get to everything and here it is!
Southern fried okra is a truly delicious side dish. It seems no matter the time of year, no matter if you use frozen or fresh okra, it always adds that “fresh from the garden” taste to any meal. However, I’m definitely on the team of making fried okra from frozen, as it makes this recipe even easier (if that was possible).
Around these parts, you can find okra pre-breaded in the freezer section and some places even sell cups of it hot alongside chicken nuggets and such at lunch. Although I have no complaint if I am getting okra (no matter how it is prepared), my all-time favorite form of okra is prepared at home with this recipe. With a nickname like Southern popcorn, you won’t be able to stop after popping one piece in your mouth! Yep, fried okra’s crunchy and crispy exterior is totally addictive – ask anyone!
Recipe Ingredients
- Eggs
- Cornmeal (self-rising or plain, either is fine)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Fresh or frozen okra (I am using frozen okra). If using fresh okra, go ahead and slice it up into bite-sized pieces and well.
- Vegetable oil
How to Make Fried Okra From Frozen
Add eggs to a medium-sized bowl.
Add buttermilk to the eggs.
Mix them up real good.
Combine dry ingredients (salt, pepper, cornmeal) in another medium-sized bowl and mix that up.
Coat the frozen okra pieces with the egg/buttermilk combo.
Then transfer to the cornmeal mixture and coat until covered.
Place about 1/4 cup oil in a cast iron skillet and heat over medium heat for three to five minutes.
Add the vegetable oil to the pan and heat up until you add a piece of okra and get some sizzlin’. Then you know it’s hot enough to add the coated okra slices.
With a slotted spoon add the okra.
Keep the skillet on medium heat (if in a hurry, you can cook this on medium-high heat, just watch it a bit closer).
and stir the pieces occasionally (every two or three minutes) for about twenty or twenty-five minutes or so, until crispy and browned.
Remove pan fried okra with a slotted spoon and place them into a serving bowl.
DEVOUR with some Comeback Dipping Sauce (this is the good stuff!). I also recommend dipping the crispy in .
What’s the Best Way To Store Your Fried Okra?
- Once cooled completely, you can store your fried okra in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or freezer for up to six months. When it’s time, either reheat them on a baking sheet in the oven (turning to ensure both sides get crunchy) or by pan-frying them again in a small amount of oil. Alternatively, use your air fryer to reheat your fried okra.
Recipe Notes
- When making fried okra from frozen, make sure you thaw your frozen okra completely before frying. Once thawed, drain and pat the pieces completely dry with a paper towel before tossing them in the coating and frying.
- For a spicier fried okra recipe, I recommend adding a quarter or a half-teaspoon of cayenne pepper or cajun seasoning to the cornmeal.
Recipe FAQs
What is okra?
For anyone that isn’t from the South and used to making fried okra you may be wondering what the heck it is. Some people are surprised to hear it’s technically a fruit not a vegetable, like our friend the avocado. Okra is the fruit of the Abelmoschus esculentus plant, which is a member of the Mallow family. Now, isn’t that a mouthful! Native to West Africa, it was introduced to America over 300 years ago. If you are interested in ready more about Okra, here is an overview.
What do you serve with fried okra?
Fried okra is a great vegetarian side dish to serve with other Southern main meals, like fried catfish, pulled pork, fried chicken, and velvet pork chops. Otherwise, you can serve it as a main meal alongside other popular Southern side dishes, including fresh fried corn, mac and cheese, and cornbread.
How do you make fried okra not slimy?
There are three things to do to ensure your fried okra isn’t slimy. First, the thinner the slice, the slimier the okra, so make sure you chop your fresh okra into big pieces. Second, cooking over high heat should stop it from being too slimy too. Third, make sure your okra is completely dry before coating.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup cornmeal self-rising or plain
- 4 cups okra fresh or frozen, sliced
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Thaw okra. Combine eggs and buttermilk in one bowl, and combine the salt, pepper, and cornmeal in a separate bowl.2 eggs, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 4 cups okra, 1 cup cornmeal
- Coat okra with egg/buttermilk mixture and then transfer to dry mixture and coat.
- Heat approximately 1/4 cup of oil in a skillet until hot. Dip okra from the bowl into the oil with a slotted spoon. (Leave the extra cornmeal in the bowl and throw away).1/4 cup vegetable oil
- Stir occasionally and cook until okra is brown and crisp. Take out of oil with the slotted spoon.
Nutrition
You may also enjoy these Southern recipes:
Southern Biscuits Recipe A Classic With Only 3 Ingredients
Southern Cubed Steak and Milk Gravy
Hoe Cake Recipe Southern Style From Mama
SUCH a classic, right? BUT you’ve gotta have some really good hot sauce too. Can’t forget the hot sauce.
I love fried okra and (so far) only have it when I head back to Georgia. Funny, they don’t seem to serve fried okra in California… 🙂 But now, thanks to you, I can make this Southern classic myself!
Lol, for some reason (I honestly don’t know why), thoughts of fried okra in California made me laugh. I just can’t imagine it there but maybe we need to implant some southerners and start a silent movement of bringing southern dishes to Californians. Once a week, people would step outside and walk to neighbors houses with covered dishes of okra, cornbread, dumplings, and casseroles.
Reckon they’d think we were trying to poison them?
🙂
Well, they might 🙂 I do get odd looks sometimes when I get dreamy-eyed talking about biscuits and gravy or fried shrimp (I’m from Savannah so nothing says home like good fried shrimp).
I’ve got my covered dish ready 😉
This looks really easy! I have never had fried okra but adore it on the BBQ. I need to try your technique!
Now, I need to try YOUR technique!!! I’ve never heard of that!
Theres just no wrong way to eat okra! lol
I adore fried okra too! I never make it because I hate frying things at home. It gets so messy. But I love to get it at Wally World or good southern restaurants.
Christy, I love your blog so much. I live in the Panhandle of Florida (also known as LA – Lower Alabama) and your recipes are good home cookin’ to me! I love how you tell stories along with the recipes.
We have a locally owned Tastee Freeze here with the best hamburgers, fries, and onion rings on the earth. But the best things they sell are the fried green tomatoes and fried pickles! Oh man, that’s good eatin’. Do you like fried pickles? We’re a military town and when we get to know folks who are stationed here, we introduce them to sweet tea, fried pickles and boiled peanuts. There’s about a 50/50 mixture of revulsion and delight. Fun!
Becky,
oooooh, have you ever been to Landry’s in Gulf Shores? They come around to your table with vegetables while you eat. One of the things they serve is an okra/tomato dish that is just phenomenal!
Thank you so much!! I love hearing that , it just keeps me so motivated and excited about Southern Plate!
I am going to have to get myself to that Tastee Freeze soon! In Rogersville (where my mother lives), they have the Tiger Hut and they make awesome burgers and cherry shakes!
I do like fried pickles and my mother LOVES them! Sounds like you’re doing your part to convert the masses! Now we just gotta feed ’em Nanna Pudding and world peace is right around the corner!!!
Christy, do you mean the Lambert’s in Foley? I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s impossible to eat light there! You will come out full to the gills! Their regular meals are ample and then they come around with those “pass around” side items and fresh baked rolls that are hard to resist!
Hey Becky…my Mama is from LA. She lived her first few years of life in Andalusia and Montgomery AL, grew up in Niceville and now lives in Milton. My Daddy is from NC and worked for the gov’t so they ended up in MD…where I’m from. When I was a kid I didn’t even know that MD had a beach…when it was summer vacation, we drove to Ft. Walton Beach from MD. There isn’t anything as nice as being on the Gulf…except maybe hanging out for a week or two in the Caribbean.
It’s recipes like these that make us miss living in the South. Where’s good ‘ol grandma when you need her to whip up some fried okra goodies when you need ’em?
Aww, now that made ME homesick! You know, with the exception of about three months in Georgia, I’ve never lived more than an hour from where I was born.
I actually happen to have a few grandmothers around here, want me to send ya one?
🙂
I LOVE fried okra and just don’t like the ready-made kind in the frozen section at the grocery store. I can’t wait to make this at home. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hey JayhawkGirl!!
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment (I love me comments!).
Let me know how it turns out!! What time is dinner? 🙂
I agree. I love just about any fried okra. But buying with a meal or frozen in the store does not do it justice. Needs to be made at home, like Christy does. And have to use cornmeal only, no fry mixes or flour. For some reason the burnt okra is very good.
I love fried okra – and believe it or not so do my kids (even my two year old) but I’ve never made it from scratch. I usually just buy frozen. I didn’t even like it myself until I was a teen. My mama just about fell over when I told her I liked fried okra because she’d been begging me to “just try it” for years and I had refused but tried it and liked it at school of all places! LOL
I’ve also never had a fresh fig (and strangely have been wanting to for the last several months) – I only see dried at the stores and wonder why I never see them in the produce section. Guess I’m just going to have to grow my own.
You know, all of mine like okra too! I guess they are able to get over the fact that its green because it tastes so good!!
Oh, I’ve never had a dried fig! I’ve had fig newtons, guess its about the same. Fresh figs are AMAZING though. They aren’t available all of the time and do tend to be a little pricey but the taste is unlike anything else.
I’ve never attempted to grow them because I’ve always heard figs were really finicky. Then again, I’ve also heard if you put it in just the right spot, your fig tree will take off like wild fire!!!
I really really really hope you get to try one soon!
I live in Louisiana and fig trees are fairly common. Have never seen them for sale. My experience is that if you love figs or want to make fig preserves, you likely do not have any fig trees. Luckily, it seems the people with fig trees have no use for them. Thus a lot of giving away of figs. : ) : )