“I only like okra if it’s fried.” A statement I know well, mainly because it happens to have been uttered from the lips of this really good-looking guy I’m married to.
It was uttered at the farmer’s market, every time we opened the fridge door and saw the bag of okra, and during the process of cooking these little cuties.
“I only like okra if it’s fried” then turned into something like, “Mmmmfphchompslurpmmmmmm.” (in case you couldn’t tell that was joyful eating of the okra. I may need to work on my onomatopoeia…)
But really, who DOESN’T love fried okra? I mean, it’s delicious, salty, crunchy and it’s FRIED. But if you’re trying to be healthier (or maybe you just don’t want to clean up the post-fry mess) then you guys need to trust me that THIS is the way to go. You get the salty, some of the crunch (needs to be eaten HOT HOT HOT for that though) and all of the flavor with almost zero effort. That sounds like winning to me!
This deliciousness has been consumed in our house no less than 4 times as of late, and I don’t see it stopping until the state of Arkansas runs out of okra. So there’s that. And then there’s the fact that some things just need to be tried and proven winners!
Y’all enjoy – enjoy your weekend, your family and friends, and a good hearty portion of this oven-roasted okra!
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh okra pods, washed and trimmed of the very top and very bottom
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- In a bowl toss together the trimmed okra and olive oil.
- Place the okra on a baking sheet and sprinkle evenly with the salt, pepper and paprika.
- Roast at 425 for 15-20 minutes, shaking the pan every 5 minutes, until the okra develops some caramelization.
- Serve hot.
I make this dish ALL the time now, Heather, ever since I saw it on your blog and okra season came upon us this summer. It’s fantastic and so simple. Thank you!
I cannot WAIT to try this! Sound delicious!
We love okra at home and this is definitely something I would love to try! The paprika sounds like a wonderful ingredient to flavor the okra and I bet it is delicious.
Thanks Nik! It really is yummy…I hope you try it and love it!
I love okra. In the summer I grill it a lot but this looks just as good! Will try it soon.
OH grilled okra?! I’ve never even thought of that…how do you do it?
I recently posted a recipe (if you can call it that…it’s so simple) using soy and za’atar but you could use anything. Even this recipe with paprika and just put it on the grill whole and let it get as charred as you like. It’s so good but it really is best eaten right away. It tastes great room temp but it starts to wilt and doesn’t look pretty at all. Hope you like it! It’s nice to find a fellow okra lover. There aren’t many of us!
YUM! That sounds delicious…I’ll have to try it before grilling season is over!
I too like fried okra, and had wondered how to recreate that great texture without all the oil. Thanks for this! The black pepper and paprika sound like the perfect seasonings.
Thank you so much Alanna! It’s certainly not the same texture as a good fried version, but crispiness from the oven works great for me! I hope you love it!
I love oven roasted okra! When I was living in Memphis and eating a lot of okra – I almost always made it this way. 🙂
Holy yum, that looks good! I’ve never tried okra (shameful, I know…I’m Southern, my dad’s side of the family’s Southern), but this is going on the menu!
I’ve not seen fresh okra at any farmers markets, or the super market. Can I use frozen?
Hmmm…I’m going to be honest, I’m not sure if it would mess with the texture or not. I’m sure the flavor would be great though!
I definitely do not think about okra enough! Keeping an eye out for it at the market tomorrow.
Me too, girl, me too 😉
I haven’t seen okra at our farmers market yet, but when I do, I think I’ll give this a try. I’m from Pennsylvania, and okra isn’t a prevalent dish around here, but I’d love to learn how to cook it!
It’s SO GOOD! I hope you see some soon…this is definitely a seasonal dish!