Southern Fried Okra recipe – a southern staple with only 3 ingredients! Okra, buttermilk and self-rising cornmeal. This is my all-time FAVORITE vegetable! Fry up in under 5 minutes! Serve as a side dish or as an appetizer with ranch dipping sauce. If you aren’t a fan of okra, this is the recipe that will turn you into a fan!
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Fried okra is a southern staple. It is one of my all-time favorite foods. It is the only green vegetable that I get excited about eating. I can eat a ton of it. I prefer to make it at home as opposed to eating it out. Most restaurants just fry frozen okra. It has the stems and tips in it, and I hate it when I accidentally eat those pieces. Yuck! Fried okra is SO much better with fresh okra! Fried okra is super simple to make. Most of the time I just slice it and toss it in cornmeal. This time I decided to soak the okra in buttermilk and then toss it in cornmeal. It was like little cornbread nuggets with yummy okra inside. It was absolutely delicious! If you aren’t a fan of okra, this is the recipe that will turn you into a fan!
How to Make Southern Fried Okra
To make the okra, rinse the pods and slice them into 1/2-inch pieces. Discard stems and tips. Place raw okra slices in a large bowl and pour buttermilk over it; cover and chill for 30 minutes. Remove okra from the buttermilk and shake off excess buttermilk. Place okra in a separate bowl and toss in corn meal. Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a Dutch oven or large cast iron skillet. Heat oil to 375ºF. Fry breaded okra slices in small batches in the hot oil until it is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove okra from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- I like to buy smaller pods of okra and slice them fairly thin.
- Use a deep-fry thermometer to check the temperature of the oil.
- Can fry the whole pods if you prefer. I’ve eaten it this way in restaurants as an appetizer with a ranch dipping sauce. It is delicious.
- You can use regular or self-rising cornmeal.
- Add a little bit of cayenne pepper or cajun seasoning to the cornmeal mixture or some hot sauce to the buttermilk to give the okra a little kick.
- To make homemade buttermilk, combine 1 cup milk with 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or until it starts to curdle and thicken.
- If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use a cast-iron skillet or any other deep skillet.
What to Serve with Crispy Fried Okra
This is my favorite way to make and eat okra. The crispy coating makes the dish! We both absolutely LOVE it! This is the perfect side dish for all of your favorite chicken, pork chops, and beef recipes. Heck, I like to eat it like popcorn. This is equally delicious plain or dipped in some ranch dressing. Give this a try. This recipe is sure to turn you into a fried okra fan!
Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this crispy fried okra recipe:
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Southern Fried Okra
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb okra
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups self-rising cornmeal
- oil
Instructions:
- Rinse okra and slice. Discard stems and tips. Pour buttermilk over sliced okra; cover and chill 30 minutes.
- Remove okra from buttermilk. Dredge okra in cornmeal.
- Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a Dutch oven or large skillet. Heat oil to 375ºF. Fry okra in batches until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
Notes:
- I like to buy small okra pods and slice them fairly thin. This is just my personal preference.
- You can use regular or self-rising cornmeal.
- To make homemade buttermilk, combine 1 cup milk with 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or until it starts to curdle and thicken.
- If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use a cast-iron skillet or any other deep skillet.
Steph
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I grew up with the cornmeal and okra recipe and always loved it. I tried the buttermilk first then cornmeal. Delish! It feels a bit more sinful and special and has become my hubby’s favorite way to eat it.
I was born in Texas & also lived in Okla, Tennessee, Mississippi & Louisiana. I’ve been in Ohio for yrs but fried okra is my absolute favorite vegetable too. Lots of people up here have never even heard of it, but Kroger sells it. I love it the way everyone is talking about, but my absolute favorite way is the way my mom fixed it fried with cut up tomatoes and onions. Then of course she put cornmeal on it and fried it in a pan. I usually add a little flour to that too, to help it stick together. But a problem has always been that the coating won’t stay on it (probably because of the liquid in the tomatoes) but it is absolutely to die for. I’m going to try soaking it in buttermilk first to see if that will help. But I found another solution! I put an egg in it and make okra patties. It stays together that way. Actually I think I’ll put my mom’s recipe on my blog. Has anyone else ever had it with tomatoes and onion?
When we had a garden, sometimes I would fry okra, squash together when there wasn't enough of one vegetable. I've even thrown in a chunked green tomato and potato.
same way I fry mine..only I cant get the fresh okra fear round, so as you can guess–have to use frozen(only after I pick out the ends and tips)but fresh is always better–always make extra large batch–the wife also likes it cold.