Healthy Okra Recipes

In this dish, the okra is steamed, not boiled, and has none of the gummy properties for which it is known. You can use fresh or frozen okra. If you're using frozen okra, partially thaw it before slicing and add it directly to the boiled rice in the colander before steaming. There is no need to brown it.

Leftovers make this chicken gumbo an absolute breeze. The only prep you'll need to do is to dice a bell pepper and slice some okra if you're using fresh. That's it! If you don't have leftover chicken and sauce from Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken, you can use 2 cups shredded cooked chicken and 2 cups canned diced tomatoes instead of the leftover sauce.

In Kerala in southern India, this classic stew is eaten at just about every meal. It's typically enjoyed for breakfast with idli (steamed rice cakes) or dosa (rice crêpes). For lunch and dinner, it's eaten with steamed rice and fish curry or braised beef dishes. Sambar powder is a mixture that includes coriander, fenugreek, cumin, black peppercorns, red chiles and asafetida. Find it at Indian markets or online.

Buttermilk, hot sauce and Cajun seasoning coat these cornmeal-fried shrimp for a tangy, spicy flavor.

The classic Bloody Mary is an easy, go-to brunch cocktail meant to jolt you back into reality with spice and booze after a late night out. "Hair of the dog" is a tried-and-true treatment for those droopy-eyed mornings, but spike your Bloody Mary with a lively jumble of these cider vinegar pickles for a real cure-all that will open those eyes. Green cherry tomatoes are especially fun in this mix because they end up looking like green olives.

Okra retains a delightful tender-crisp texture when cooked in a packet. Here, it teams up with shrimp, tomatoes and Cajun seasoning for a satisfying meal with a taste of New Orleans. Serve with grilled whole-grain bread or polenta.

This simple stew highlights two summer stars—tomatoes and okra—in a simple stew. Okra (known as gombo in much of West Africa) does especially well in a hot growing season. In this dish, it appears as both vegetable and thickener, as is typical of many of the continent's okra dishes. Serve it over brown rice.

These awesome habanero-spiced pickled okra are the perfect crunchy treat to turn anyone on to the beauty of this underappreciated vegetable.

You may not think to combine olives and okra, let alone throw olives in your pickle jar. But trust: get your hands on the nicest okra possible and tuck it in a jar with briny olives, summer basil and a mean pickling liquid—you'll see what the fuss is about with this quick preserve. Speaking of pickling liquid, this recipe calls for rice vinegar, which has less than 5% acidity—the minimum for safe canning—so this pickled okra is for the refrigerator only. Chop and scatter pickled okra over roast chicken, toss into salads, spoon onto cheese plates or eat 'em straight from the jar.

This salad marries the flavors of cooked and raw ingredients, celebrating the wide array of produce that is grown and harvested at OtraCosa, a small communal farm in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and on neighboring farms. Read more about OtraCosa.

Simmered in a tomato sauce fragrant with garlic and cilantro and finished with pomegranate molasses, this okra recipe might be just the dish that turns okra haters into lovers.

In the South, scoring fresh-picked okra at the farmers' market is as exciting as discovering the ripest heirloom tomato. In this healthy tomato salad recipe, addictive roasted okra fries add crunch to balance the creamy dressing and soft tomatoes.

This updated version of a traditional Southern dish recipe includes lima beans and is seasoned with lively crushed red pepper.

A taste of summer, Louisiana-style. Serve this zesty sauté with grilled chicken or fish. When fresh corn is not in season, substitute frozen.

This easy salad, which is inspired by similar salads served in Brazil, bursts with acidity and flavor thanks to the slightly spicy vinaigrette. Blanching the okra helps retain its crunch and color. Read more about Jessica B. Harris' experience with Salada de Quiabo here.

This pickled okra is crunchy, with just a hint of heat from Fresno chiles. The tender-crisp okra pods have a nice balance of sweet and sour thanks to cider vinegar and just a touch of sugar. Keep a jar on hand for snacks, enjoy as a side or slice them up to top a salad

Enjoy the flavors of Louisiana Cajun cooking with this lightened-up version of the famous shrimp and rice dish.

Comfort food with a Southern accent, this dish was inspired by our friend, Jimmo, who ate it growing up in South Carolina. Serve over brown rice or Quick Cheese Grits.

The fire of the grill creates a tender texture while infusing the okra with subtle heat in this easy okra recipe. You can adjust the level of spiciness in this side dish by choosing chiles that are either tame, incendiary or anywhere in between.

Ronnishia Johnson and Rheema Calloway, owners of The Vegan Hood Chefs in San Francisco, created this vegan succotash dish, inspired by the food they were raised on, cooked by grandmothers who hail from Louisiana. They put their spin on it by omitting the bacon, packing it with veggies and adding coconut milk for body.

For this revamped, lower-fat Creole gumbo recipe, the flour is browned in a Dutch oven without butter or oil. To keep the fat further in check, we opt for smoked turkey sausage.

Colorful red bell pepper and thinly sliced okra add an exciting element in this cast-iron skillet cornbread recipe. Serve the cornbread in wedges alongside chili, baked beans or barbecued chicken or pork.

Lean chicken breast and a small amount of spicy andouille sausage along with okra and plenty of other vegetables are at the heart of this version of gumbo. With significantly less fat and sodium plus loads of vegetables, you can feel good about eating this Cajun gumbo any day of the year.