These Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Okra Bites are an easy and healthy recipe made with only 7 clean, real food ingredients. They're the perfect plant-based snack, appetizer, or side dish that's ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes!
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Oven-Baked Instead of Fried - This recipe is made healthier using my no-mess oven-baked method rather than traditional frying.
- Is Ready In Under 30 Minutes - Prep time is less than 10 minutes and the remaining time is waiting patiently for them to bake in the oven!
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients - Nutrient-dense and healthy ingredients such as okra, avocado oil, almond flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and Himalayan pink salt.
These Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Okra Bites are a fun little snack that is a healthy way to use summer okra other than in a stew.
Okra is a classic southern veggie, especially here in Louisiana. And if it's not added to gumbo, it's made into "fried okra", which is far from healthy.
Besides being fried in oil, here are some typical ingredients used to make fried okra, which is not vegan or gluten-free:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Fried Okra Typical Ingredients: White Flour, Buttermilk, Cornmeal, Eggs, Bacon Drippings, etc.
You can feel good about making my healthy plant-based recipe because it's vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, lectin-free, paleo-friendly, and Medical Medium compliant (with substitutions).
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Preparation: The avocado oil and bread crumbs will be divided in this recipe. You will toss the okra with the avocado oil then with the bread crumbs once with the first half of the ingredients, then a second time with the second half of the ingredients. The second coating helps the breading stay the okra.
Okra: Fresh okra works best in this recipe. In addition, cutting the okra into ¼-inch pieces (not too thick and not too thin) will give the best results.
Avocado Oil: I like to use avocado oil when baking in the oven at high heat, but you can substitute with organic extra-virgin olive oil.
*Nutritional Yeast: To make this recipe 100% Medical Medium® Compliant, omit the nutritional yeast and substitute with additional spices or use an organic chickpea bread crumb instead of the bread crumb mixture listed in the recipe.
Cayenne Pepper: I add this ingredient to give the breadcrumbs a little spicy flavor, but it can be omitted or substituted with ground smoked paprika if you don't like spicy.
Himalayan Pink Salt. This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately (12) sliced pods of okra. Nutritional information is for (3) sliced pods which is (1) serving.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Are There Other Similar Oven-Baked Veggies I Can Make?
Yes! Since getting on the gluten-free "oven-baked" wagon several years ago, I've created several different healthier veggie snacks using my Gluten-Free Vegan Bread Crumbs recipe like these:
- Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Avocado Fries
- Healthy Oven-Baked Green Tomatoes
- Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Zucchini Fries
- Vegan Oven-Baked Zucchini Chips
- Oven-Baked Onion Rings...in my CLEAN EATING Cookbook!
- Oven-Baked Jalapeno Slices...coming soon!
How Can I Make This Recipe Medical Medium® Compliant?
The recipe is not 100% Medical Medium® Compliant as is, due to the nutritional yeast.
However, you could omit the nutritional yeast and add extra spices to give it flavor.
Another option would be to use organic chickpea bread crumbs which are Medical Medium compliant. However, you would need to run them through a Vitamix or food processor to make the texture finer so they will stick to the okra better.
Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Okra Bites
Ingredients
For the okra:
- 12 pods organic okra (sliced)
- 2 tablespoons 100% pure avocado oil (divided)
For the bread crumbs:
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast*
- ¼ teaspoon organic ground garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon organic ground cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then set aside.
Prepare the bread crumbs:
- Add all ingredients for the bread crumbs to a small bowl and stir until well combined.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
Prepare the okra:
- Cut both ends off each piece of okra and discard. Slice the okra pods into ¼ inch slices.
- Transfer the okra slices to a medium-size mixing bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil and toss with the okra slices until it's evenly distributed.
- Add ½ of the bread crumb mixture to the bowl of okra slices and gently toss until it's evenly distributed and all pieces are covered.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of avocado oil onto the breaded okra and gently toss again, taking care to not shake off the existing bread crumb coating.
- Add the remaining ½ of the bread crumb mixture and gently toss again, taking care not to shake off the existing bread crumb coating.
- Gently transfer the coated okra sliced to the prepared cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
- Remove the baking pan from the oven, flip over each piece and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until they're golden brown.
- Best when served warm from the oven.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
Want More Healthy Gluten-Free Vegan Snack Recipes?
Check out these:
- Turmeric and Black Peppercorn Sesame Seed Crackers
- Vegan Cauliflower Potato Salad,
- Oven-Baked Chipotle Jicama Fries with Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce
- or my CLEAN EATING Cookbook with 75+ plant-based recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
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