My Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Okra Bites are an easy and healthy recipe made with only 7 clean, real food ingredients and made without corn. They're the perfect plant-based snack, appetizer, or side dish that's ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes!
Real Vegan Method™ Recipe
This recipe is part of the Real Vegan Method™...a simple step-by-step way to move beyond processed vegan foods and become a confident Real Food Vegan.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
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!
Karielyn
Jump to RecipeYou can feel good about making my healthy plant-based recipe because it's gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, corn-free, soy-free, lectin-free, paleo-friendly, and can be Medical Medium® Compliant (with substitutions).
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the clean, real food ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to buy organic if possible.
- Okra
- Almond Flour
- Nutritional Yeast
- Avocado Oil
- Ground Cayenne Pepper
- Ground Garlic Powder
- Himalayan Pink Salt
That's it! My Oven-Baked Okra Bites are super easy to make!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you've never cooked okra before, it can sometimes yield a "slimy" texture which isn't very appealing.
There are several things you can do to reduce the "slimy" texture in your okra:
1. Make sure you use fresh, green and firm okra.
2. Cooking okra at a high temperature (such as at 425 degrees in this recipe)
3. Don't undercook the okra which can lead to a "slimy" texture.
Use the "snap" technique!
Instead of cutting off the tips of the okra, snap them off with your thumbs.
If It Snaps Easily: your okra is fresh.
If It Bends of Is Difficult to Snap: your okra may not be fresh and will be tough.
Yes! The standard spices that I use in my gluten-free breadcrumb mixture are nutritional yeast (to give a "cheesy" flavor), ground cayenne powder (for a little spicy flavor), ground garlic powder and Himalayan pink salt.
However, feel free to use your favorite spices or spice blends to give it the flavor you are craving!
Here are some ideas:
1. Smoked Paprika
2. Ground Cumin
3. Cajun Spice Blend
4. Fennel
The possibilities are endless so use your favorite combination!
Yes! I love making healthier "oven-baked" veggie recipes using my Gluten-Free Vegan Breadcrumbs recipe and here are some of my favorites?
1. Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Avocado Fries
2. Healthy Oven-Baked Green Tomatoes
3. Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Zucchini Fries
4. Vegan Oven-Baked Zucchini Chips
5. Oven-Baked Onion Rings...in my CLEAN EATING Cookbook!
6. Oven-Baked Jalapeno Slices...coming soon!
In my opinion, yes!
My Gluten-Free 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.
In my healthier version, I used 100% gluten-free and vegan ingredients and baked them to get that crispy outer coating!
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.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
- Preparation: The avocado oil and breadcrumbs will be divided in this recipe. You will toss the okra with the avocado oil then with the breadcrumbs 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 breadcrumb 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 your favorite sea salt.
Struggling To Eat Vegan Without Relying on Processed Ingredients?
If you rely on packaged vegan food and ingredients or feel overwhelmed trying to eat healthier, this recipe shows how easy real food vegan meals can be...without sacrificing flavor or comfort.
The Method Behind All My Recipes
If you love clean, real food vegan recipes like this one, you'll love the method behind them.
The Real Vegan Method™ 14-Day Reset helps you:
- Move beyond processed vegan substitutes
- Cook with clean, real food ingredients
- Make plant-based eating simple + consistent
All my recipes - including this one- are based on the Real Vegan Method™.
Gluten-Free Vegan Oven-Baked Okra Bites
Ingredients
For the okra:
- 12 pods organic okra (destemmed + 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 instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
More Healthy Vegan Oven-Baked Recipes
- Oven-Baked "Fried" Artichokes
- Oven Baked "Fried" Pickles
- Oven-Baked Chipotle Jicama Fries with Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce
- or my Real Vegan Method™ 14-Day Reset with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
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