Prepare a flavorful and healthy side dish to eat with the family using this easy-to-follow Grilled Okra recipe. Grilling okra gives it an amazing flavor, while preventing it from getting that sliminess okra can tend to get! We promise you will love it!
Grilled Okra
Okra doesn’t get all the love it deserves, but I promise it will be showing up on your dinner table a lot more once you try grilling it! When you grill okra, it gets these amazing super crispy and blackened edges, making it irresistible.
If you have had okra before, you may not have liked it if it was stewed or served in something like a gumbo, as okra tends to get a little….slimy. However, the hot heat from the grill keeps the okra from becoming slimy and gives the okra an amazing charred flavor. Everyone who says they don’t like okra, tries our grilled okra, and changes their mind!
If you’re tired of always eating the same vegetable sides, such as corn on the cob or broccoli, you really should give grilled okra a whirl. It’s absolutely delicious, but it’s also healthy, gluten-free, vegan and low carb! It fits just about every diet!
Grilled Okra Ingredients
The blend of seasonings added to the vegetable gives it even more flavor, making this side dish irresistibly good. You can also customize the dish to your liking by adding different ingredients to the okra.
- Whole Okra. Be sure to get a pound of fresh, whole okra for this recipe.
- Onion. You’ll need a medium-sized onion sliced into quartered pieces.
- Olive Oil. Add two to three tablespoons of oil to your okra. If you don’t have olive oil, you can use avocado oil as a substitute for it.
- Steak Seasoning. Give your veggies even more flavor by sprinkling steak seasoning on them.
- Cajun Seasoning. The cajun seasoning enhances the taste, leaving you with an incredibly flavorful side dish. We love our easy homemade cajun seasoning, but store bought work too!
You can also use hot sauce when preparing the Grilled Okra Recipe. However, it’s optional and will depend primarily on the level of heat you’d like to achieve. If you like your food spicy, add as much or as little hot sauce as you’d like to the okra for additional flavor.
How to Make Grilled Okra Recipe
Follow this simple and easy recipe to make flavorful grilled okra with ease. Whether you’ve tried it before or have yet to try it, you’re going to love the way this Grilled Okra tastes!
Heat: Heat grill to 400°F.
Thread: Thread okra onto skewers, leaving a little space between each one. At the end of each skewer, add a quarter of the onion.
*Tip: If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before grilling. This will prevent them from catching fire on the grill. I submerge them in water and press them down with a pan to keep them submerged in the water.
Brush: Brush okra and onion generously with olive oil. Season okra and onion on each side with steak seasoning and cajun seasoning.
Quickly: Quickly brush grill grates with olive oil or spray with non-stick spray. Place okra skewers on pre-heated grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, on each side, until lightly charred.
Serve: Serve immediately with hot sauce or some chilled Cilantro Lime Crema, if desired!
Variations to Try
- Spicy Grilled Okra. If you like the heat, take it up a notch with your favorite bottled hot sauce. You can add the sauce to your olive oil mixture and then brush the mixture on the okra before placing it on the grill. It will give this veggie the heat that you desire with ease.
- Parmesan Grilled Okra. If you’re a cheese lover, skip the hot sauce and consider sprinkling some parmesan cheese on the veggie, along with the steak seasoning and cajun seasoning. It contributes to the flavor of the dish without taking away from the other seasonings used.
- Okra with Tomatoes. Add cubed pieces of tomatoes to your skewers with the okra to create an even healthier side dish. Some people love the way tomatoes taste with okra, which is why this is a variation worth considering.
- Chipotle Dipping Sauce. You can make an incredible chipotle dipping sauce to serve on the side with your okra. It goes great with the veggie and is easy to prepare using simple ingredients, such as Greek yogurt, chipotle sauce, garlic, mayo, and more.
- Cilantro Lime Crema. Another great dipping sauce that is super quick and easy to make. This Cilantro Lime Crema pairs great with the hot and blistered okra. You won’t regret having this sauce prepared and ready to use when serving your Grilled Okra to the family!
Tips for Success
- Steak Seasoning. When looking for the perfect steak seasoning to use, McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning is an excellent choice. If you don’t have any steak seasoning available to use when trying this recipe, replace it with garlic salt or seasoned salt, both of which will add flavor to the okra. You may also want to add a bit of pepper in the mix with the garlic.
- Cajun Seasoning. When looking for the perfect cajun seasoning, we suggest Slap Ya Mama. It’s so good and adds the perfect level of flavor, to the okra, to make it taste even better than you’d expect. We also find it to not be too salty like some other common cajun seasonings.
- Grilling Hot Spots. Check for any signs of hot spots on the grill where some of your okra is cooking too quickly (blackening quicker than the other okra). Consider moving the skewers to a different section of the grill to avoid overcooking the okra.
- Wooden Skewers. If you’re going to use wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water before you place them on the grill. If you don’t soak them in water, there is a risk of the wooden skewers igniting, and that last thing you want to deal with is a fire on your grill when trying to prepare the Grilled Okra Recipe.
- Spicy. Sriracha is an excellent spicy sauce to add to your okra if you’re looking for a way to incorporate more heat. You can add it before or after cooking!
Serving Suggestions
When you follow this Grilled Okra Recipe, you’ll have enough to serve a minimum of four people and a maximum of six. Because the pound of okra goes a long way, this is the perfect side to prepare when making a meal for the family.
It goes great with just about everything! You can serve it as an appetizer before the main course or offer it on the side with the other foods you’ve prepared.
Grilled Okra is an excellent dish to prepare because it’s super flavorful, wholesome, and good for you. Best of all, you can prepare this recipe in 15 minutes or less!
Grilled Okra
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh whole okra
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, or avocado oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons steak seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons cajun seasoning
- hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- Heat grill to 400°F.
- Thread okra onto skewers, leaving a little space between each one. At the end of each skewer, add a quarter of the onion.
- Brush okra and onion generously with olive oil. Season okra and onion on each side with steak seasoning and cajun seasoning.
- Quickly brush grill grates with olive oil or spray with non-stick spray. Place okra skewers on pre-heated grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, on each side, until lightly charred.
- Serve immediately with hot sauce or cilantro lime crema for dipping, if desired!
Nutrition
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Wonderful this way! Great, healthy recipe for a super misunderstood veggie. My only improvement is to double skewer them so the don’t spin while turning.
Great idea!