Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

This Southern-style Stewed Okra and Tomatoes is a classic comfort food side dish made with tender okra, juicy tomatoes, and simple seasonings. It’s an old-fashioned favorite that brings a taste of homemade Southern goodness to any meal.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword stewed-okra-and-tomatoes, stewed-okra-recipe, stewed-okra-with-tomatoes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 95kcal

Ingredients

4-5 cups sliced fresh okra (1/2 inch thick) OR frozen okra
4 slices bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium sweet onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes with basil
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 4 oz can diced green chiles (mild or hot)
2 medium bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper OR crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme OR oregano
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Instructions

Slice okra and set aside.
In a large 12 inch skillet cook bacon until crisp over medium-high heat. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, reserve bacon grease drippings in skillet.
To the drippings add onion. Sauté over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or just until softened and beginning to brown. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute longer.
To the onions add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, vinegar, green chiles, bay leaves, seasoned salt, black pepper (or pepper flakes) and thyme. (or oregano.) Mix well, then bring to a gentle boil. Immediately lower the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes add chicken stock and okra. Cover with lid slightly offset, and cook over medium-high for an additional 15 minutes or until the okra is tender, stirring occasionally.
Serve immediately topped with cooked bacon.

Notes

Adjust the Sauce: At the end of cooking, you can thin the tomato sauce further using additional chicken stock. Likewise, you can thicken the tomato sauce using tomato paste. Add 1 tablespoon at a time and stir until melted. Repeat, until your desired consistency is reached.
Okra: Fresh or frozen okra can be used in this recipe. When using frozen okra, there's no need to thaw it prior to cooking.
Tomato Substitutions: You can use another kind of canned tomatoes in this okra recipe such as Rotel tomatoes or chili seasoned tomatoes for more spice.
Green Chiles: You could also replace green chiles with diced jalapeno pepper.
Oil: If you prefer not to cook with bacon fat, you can use olive oil or vegetable oil.
Vegetables: You can add corn and celery to this recipe to make it more like succotash.
Peppers: You could saute bell pepper with the onion. Use red, green or yellow bell pepper.
Protein: You can also add chorizo sausage or large shrimp to the okra mix.
Spices: You can add cajun or creole seasoning to this recipe and cayenne pepper for extra spice. When doing so, consider the amount of sodium in the brand of cajun seasoning used and adjust the seasoned salt amount to accommodate. There's paprika in the seasoned salt so there's no need to add more.

Nutrition