Frozen okra in air fryer no breading recipe can be cooked in your Ninja Foodi or Cosori quickly as a healthy side dish. If you need a recipe taking this vegetable from the freezer to tender in minutes, this turns out perfect.
We wanted to know how to cook frozen okra perfectly so we experimented and figured out the perfect temp and timing. Now are here to share that with all of you so you can enjoy this Southern vegetable too. If you too are obsesssed with easy air fryer recipes, cooking frozen vegetables will rock your world too.
What is the best way to cook frozen okra?
I am telling you that all air fryer frozen vegetables come out way better than boiled or baked if you ask me. You avoid the mushy texture if you air fry them in a single layer to get a bit of crispy on the edges and keep the insides tender. Air frying is a game changer in this case!
We have followed the same basic steps from here to cook frozen cauliflower in air fryer, green beans, and the list goes on. There hasn’t been one piece of produce that hasn’t turned out better than other methods so we stick to using hot air from now on. Most of the time this is found in gumbo but cooked the right way it is delicious just lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.
Tips: My Favorite models are the Cosori or making Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that is attached.
It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. This is how to preheat air fryer first before adding your food so it becomes as crispy as possible. For best results, here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Ninja Foodi Frozen Okra
For this machine you would follow the same directions below with putting frozen okra into a bowl with some olive oil and seasonings. You can use the basket with the holes below to hold them after your machine is preheated. In this case you are going to use the lid that is attached to air fry with the button on the front that says air crisp.
The cook time in the recipe card below is for halved pieces. If you have smaller pieces I’d just decrease the time by 1-2 minutes and check. The nice thing about cooking frozen foods this way is you can easily open the drawer and check tenderness really easy.
Ingredient Notes
You want to start with a bag of okra frozen. You will likely find a store brand and name brand like from Bird’s Eye or Jolly Green Giant. I have tried them all and in a blind taste test nobody could tell the difference so go with whatever is on sale friends. 😉
You will want some extra virgin Olive oil to toss them in to stay moist and allow the seasonings to stick on there well. If you want super crispy I would suggest having some in a spray bottle also.
Salt and pepper as well as any other seasonings like garlic powder that are a must for you on top of this.
Can you bread frozen okra?
If you do want to add a light breading you would have to follow our Air fryer okra steps. You’d have to defrost them first though so the breading and/or seasonings will stick nicely. You’d then be able to dredge in a whisked egg and then into some breadcrumbs. Starting this from frozen wouldn’t really work. The egg wash wouldn’t still very well so it is best to defrost if you want a coating on the outside.
Tips for Success
You always want to preheat your machine before adding any food. Also the contents of your air fryer basket need to be in a single layer to get nice and crispy. If you have smaller slices than about 1″ pieces the cook time would be less, closer to 4-6 minutes. If you want the outside super crunchy raise temp to 400 degrees at the very end for 1-2 minutes. Spray with olive oil for super crispy air fried okra.
Frozen Okra in Air Fryer Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Instructions
- In a bowl put frozen okra pieces and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle in all seasonings you'd like and toss to coat.
- Preheat air fryer at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes. Then pour in contents and shake so as few are overlapping as possible.
- Close basket and air fry for about 8 minutes (shaking halfway thru) or until tender on inside and browned on the outside to your liking. This is for whole okra, if you have sliced smaller pieces it may be closer to 6 min.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What is the best way to eat okra?
Well that depends on whom you ask. If it is someone from the South I guarantee they would respond with gumbo, others love it in a pot of pressure cooker jambalaya too. We love to air fry it. Other methods would be:
- Deep fried
- Roasted in the oven
- Inside a stew
- You can even make homemade pickles with it instead of cucumbers!
Other frozen foods in air fryer you’ll love
If you have made our air fryer frozen wings you will be excited about this one too.
