Stewed Okra and Tomatoes is a healthy and delicious southern side. Fresh summer okra, sliced and cooked with canned tomatoes (you could use fresh instead), bacon, onion, celery, and a few seasonings makes a delicious vegetable side dish for almost any meal.
I look forward to eating okra each and every summer. Fried Okra is my absolute favorite way to eat it, but stewed okra with tomatoes is a great way to enjoy okra in a healthier form.
Stewed Okra and Tomatoes Recipe
Okra and Tomatoes is a side dish that’s like a thick stew.
This dish starts by cooking some bacon. This is mainly to produce some bacon grease to saute the onions in.
Because onions are always better cooked in bacon. 🙂
Reader Comment
Rebekah says- “Absolutely delicious! I use home canned tomatoes out of my garden and it tastes exactly like what my grandma used to cook on Sundays as a kid.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How To Make
(More detailed instructions in recipe card below.)
- Cook bacon in a Dutch oven. Remove it and set aside, leaving bacon grease in the Dutch oven.
- Cook onion and celery in the bacon grease for 7 to 8 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, water or chicken broth, okra, and seasonings. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes.
- Crumble Bacon and stir in.
Recipe Tips
I like to use a sweet Vidalia onion, but any kind of onion will do.
I mainly use fresh okra for this, but you could also use frozen okra. If you buy fresh okra at the store or farmers market, plan on using it as soon as possible. The pods will start to develop brown spots. It’s okay to eat them with brown spots, but they are a signal that the okra is getting past its prime.
If you have fresh summer corn available, add the kernels from an ear or two. It tastes really good with the okra and tomatoes.
How To Serve
I like to eat Okra and Tomatoes as a summer side, but you can also spoon it over a bed of rice for a light meal. If you want to keep it vegetarian, or as healthy as possible, skip the bacon and cook the onion in olive oil. And definitely serve it with cornbread, either Buttermilk Cornbread or Hot Water Cornbread.
You’ll want to keep a bottle of Tabasco sauce handy. This is a side dish that really does well with a lot of heat and you may want to add a splash hear and there.
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Okra and Tomatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped celery
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water or chicken broth
- 4 cups sliced okra
- 3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a cast iron Dutch oven. Remove bacon and set aside.
- Add onion and celery to the bacon grease and cook until soft, about 7-8 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, water or broth, okra, and seasonings. Cook 20-25 minutes, maintaining a simmer and stirring occasionally.
- Crumble bacon and stir in just before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published July 7, 2015.
Served it at thanksgiving. My go to veggie now. Everyone loves it.
My Favorite dish nothing is better than stewed okra and tomatoes
Excellent.
OMG this recipe is EXACTLY how my mother made this stew. She called it okra succotash and we loved it each time she made it. Unfortunately she died 14 years ago and I could not remember how she made it. I googled okra and tomatoes which yielded several recipes, but yours was the second one I looked at and the photo looked just like hers. I made it and it tasted just like hers. We are from north Louisiana and her okra succotash was demanded by family at all gatherings. I did not change a thing and followed your recipe to the “T”. It was delicious! Thank you for bringing back this wonderful dish back to my family.
I had a Ham bone with lots of meat. I fried onions and celery in a little olive oil. Put ham in pot and covered with water. Cooked for two hours. I pulled meat off bone. Added two cans of tomatoes , oka, baby butter beans and a can of you white corn. Cooked for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Served on cooked white rice. That is how we make it in Charleston,SC
Hi, I find adding a little sherry wine to the celery and onions (after frying the bacon) is a good addition to get even more scrapings off of the pan. One small Packet of sugar or a teaspoon will help adjust the acidity of the tomatoes. Also, I think that the Montreal Steak Seasoning is awesome for the smokiness it adds along with its heat and salt and smoked paprika.. Try it sometime. Hope this helps! Overall this recipe is just AWESOME on its own & I love you’re site! Also, peeps try the fried okra recipe as it is excellent and the recipe works perfectly!
Absolutely delicious! Brought back memories of helping my grandmother pick the fresh okra and tomatoes from her garden and the way the kitchen smelled when we cooked together. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
New Day onions will taste even better. Also, instead of diced tomatoes, use Rotel. That will give you the heat.
I grew up on this recipe. My mother cooked it all the time for my father who loved it. He was a country boy from Tennessee. I sure do miss him and my mother . Brings back great memory. Thanks and GOD bless you and yours.
I make okra & tomatoes quit often. I make it with fresh or frozen or even canned okra! I always use bacon but at other times I add sausage or shrimp. Delicious over rice with cornbread.