Okra Tomatoes Stew

I made this okra tomato stew last Tuesday and honestly it’s one of those recipes that just works without asking much from you. The bacon grease does most of the heavy lifting for flavor and you’re basically just watching things soften in a pot.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Only 97 calories per serving, which surprised me
• The bacon grease makes everything taste like you put in way more effort than you did
• Takes 35 minutes start to finish and most of that is just simmering
• Okra doesn’t get slimy if you follow the timing
• It’s a southern recipe that doesn’t need a ton of ingredients or steps you’ll mess up
• You probably have everything except maybe the okra already

The Story Behind This Recipe

I grew up thinking okra was always breaded and fried, which is fine but also kind of a production. Then my neighbor brought over this tomato stew situation last year and I realized I’d been ignoring a whole category of okra recipes that didn’t require dealing with hot oil. I finally tested it myself last Tuesday after work because I had okra sitting in the fridge and wasn’t in the mood to fry anything. Turns out it’s way easier than I thought and the bacon grease I keep in a jar by the stove finally had a real purpose beyond occasionally frying eggs. Now it’s in my regular rotation for nights when I want something that tastes like comfort food but doesn’t require me to stand over the stove the whole time.

What You Need

You’ll need bacon grease first, and I’m talking about the real stuff you saved from cooking actual bacon, not something from a jar that costs eight dollars. I used about 2 tablespoons but the recipe doesn’t specify exactly so just use enough to coat the bottom of your pot. Then grab one medium onion and slice it however you want, I did half moons because I wasn’t thinking about it. You need 3 cloves of garlic minced, and I just used my microplane because chopping garlic on Tuesday night wasn’t happening.

The okra is obviously the main thing here and you need 1 pound of it, fresh if you can find it but frozen works too. I used fresh and just trimmed the ends off. For tomatoes you want 2 cups and I used one of those 14.5-ounce cans of diced because I didn’t have fresh ones worth eating. Oh and you need 1 cup of chicken broth, the kind from a box is fine. Salt and pepper to taste which for me was about half a teaspoon of salt and several grinds of pepper but you’ll figure it out when you taste it at the end.

The bacon grease is really doing all the work here so don’t skip it and use olive oil or something because then you’re just making a different recipe that won’t taste like anything.

How to Make Okra Tomatoes Stew

Get your bacon grease heating in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat and wait until it starts shimmering. That’s when you know it’s actually hot enough to cook the onions properly instead of just making them sweat and get sad. Toss in your sliced onions and let them go for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don’t stick but not so much that they never get a chance to actually soften.

They should turn translucent and start smelling sweet, not sharp anymore. When that happens you’re good to move on. Add your minced garlic and stir it around for about one minute, just until you smell it really breaking through. Don’t let it burn because burnt garlic tastes bitter and ruins everything.

Now dump in the okra, tomatoes and chicken broth all at once. It’ll bubble up and look like a lot of liquid but that’s fine, it needs it. Crank the heat up until the whole thing starts boiling, then pull it back down to a simmer and add your salt and pepper. I added mine here instead of waiting because I wanted the okra to absorb some of that seasoning while it cooked.

Cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. I checked mine at 15 and the okra was tender but still had some bite, which is what you want. If you go too long it gets slimy and weird, which is the main complaint people have about okra in the first place. The liquid should reduce a little and smell like bacon and tomatoes had a baby. That’s when you know this southern recipe is actually working.

The texture of the okra should give when you poke it with a fork but not fall apart into mush. Mine was ready at 18 minutes and I turned off the heat right there. The whole thing smelled like my neighbor’s kitchen did last year when she brought it over, which meant I’d finally gotten it right.

What I Did Wrong the First Time

I added the okra after the tomatoes and broth were already simmering because I thought it would cook faster that way. Wrong. It got slimy on the outside before the inside was tender because the temperature was too high when it hit the pot. You have to add it to the cold liquid and bring everything up to heat together so the okra cooks evenly and doesn’t turn into that texture everyone complains about. Now I just dump it all in at once and don’t overthink it.

Okra Tomatoes Stew

By Emma

Prep:

5 min

Cook:

30 min

Total:

35 min

Servings:

6 servings

Ingredients

• Bacon grease
• Onions, sliced
• Garlic, minced
• Okra
• Tomatoes
• Chicken broth
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Method

1. 1 Start by heating bacon grease in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Once shimmering, toss in the sliced onions. Keep the pan lively enough so they soften slowly. You’ll know they’re ready when they turn translucent and start whispering softly, about 7 to 8 minutes.
2. 2 Add the minced garlic next. The moment you smell that deep, warm aroma breaking through the onion sweetness, and after about one minute of stirring just enough to prevent scorching, it’s time to move on.
3. 3 Pour in the okra, tomatoes, and chicken broth. The sounds will shift to a steady bubble. Crank the heat until it boils, then pull it back to a gentle simmer. Season with salt and pepper now. Cover the pot, letting the mix stew for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. 4 Keep an eye on the okra — you want it tender but not mushy. The liquid should smell rich with the melded flavor of bacon fat, garlic, and tomatoes blending. Texture-wise, the okra should give but not collapse into slime. When the tender stage is hit, the dish is ready to serve.

Nutritional information

Calories

97

Protein

Xg

Carbs

Xg

Fat

Xg

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Tips for the Best Okra Tomatoes Stew

Don’t stir the pot too much once you’ve added the okra and tomatoes because that agitation is what releases the slime from the okra pods. I stirred mine maybe twice in the whole 18 minutes and it stayed clean and tender. Let it just sit there and simmer under the lid.

If your okra is really fresh and small you might only need 15 minutes but if you got those bigger pods from the store that have been sitting around you’ll need the full 20. I poked mine with a fork at 15 and it still had too much resistance so I gave it another 3 minutes and checked again.

The bacon grease will separate and float on top a little when it’s done simmering and that’s actually what you want because it means the fat hasn’t totally emulsified into the broth and you get these little pockets of bacon flavor when you eat it. Don’t try to stir it back in.

Taste it before you serve because the salt level changes depending on how salty your bacon grease was to begin with. Mine needed another pinch right at the end even though I’d seasoned it earlier.

One thing I noticed is the tomatoes break down more on the second day so if you’re making this ahead it’ll look more like a thick sauce than a stew when you reheat it. Still tastes the same just less chunky.

Serving Ideas

I ate mine over white rice the first night because that’s what my neighbor did and it soaks up all the liquid really well. The second night I had it with cornbread on the side which was maybe even better because you can dip the bread right into the tomato part. My mom used to serve okra stew over grits when I was younger and I forgot about that until I was halfway through my bowl, so that’s another option if you want to make it more of a breakfast situation. Some people put hot sauce on top but I didn’t need it because the pepper was enough for me.

Variations

You can throw in a diced bell pepper with the onions if you want more vegetable bulk, and I might try that next time because I had half a green pepper sitting in the crisper drawer that would’ve worked. It’ll add maybe 2 minutes to the onion cooking time but nothing major.

Smoked sausage sliced into rounds and added with the okra turns this into more of a main dish instead of a side. I’ve seen southern recipes do that and it makes sense because you’re already using bacon grease so the smoke flavor would layer up.

If you don’t eat meat you could use olive oil instead of bacon grease but honestly it won’t taste like the same recipe at all, more like a Mediterranean vegetable thing which isn’t bad just different. You’d probably want to add smoked paprika or something to get back some of that depth.

Frozen okra works fine and you don’t even need to thaw it first, just add it frozen and maybe give it an extra 2 or 3 minutes of simmer time because it’ll drop the temperature of the liquid when it hits the pot.

FAQ

Can I use canned tomatoes instead of fresh? Yeah I used canned and it worked great. One 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes is about 2 cups so just use that. The liquid from the can counts toward your total liquid so don’t drain it.

How do I know if my bacon grease is hot enough? It should shimmer and move around easily in the pan when you tilt it. If you drop a tiny piece of onion in it should sizzle right away not just sit there quietly.

Why did my okra get slimy? You either stirred it too much or cooked it too long. The slime comes out when the okra gets agitated or overcooked so just let it simmer gently without messing with it.

Can I make this without bacon grease? You can but it won’t taste like this recipe anymore. The bacon grease is what makes it taste southern and rich. Butter would be closer than oil but still not the same.

How long does this last in the fridge? About 4 days in a sealed container. The okra gets softer the longer it sits but it doesn’t get slimy if it wasn’t slimy to start with.

Do I have to use fresh okra? No frozen works too. Don’t thaw it first just throw it in frozen and add maybe 3 extra minutes to the simmer time.

What size pot do I need? A large skillet or dutch oven that holds at least 3 quarts. You need room for all the liquid and vegetables without it bubbling over when it boils.

Can I double this recipe? Yeah just use a bigger pot. The timing stays the same you just have more volume so make sure your pot is big enough that the liquid doesn’t come up more than two thirds of the way.

What if I don’t have chicken broth? Water works in a pinch but you’ll need to add more salt to make up for the flavor you’re missing. Vegetable broth is fine too.

How do I trim okra? Just cut off the stem end where it’s brown and woody. You don’t need to cut off the pointy tip on the other end.

Can I add meat to this? Sliced smoked sausage or diced ham would work. Add it when you add the okra so it heats through while everything simmers.

Is this spicy? No it’s not spicy at all just seasoned with salt and pepper. Add hot sauce or red pepper flakes if you want heat.

What does it mean when the onions are translucent? They go from white and opaque to kind of see through and soft. They’ll also shrink down and smell sweet instead of sharp.

Can I use a different type of onion? Yellow or white onions work best. Red onion would be weird here and sweet onion like Vidalia would make it too sweet.

Do I need to peel the tomatoes? Not if you’re using canned diced. If you’re using fresh just chop them up skin and all, it’ll break down while it cooks.

What if my okra isn’t tender after 20 minutes? Give it another 5 minutes. Bigger or older okra takes longer and there’s no harm in cooking it a bit more as long as you’re not stirring it constantly.

Can I use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic? You could use about half a teaspoon but fresh garlic tastes way better and takes like 30 seconds to mince on a microplane.

Should the stew be thick or soupy? Somewhere in between. It should have enough liquid to spoon over rice but not be watery. If it’s too thin leave the lid off for the last 5 minutes.

Can I freeze this? I haven’t tried it but okra gets mushy when frozen and thawed so I wouldn’t recommend it for this dish.

What if I can only find whole canned tomatoes? Just crush them with your hands or chop them up with kitchen scissors right in the can before you add them.