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Air Fryer Okra made with a cornmeal and flour breading is crispy, delicious, and air fried to perfection in only 15 minutes!
The Air Fryer is perfect for making crispy snacks and appetizers like Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Air Fryer Fried Pickles, and Air Fryer Potato Wedges.
Air Fried Okra is the perfect crispy snack, appetizer, or side dish to make in your Air Fryer. Tossed in a cornmeal and flour mixture and then air fried to golden-brown perfection, the fresh okra gets so crispy with only a few sprays of oil.
Fried Okra is very popular in the South and often served as a side dish but it also makes a great snack to munch on!
How to make Air Fryer Okra
Start with washing and cutting the fresh Okra. Chop off the stems and ends, then cut into 1/2″ slices.
- Combine all the breading ingredients with a fork and combine the egg and milk in a shallow bowl.
- Toss okra into the egg mixture, then transfer in batches to the flour cornmeal mixture. Lightly shake off excess flour and transfer to Air Fryer Basket.
- Spray with oil. We use light olive oil spray, avocado oil spray, or coconut oil spray.
- Air fry for 10-12 minutes until golden, shaking the basket two times during cooking. Spray with more oil as needed so all the floury spots are covered.
Tips for making Air Fried Okra
- Traditional southern Okra recipes use a cornmeal-flour mixture but you can also only use flour if you don’t have cornmeal on hand.
- The cornmeal adds some more texture and flavor to the fried Okra
- Add extra seasoning to the breading mixture like cayenne pepper, paprika, or garlic powder for extra flavor or heat.
- Instead of egg and milk, you can also use 1/4 cup buttermilk.
- Use a high smoke point oil spray that is flavor neutral like avocado oil, light olive oil, or coconut oil.
- Shake the basket gently so the breading doesn’t fall off.
- Depending on your Air Fryer you might have to air fry in batches. The cooking time can also vary depending on the model you have.
- Fried Okra tastes best served right away with a sprinkle of salt
Can you air fry frozen breaded okra?
If you don’t have time to make fried okra from scratch, try making breaded frozen okra in your Air Fryer! Using an Air Fryer instead of pan-frying or deep-frying frozen breaded okra saves time and calories. Put the frozen okra in the Air Fryer Basket and air fry at 400 F for about 15 minutes until crispy, shaking the basket once or twice during cooking.
Tools and Ingredients used for Making this Recipe
Air Fryer: This is the model I own. I really like it and would recommend it for smaller families. It came with a rack which doubles the space in the basket. Before buying this model I had the older XL Air Fryer which was bigger but took a lot more space to store.
Air Fryer Oven: This oven is on my wishlist! I saw it at Costco and it has great reviews. It has a lot more functions than an Air Fryer!
Air Fried Okra
Ingredients
- 1 pound okra, caps and tips cut off and sliced (about 20)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 F (200 C).
- In a shallow bowl combine egg and milk.
- In another bowl combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper.
- Toss okra into the egg mixture, then transfer in batches to flour mixture. Lightly shake off excess flour and transfer to Air Fryer Basket. Depending on your Air Fryer you might have to fry in batches.
- Spray okra with oil spray and air fry for 10-12 minutes until golden, shaking the basket two times during cooking. Spray with more oil as needed so all the floury spots are covered.
- Remove okra and sprinkle with salt to taste. Serve hot.
How long should I air fry frozen breaded okra?
Check out the post just above the last image, you can find everything you need to know about air frying frozen okra in there.
I have a bunch of frozen okra, what breading can I use on this since it has been frozen already?
Awesome. Came out great!
I’m sorry, I did not like this over deep fried. The batter was to dry. With no flavor, even after adding more salt.
Used frozen to okra was very good
Thank you got this awesome recipe! My okra turned out great! Even done broccoli too!
Absolutely delicious! They turned out just perfect in my air fryer in about 8-10 minutes.
absolutely perfect.
Hi there! This looks delicious and I am going to try air fried okra tonight. I’m new to air frying and appreciate the tips. Psst… you have a beautiful food blog and I’m loving your recipes. Thanks!
What kind of oil spray do you use?
I use pure avocado or light olive oil spray.