Late summer means okra time in the South so I made my first batch of gluten-free, dairy-free fried okra.

Below are the basics of creating this dish. Southern-style okra-frying is an art and difficult to quantify, thus no exact measurements are mentioned.

Until the last year or so, I’ve had great freedom with cooking ingredients. Reading blogs by moms whose family’s diet had to be gluten, dairy, MSG, nut, additive, soy, egg, and/or meat-free made me wonder what on earth people with allergies could eat.

Thankfully I didn’t have to worry about it. A box of Hamburger Helper was fine for my family, or was it?

Over the last few years, Hubs had been dealing with digestive/gastrointestinal issues. In the months preceding Gus’ birth last year, his problems escalated to a debilitating point. We’re talking about severe pain and bathroom trips that interfered with sleep and work.

He decided to eliminate everything from his diet except for whole foods then gradually reintroduce foods back into his diet in order to determine the cause. The culprit? Wheat and dairy.   

 

We’re learning to accommodate this new way of eating and gluten-free fried okra is a recipe that has been a hit so far.

It used to drive me crazy when my grandmother, mom, and aunt would try to explain a fried recipe to me in such vague terms (how much exactly is “a mess” of okra?) Now I’m doing the same thing to my readers. Sorry!

Frying really is an art rather than a science. Practice makes perfect. Hopefully, the photos here and the advice will help you get it right.

Gluten Free Fried Okra

Ingredients:
Okra
Almond Milk
Brown Rice Flour
Yellow Cornmeal (not cornmeal mix! It contains regular flour and therefore gluten)
Oil for frying
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
In a small bowl combine 1 part rice flour to 2 parts cornmeal. Set aside.

Slice okra into 1/4″ – 1/2″ uniform rounds and place in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat 1/4″ oil in an iron skillet over medium-high heat

Start adding almond milk 1 Tablespoon at a time to the bowl of okra. The okra

should be lightly coated with milk, but enough should be used to create the sticky consistency shown below:

Begin sprinkling in the breading mixture until okra is coated like the picture below. I usually mix up too much breading since we aren’t being exact here, and just save the leftovers for next time.

Add okra to hot skillet in a single layer ( too hot and your okra will scorch, too cool and the breading won’t stick. Test a couple of pieces of okra first before you place the entire batch in the skillet.)

Fry until brown on one side then flip using a large spatula.

Fry the other side until golden brown.

Remove from skillet, drain on paper towels and serve.

What’s the next stop on my gluten-free, dairy-free adventure? Using tapioca flour and white rice flout to make gluten-free pancakes for Hubs. He was soooo jealous of the pecan pancakes I enjoyed at Cracker Barrel the other day. Shame on me for eating them in front of him!

 

Gluten Free Fried Okra

A gluten free, dairy free version of this Southern favorite.

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Ingredients

• Okra
• Almond Milk
• Brown Rice Flour
• Yellow Cornmeal (not cornmeal mix! It contains regular flour and therefore gluten)
• Oil for frying
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine 1 part rice flour to 2 parts cornmeal. Add salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Slice okra into 1/4" - 1/2" uniform rounds and place in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat 1/4" oil in an iron skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Start adding almond milk 1 Tablespoon at a time to the bowl of okra. The okra should be lightly coated with milk, but enough should be used to create the sticky consistency shown. (see photos)
5. Begin sprinkling in the breading mixture until okra is coated as shown (see photos)
6. Add okra to hot skillet in a single layer ( too hot and your okra will scorch, too cool and the breading won't stick. Test a couple of pieces of okra first before you place the entire batch in the skillet.)
7. Fry until brown on one side then flip using a large spatula. Fry the other side until golden brown. Remove okra from skillet, drain on paper towels and serve.