Okra Soup Recipe: How to Make Okra Soup at Home
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Aug 29, 2024 • 2 min read
With culinary roots stretching from Nigeria to the South Carolinian Lowcountry, this classic okra soup is a hearty weeknight dish you’ll want to eat all winter long.
Learn From the Best
What Is Okra Soup?
Okra soup is a classic dish consisting of browned meat, okra, and additional vegetables cooked in a garlicky tomato broth. Derived from the okra plant (Hibiscus esculentus), which grows as a tall stalk with large leaves and butter-yellow flowers, this star-shaped, seed-filled vegetable is a common ingredient found in various dishes throughout the Southeastern United States.
This soup, which has roots in West African cuisine, involves slow-cooking the semi-sweet, earthy vegetable in a rich broth for a warming dish often enjoyed alongside rice.
4 Tips for Making Okra Soup
While home cooks of all levels can craft this simple and satisfying vegetable soup, these tips will help you make the most of this gumbo-like dish:
- 1. Use fresh or frozen okra. While fresh, in-season okra will produce the best-tasting soup, you can also use frozen okra for this recipe. Opt for okra that is smooth and bright green with no brown spots.
- 2. Change up the protein. Okra soup typically incorporates some kind of meat, and you can adapt this recipe to include whichever protein you have on hand. Ground beef, ground turkey, chicken breast, and goat meat are all popular options for okra soup. You can also mix in some shrimp or crayfish to create a jambalaya-inspired okra stew. Add in lima beans and chickpeas for a vegetarian source of protein.
- 3. Experiment with additions. You can adapt this recipe to use the vegetables and seasonings you have on hand. Add complementary veggies—like zucchini, Scotch bonnet peppers, yams, eggplant, and bell peppers—to the soup’s base. You can also replace the spices in this recipe with your favorite spice blends, like Cajun or Creole seasoning.
- 4. Make extra for leftovers. Allowing this soup to sit overnight in the refrigerator will help the flavors develop and deepen. Refrigerate okra soup in an airtight container for up to two days to allow the flavors to meld.
Homemade Okra Soup Recipe
makes
prep time
10 mintotal time
1 hr 20 mincook time
1 hr 10 minIngredients
- 1
Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- 2
Add the cubed beef to the hot oil and cook the meat, rotating the pieces occasionally until browned on all sides. Remove the beef from the pan and set it aside.
- 3
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion to the pan. Stir to coat the onion in the oil and beef fat. Sauté the onion until it becomes soft and slightly translucent, 4–5 minutes.
- 4
Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook until they become fragrant, about 1 minute.
- 5
Return the beef to the pan and add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, stock, paprika, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and bay leaves, and stir to combine. Bring the liquid to a boil.
- 6
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- 7
Add the sliced okra, carrots, and green beans to the pan and stir to combine.
- 8
Continue cooking the soup until the vegetables are tender, 20–25 minutes. Stir in the corn about 5 minutes before the end of cooking. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
- 9
Serve the soup hot over rice. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Mashama Bailey, Niki Nakayama, Chef Thomas Keller, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters, and more.