Big soul food flavor in under 30 minutes? No slimy okra? Southern stewed tomatoes & okra with smoked sausage delivers it all! It’s a simple summer tradition made with garden ingredients that has both main dish and side dish energy. And don’t worry, you don’t have to be a big okra fan to absolutely love it. It’s for everybody!
Table of Contents
- Behind The Recipe
- Not Overcooked or Falling Apart
- What To Know Before Getting Started
- What Kind Of Tomatoes To Use
- Why Is Okra Sticky?
- How To Make Southern Stewed Tomatoes & Okra
- Tips To Get It Right (Every Time)
- Recipe Substitutions/ Variations
- How To Serve Stewed Tomatoes & Okra
- More Deep South Recipes To Love
Behind The Recipe
This is my aunt’s okra recipe. And I will admit when she first made it for me using a handful of late summer veggies from her lake house garden, I had my doubts about it… and the word ‘stewed.’ I was very seriously a fried okra only girl and never a cooked down veggies girl.
But ultimately, the rich flavors of tomatoes full of summer sun and rain smothering smoky sausage and earthy okra in a cast iron skillet forever captured my taste buds.
There’s just something about this flavor combo that really works. You see it in Creole gumbo, get the feel of it in étouffée and relish its goodness when serving crisp fried okra and sliced fresh tomatoes. It’s the soul of summer in the south.
Not Overcooked or Falling Apart
A lot of Southern vegetable dishes are “cooked down,” or cooked for an extended period of time until the vegetables are soft and close to falling apart. But not this recipe. These veggies stay in the pan just long enough for the sausage to render its rich smoky flavors and the acid in the tomatoes to wash away the thick juice okra releases as it cooks.
A quick 8-10 minute run around a hot skillet is all it takes. And the tomatoes and okra, though ‘stewed‘ or ‘smothered‘ don’t lose their color, texture or flavor.
What To Know Before Getting Started
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!
Look for specifics at the end of the post in the recipe card.
- tomatoes
- okra (fresh is best; frozen works too)
- smoked sausage
- yellow onion
- green bell pepper
- chicken broth or stock
- bay leaves
- minced garlic
- salt, black pepper & flaked red pepper
- olive oil
What Kind Of Tomatoes To Use
Many recipes use canned tomatoes to make this dish. Because I first had it with fresh tomatoes, it’s what I like best. It’s a great way to use some of those tomatoes from your garden. And that’s super helpful come end of summer.
Rough chopped beefsteak tomatoes work great. They have a lot of juice, and the acid in tomato juice does away with the slime okra can be known for.
Cherry, or grape, tomatoes also work perfectly because they have more meat and hold their shape, color and texture better when cooked.
I find a combo of both kinds of tomatoes works best.
Why Is Okra Sticky?
- Okra is a member of the mallow family, along with hibiscus and cotton.
- The thick juice okra emits when heated is a combination of sugar residues and protein. With it’s own “built in” natural thickening agent, okra is perfect for stews and gumbos. Done right it’s not sticky or slimy at all.
How To Make Southern Stewed Tomatoes & Okra
- Place skillet on stovetop over medium heat. Add oil and allow to heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add sausage. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until it begins to brown.
- Remove the sausage from the skillet. Put it on a plate and set aside. Leave the drippings in the skillet. Add the onion, bell pepper and okra. Cook until okra begins to brown slightly.
- Add tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaves, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When tomatoes begin to blister, fold in sausage and any drippings that might be on the plate where they’ve been sitting. Let simmer for another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves. Serve over rice or cheese grits.
Tips To Get It Right (Every Time)
You might wonder, “Why can’t I just throw everything in the skillet at once to simmer? Wouldn’t that be easier?” But making this dish in steps is important.
- Browning the okra on its own is a basic step when you’re wanting to get rid of that okra slime. So don’t cut corners there.
- Adding ingredients a little at time is also what allows you to build really good flavor. Browned sausage is better than sausage that’s been boiled (or simmered). When you brown it, it renders the drippings that flavors the okra and so on. None of this happens when you throw all the ingredients in at once. If you want real flavor, you gotta do the steps.
- That’s also why I can’t recommend making this dish in the crock pot. Some recipes are work great for the slow cooker. This just isn’t one of them.
Recipe Substitutions/ Variations
- Protein Swaps- Mix it up by using gulf shrimp or shredded rotisserie chicken instead of smoked sausage. (You might want to cook 2-3 strips of bacon for drippings when swapping the protein. Go ahead and throw that bacon in the recipe too.)
- No Protein- Leave out the protein altogether and serve this strictly as a vegetable side dish. Make it vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken broth.
How To Serve Stewed Tomatoes & Okra
- Tomatoes and okra with smoked sausage make the perfect meal when served over rice and with a nice, buttered Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread Muffin.
- They also show out when spooned over creamy cheese grits and served next to crispy fried catfish fillets.
- Create some Sunday dinner vibes by serving it with Crispy Southern Fried Chicken and Southern Cornbread Pudding.
- And you can never go wrong with Classic Chicken Fried Steak Fingers or Crispy Ranch Chicken Tenders and Hash Brown Casserole.
However you decide to serve it, it’s always unbelievably easy and delicious- a little bit of summer on a plate… or in a skillet- you get the idea.
More Deep South Recipes To Love
Ultimate Tomatoes & Okra Skillet with Smoked Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12-16 ounces smoked sausage sliced
- ½ medium yellow onion diced
- ½ medium green bell pepper diced
- 1 ½ – 2 cups chopped okra fresh or 12 ounces frozen
- 2 cups diced tomatoes fresh or canned
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth or stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 – 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic depending on taste
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Place skillet on stovetop over medium heat. Add oil and allow to heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add sausage. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until it begins to brown. Remove the sausage from the skillet. Put it on a plate and set aside. Leave the drippings in the skillet.
- Add the onion, bell pepper and okra. Cook until okra begins to brown slightly.
- Add tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaves, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When tomatoes begin to blister, fold in sausage and any drippings that might be on the plate where they've been sitting. Let simmer for another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves. Serve as a side dish or over rice or cheese grits.
Nutrition
Bronwen Plumbley
Great recipe for my garden okra and tomatoes.
Hi, Bronwen! Thank you so much! I am tickled you enjoyed this classic southern recipe!
MElinda Huffman
I have signed up the cookbook e-book twice now and I have not received.. It’s not in spam or other folders..
Please check for me..
Thank you.