Fried okra bites are so 5 years ago. These panko crusted baked beauties taste amazing and won’t clog your arteries. Did you know eating fried food even just once a week increases your risk for developing Type II Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease? Your risk is even higher if you’re already overweight, have hypertension and/or high cholesterol.

Sure, fried food is awesome. But make it a treat. Like, a once a month treat.

In place of fried stuff, enjoy panko crusted baked stuff.

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Panko breading is so crunchy and if you season it just right, you won’t miss the deep fried version.

Panko Crusted Baked Okra

I love that these little guys are left whole; no chopping or slicing here. Just keepin it simple. When seasoned with salt and pepper, they don’t really need a dipping sauce. But if you must take a dip, try some good ole BBQ sauce

Ingredients

1# okra

1.5 - 2.0 cups panko

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

-Preheat oven to 350 and place a sheet of parchment or foil over a baking sheet.

-Grab two bowls. Scramble the eggs in one, and dump the panko in the other.

-Add the salt to the eggs, and the pepper to the panko.

-Coat each okra with egg, roll it around in panko and place on the parchment or foil.

-Bake at 350 for 25 -30 minutes, or until the panko is browned.

*Nutrition Note: because okra is a starchy vegetable AND you’re adding more starch via panko, serve this veggie on the side as a starch. We served them with BBQ chicken and a green salad.

If you make this okra give a shout out and let me know how you like it!

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