Okra and Tomatoes with Beans

This okra and tomatoes with beans dish makes for a hearty and tasty side dish. Full of garlic, lemon and the white beans with the sweet tomatoes go perfectly with okra. You can eat this as a side dish or serve over rice for a delicious vegetarian dinner.

You might also like this keto cajun stir fry skillet dinner.

I love okra. It’s not something I cook much because it’s hard to find fresh okra around me. My husband tries to grow it in his garden but we don’t get much out of it so whenever I see it at the farmers market or grocery store I buy some.

I grew up with a middle eastern dish which was like a lemony okra and beef stew that you eat over rice. It’s one of my childhood favorite dishes but today I wanted to try something different and I remember this older recipe and decided to redo it.

I used fresh tomatoes from the garden and fresh okra from the farmers market to make this okra and tomatoes with beans side dish. We loved the Mediterranean flavors of the garlic and fresh lemon and the cannellini beans made it a more hearty side dish. We ate it as a side dish one night and with rice the next night. It was delicious!

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used in this dish were fresh okra pods, fresh cherry tomatoes, fresh garlic, olive oil, Italian seasoning, fresh lemon, cannellini beans, salt and ground black pepper. Note originally I used canned tomatoes instead of fresh but had so many from our garden and I liked it much better this way.

• Fresh Okra: While fresh okra is best you can also use frozen okra. You will want to let it thaw a bit before roasting though. Also I would use whole and not cut. Sometimes the seeds are off putting.
• Fresh Tomatoes: I used fresh cherry tomatoes from my husbands garden but you can also use grape tomatoes or plum tomatoes. Originally I used canned diced tomatoes and they would work too but the fresh is nicer. Canned stewed tomatoes would also work if you are going for a more southern dish (but maybe eliminate the lemon).
• Fresh Lemons and Garlic: You back this dish with sliced lemons and the juice and flavor infuse the rest of the dish while it bakes. I would not substitute with bottled lemon juice. And while I love fresh garlic, if you have to use garlic powder remember 1 clove of fresh garlic equals ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder.
• Canned White Beans: I like cannellini beans the best for dishes like this but you can use other white beans like Great Northern, Navy, Butter Beans or even chick peas would work.

If you want to add a bit of heat to this dish you can add some hot pepper flakes or a bit of cayenne pepper. My husband makes homemade cayenne pepper flakes and we add them to many of our dishes but we like spicy food.

How to make okra and tomatoes with beans.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Step 2: Add the okra pods, tomatoes, spices and crushed garlic. Pour the olive oil over top and mix in the dish. Then add the lemon slices on top. If you are using frozen okra, let it thaw a bit and drain any excess liquid before adding to the pan.

Note I left the tomatoes whole but if you want to slice them you can. If using a Roma tomato you can chop it up a bit first.

Step 3: Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and add the canned beans (drained) and mix around. Then add back to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.

 Step 4: The lemon rinds are actually edible but you can pull out the slices if you don’t want them in there. Eat this as is for a side dish or serve over rice for a vegetarian meal.

If you want to add a protein you can add pieces of chicken, shrimp or flavored sausage would also go great. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down for the printable recipe card.

This may be a simple dish but it is packed with flavor. I wish I could get okra more easily where because I would eat this regularly. I personally love the flavor of lemon and garlic together and it goes so well with the vegetables.

More easy side dishes to try.

Here are a few more easy side dishes that I think you might like.

• spicy corn using leftover corn on the cob
• German fried potatoes wit bacon
• zesty soup with chorizo and beans
• strawberry and bean salad with mint
• zucchini and feta

I’m so glad I rediscovered this okra and tomatoes with beans recipe. It really was a delicious us as we love those Mediterranean flavor of lemon and garlic. And if you are vegetarian or just want to have a meatless meal this is a good recipe as it’s very hearty and filling. I hope you like it as much as we do and note it’s a pretty good source of dietary fiber and protein!

Nutrition facts for 1 serving is 144 calories/ 5.2g fat / 19.6 carbs / 5.5g fiber / 5.1g protein