Okra contains a moderate amount of vitamin K. A half cup of cooked okra provides about 32 to 44 micrograms, which places it firmly in the medium range rather than among the highest vitamin K vegetables. That said, “moderate” still matters if you’re tracking your intake, especially if you take blood-thinning medication.
How Much Vitamin K Is in Okra
The exact amount depends on how the okra is prepared and whether it started fresh or frozen. A half cup of cooked fresh okra contains roughly 32 mcg of vitamin K, while a half cup cooked from frozen comes in slightly higher at 44 mcg. Raw okra has less per serving: about 16 mcg in a half cup, simply because raw okra is less dense and you’re getting less plant material by volume.
For context, the adequate daily intake of vitamin K is 120 mcg for adult men and 90 mcg for adult women. A typical serving of cooked okra covers roughly 27% to 37% of a woman’s daily target and 22% to 30% of a man’s. That’s a meaningful contribution, but you’d need to eat several servings to hit your full daily amount from okra alone.
Okra vs. High Vitamin K Vegetables
Compared to the leafy greens that top vitamin K charts, okra is in a different league entirely. A half cup of cooked spinach delivers 445 mcg, more than ten times what the same amount of okra provides. Cooked kale has 247 mcg per half cup, and cooked broccoli comes in at 110 mcg. All three of these qualify as high vitamin K foods, defined as anything above 100 mcg per serving.
Okra falls into the moderate category, which spans 25 to 100 mcg per serving. It sits alongside foods like cooked frozen broccoli (81 mcg per half cup) and raw kale (82 mcg per cup). So while okra won’t spike your vitamin K intake the way a spinach salad would, it’s not negligible either.
The Type of Vitamin K in Okra
Vitamin K comes in two main forms. K1 (found in plants) helps with blood clotting, while K2 (found mostly in fermented foods and animal products) plays a bigger role in bone and heart health. The vitamin K in okra is K1, which is the case for virtually all green vegetables. Nutritional databases list okra’s content as K1 specifically, and food composition data for K2 in vegetables remains limited because the amounts are so small.
Cooking Doesn’t Reduce Vitamin K
Unlike some water-soluble vitamins that leach out during boiling, vitamin K is fat-soluble and holds up well to heat. Cooking or freezing okra does not reduce its vitamin K content. In fact, cooked okra tends to have more vitamin K per serving than raw, not because cooking creates vitamin K, but because the okra shrinks and concentrates during cooking. You end up with more plant material packed into that half-cup measure.
Because vitamin K is fat-soluble, eating okra with a source of fat (olive oil, butter, or alongside a meal that contains fat) helps your body absorb more of it.
Okra and Blood-Thinning Medications
If you take warfarin or a similar blood thinner that interacts with vitamin K, okra’s moderate vitamin K content is worth paying attention to. The key isn’t avoiding okra or other vitamin K foods. It’s keeping your intake consistent from week to week. Warfarin dosing is calibrated around your usual diet, so sudden changes in vitamin K consumption (eating much more or much less than normal) can shift how well the medication works.
One cup of okra, which is roughly a double serving, lands in what clinical dietary guides classify as a medium vitamin K food (80 to 400 mcg per serving). That’s high enough to matter if you eat large portions irregularly. If okra is a regular part of your meals, keeping the amount roughly steady from week to week is the practical goal. Large one-time servings after weeks of not eating it are more likely to cause fluctuations than a consistent moderate amount.
Other Nutrients in Okra Worth Noting
People searching about okra and vitamin K are usually focused on that one nutrient, but okra brings other things to the table. A half cup of cooked okra is low in calories (around 25 to 30) and provides fiber, vitamin C, folate, and magnesium. Its soluble fiber content is notably high, which is part of what gives okra its characteristic slimy texture when cooked. That same fiber can help with blood sugar management and digestive regularity, making okra a nutrient-dense choice beyond its vitamin K contribution.