Easy Okara Recipes

Okara is a popular Japanese ingredient, and you may not be familiar with it!

However, if you make soya milk at home, you will have seen it before because the soya bean pulp left over after making soya milk or tofu is okara.

Okara is a healthy and nutritious ingredient that often gets discarded because, in most instances, especially outside of Japan, Korea, and China, not everyone knows what to do with it.

Jump to:

• What is Okara?
• Where To Get Okara
• Can You Eat Okara Raw?
• How Long Can Okara Last In The Fridge?
• What Can I Make With Okara/Soy Bean Pulp?
• Fresh Okara Recipes

What is Okara?

Okara is a by-product of making soy milk or tofu. Dried soybean are softened by soaking in water for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight and then rinsed.

These soft-soaked soybeans are blended in a food processor with clean water into a pulp. 

It is then filtered through a cloth to separate the solids from the liquid, giving you raw soy milk (this needs cooking before consuming) and fresh soy pulp, also known as okara. 

Omnivores, flexitarians, vegans, vegetarians, and a whole list of other diets can enjoy soybean pulp because it is plant-based, healthy, and nutritious.

Okara is a good source of plant protein, iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Where To Get Okara

If you have a Japanese or Korean grocery store, check there because they may sell it frozen or dried. 

We can not buy okara where we live, so when we make soy milk, we either use it fresh, dry it, or freeze the wet pulp for use later.

Can You Eat Okara Raw?

Raw uncooked soybean pulp must be cooked before consumption because uncooked soy protein is poisonous. 

If you make our recipe for soy milk, the soybean pulp is raw and uncooked. 

You can add this to recipes that need cooking, like muffins, cakes, or pancakes, and it will be safe to consume because it ends up cooked.

However, if you want to make a cold okara salad, it should be cooked before making the recipe. 

If using okara as an ingredient for yeast bread, it must be cooked because the enzymes in raw okara inhibits yeast.

Please refer to our article on What To Do With Soybean Pulp for how to cook okara and other useful information..

How Long Can Okara Last In The Fridge?

Store fresh okara in the fridge in an airtight container, where it will keep for about 2-3 days.

Freezing will keep fresh and partially dry soybean pulp for longer. To freeze, place the soy pulp into small ziplock bags with the air squeezed out and freeze for up to six months.

Soya bean pulp can also be dried, and dried soybean pulp can be stored in a sealed container in a cool dark area like your pantry or the fridge.

What Can I Make With Okara/Soy Bean Pulp?

Okara is such a versatile ingredient and can be an ingredient in many recipes, including vegan and non-vegan recipes:

You can use okara to make sweet recipes like: 

• Pancakes like this vanilla okara pancake recipe
• Quick bread like this okara banana bread
• Cakes like this okara pound cake
• Muffins like these blueberry okara muffins

Or to make savory recipes like:

• Okara meatballs
• Okara burgers 
• Okara crab cakes
• Okara stir fry
• Okara veggie burgers and so much more.

Fresh Okara Recipes