10 Sneaky Vegetables That Are Technically Fruit

Starting with a shocker, okra, the Southern fried staple, is actually a fruit! A fruit is the mature ovary of a flower, and in the case of okra, we eat the seed pod that forms from the flower's ovary. This pod, which is often grilled, pickled, or fried, contains the seeds and grows from the plant's bloom, fitting the botanical definition of fruit.

To-may-to, to-mah-to, fruit, vegetable. There are lots of ambiguities surrounding the juicy, red food! To set the record straight, tomatoes are technically fruit (although their pronunciation is still up in the air). This is because tomatoes meet the botanical requirements for fruit, as they develop from a flower and have seeds inside. Similar to more traditionally recognized fruits like oranges, apples, and peaches, tomatoes have a fleshy texture.

Although cucumbers are usually tossed in salads and thought of as veggies, they’re technically fruits! The reason comes down to how they grow. The crunchy, green veggie fruit grows from the flower of the cucumber plant and houses seeds inside.

Corn might seem like a vegetable when you’re eating it on the cob or using it to make Ree's hot corn dip, but it’s actually a fruit! Each kernel on a corn cob is technically a seed, and the whole cob develops from the flower of the corn plant.

If its creamy texture, mild flavor, and use as a breakfast ingredient weren't enough to tip you off, avocado is actually a fruit. If you want to get even more technical, the fleshy fruit is technically a berry. Avocados have a multi-layer pericarp that surrounds the tough seed at the center, consisting of the exocarp (the peel), the mesocarp (the flesh), and the endocarp (a thin layer surrounding the seed). On the other hand, drupes, like the peach, have thicker endocarps (the pit) around their seeds.

This one may not be as unexpected as some of the green "veggies" on this list (like their close relatives, cucumbers), but pumpkins also join the botanically classified fruit club! Like the other fruits on this list, pumpkins have rinds, seeds, and fleshy interiors that lend well to baked goods, like pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread.

Another type of squash with a hidden botanical identity is the zucchini! Although we stir-fry, stuff, and even fry them in savory dishes, zucchini is considered a fruit. You may or may not have guessed this due to it growing from a zucchini flower (which is fried and eaten in Italian cuisine). In fact, many types of squash, including acorn and butternut squash, are also considered to be fruits.

For an ingredient that's often cooked in savory sauces, the eggplant more than meets the criteria of a fruit! Eggplants form from the flowering part of the plant and contain numerous seeds inside their flesh. While they belong to the same family as potatoes (the Solanaceae family), potatoes are considered vegetables as they're tubers.

Whether you're talking sweet bell peppers or super-spicy poblanos, all peppers are considered fruit—no matter how spicy they are! You can tell by the tiny seeds that grow in the middle and the fact that peppers grow from small white, purple, and yellow flowers.

Last but not least are string beans! Although a bean pod may be the last thing to enter a fruit basket, string beans fit the botanical definition of fruit as they contain seeds inside their pods. Just like other fruits, the part that's eaten is the mature ovary of the flower, which holds the seeds. So, even though string beans are commonly cooked with garlic and other savory spices as a holiday side, they're technically a fruit!