These crunchy baked onion rings are healthy, LOW IN FAT, golden brown, and absolutely delicious!
It’s that time of year to eat snack foods and veg out (pun intended) on the couch watching football. And, these Crunchy Baked Onion Rings are the perfect snack food for such an occasion.
Let’s get our onion ring on!
One of my favorite places to frequent when I ate crap was Sonic. You know? That little drive-up and order place. I absolutely love loved their onion rings. Sometimes, I’d get two large orders of their onion rings and eat them before I even pulled out of the parking lot.
Well, those days are gone and I no longer eat those “deep fried danger circles.” But, I also can’t deny how good those things were!
Onion rings in general are good, but Sonic took them to a completely different stratosphere. They also helped take me to 300 pounds and diabetes.
Fast forward many years later and much healthier, I dreamed of finding a way to recreate one of my favorite foods – the onion ring.
And, I could not be more pleased with these crunchy baked onion rings. (pat on the back)
Onion Ring Trial & Error
I can’t begin to tell you how many “healthy” onion ring recipes I’ve tried over the last five years. Some were good, but too much work and not practical. And, others might have been simpler but sucked. It became extremely tiring.
Honestly, I had resigned myself to the fact it just wasn’t meant to be. Let’s face it. The task was a bit daunting. A vegan onion ring recipe that was healthy. Baked, not fried. Yet, contained all the characteristics of the fast food version I consumed years earlier. Did such a thing even exist? It couldn’t be done.
Or, could it?
Tirelessly, I would pour myself into researching onion ring recipes. Day after day, night after night. And, most of the time with less than stellar results.
No matter what I tried nothing came close to those deep fried circles of yesteryear. But, I pressed on because I couldn’t live with myself knowing I had given folks a half-assed onion ring recipe.
I knew the standard I had set for Shane & Simple would be a challenge. But, damn it! My readers and followers deserve the best!
Onion Ring Success
One day everything changed! I found panko bread crumbs and I realized the secret was not more ingredients, but less.
So, I threw together a simple batter with unsweetened almond milk and whole wheat flour. Tossed in a couple of spices with the panko bread crumbs and voila – a masterpiece was born.
Could it be the onion ring I had been craving for so long was finally a reality? Crunchy, golden brown, savory, delicious and baked! My dream onion ring had become reality. And, that dream was also in my hand covered in ketchup and getting eaten like I was on my way to death row.
The kids loved them. My wife loved them. Friends loved them. I had succeeded. After many years of heartbreak and sorrow the journey was finally over.
I made crunchy baked onion rings.
Simple & Delicious!
You will be amazed at how simple these things are to make. 5 ingredients and about 30-40 minutes of your time is all that’s required.
A simple batter made with unsweetened almond milk and whole wheat flour for dipping. Then, a blend of panko bread crumbs and a couple spices to coat the onions. All that’s left is to bake them in a 450 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until they’re crunchy and golden brown.
That’s it! You’ve got legitimate crunchy baked onion rings.
Now, you can indulge and not worry about portion size or your thighs. Simply enjoy a delicious stack of onion rings without the guilt.
Best of all there’s no oily mess to clean up. No oil popping out of the skillet. And, your kitchen won’t smell like some greasy joint down the road.
Eat well my friends. Eat well.
Crunchy Baked Onion Rings
These onion rings are…
- A great comfort food
- Crunchy
- Baked, not fried
- Low in fat
- Healthy
- Simple to make
- Sweet on the inside, savory on the outside
- Irresistible
These onion rings are the perfect “watching football food,” rainy day snack food or binge watching your favorite show. They’re great with ketchup, but my Cashew Sour Cream, Tofu Sour Cream, or Cashew Mayo make a great dipping sauce too! Just add a little BBQ sauce or ketchup to make a restaurant style concoction.
Want A Few More Snack Ideas?
- Five Minute Fat Free Microwave Potato Chips
- Healthy Tortilla Chips
- Peanut Butter Balls
- Game Day Cheese Dip
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Hummus
If you make this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, RATE IT, and tag a photo #shaneandsimple on Instagram. Happy Fall, everyone!
Crunchy Baked Onion Rings
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Crunchy Baked Onion Rings are awesome! You only need 5-ingredients and about 30 minutes. They are golden brown, crunchy, healthy, and absolutely delicious. They’re also baked and not fried.
Ingredients
2 large yellow onion, sliced in rings about 1/4″.
FOR THE BATTER
- 2/3 cup unsweetened plant milk of choice
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (this also works with chickpea flour or oat flour)
DRY MIX
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs (make sure they are vegan)
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp. salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Add batter ingredients to bowl and mix until well combine and batter is smooth.
- In a separate bow, add “dry mix” and whisk to combine.
- Using a fork, dip raw onion ring into batter until entire onion is covered. Shake a few times and allow access to drain off.
- Transfer onion ring to bowl with breadcrumbs and coat evenly.
- Place onto baking pan and repeat until all onion rings are finished.
- Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until onion rings are golden brown and crunchy.
- Remove from oven and serve with favorite dipping sauce.
- Category: side
- Method: baking
Keywords: onion rings, side, snack, crunchy, healthy, vegan
Saw this and just couldn’t wait. Made them and they are unbelievable!!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much and pumped you enjoyed them. Thanks for the rating.
Dude, these are the bomb!!!! Thank you for the recipe!
Emily, that’s great! So glad you enjoyed them and thanks for reaching out and sharing!
They are crunchy, alright. Mine not as pretty as yours because the bread crumb mixture did not adhere too well.
Sorry to hear, Abby. Try using a thicker batter…that might help.
OMG!!! Shane…you have outdone yourself! Can’t wait to see what you come up with next! Love your recipes!!!
I just made these yesterday and I felt like I was eating the best of the fried onion rings, but instead they were quite healthy. The first onion I used I ended up having too much panko on them and they were not great. I then used the second onion and put them in the batter and then just a light sprinkling of panko. Oh my were they absolutely fantastic. Can’t wait to make them again.
★★★★★
Jeff, that’s great! They usually don’t last too long in this house with 5 kids:) Thanks for reaching out and sharing.
Do you think I could use coconut flour instead of wheat. Or oat flour?
I would use oat flour. It sure how coconut four would work or taste with the onions. But, oat should work fine.
I made it with zucchini and sweet potato and it was delicious. I just flip the vegtables around and cooked them a little longer so they be soft and taste good.
Nadine, that’s awesome! I love hearing stories like this. Thanks for sharing!!!
I wonder if these would work in an air fryer?
I think someone tried it and said it worked. I have yet to try them that way…but, I say go for it:)
So happy with these! Crunchy and tasty- the whole family loved them. Thanks for all the great recipes.
★★★★★
Wow, Debbie! Thank you. So pumped everyone enjoyed the rings. 🙂
Haven’t made these yet but planning on using them in green bean casserole for thanksgiving. How far in advance could I make them to use in that recipe? How would they keep best?
I would wait until the day you want to use them. Just so they will stay crunchy.
Just made the onion rings…great! Thanks for the tip on making them day of for green bean casserole.
My pleasure, Tami! I hope everything works out well:)
Could I use regular all purpose flour? It’s all I have right now. Thanks!
Yes, absolutely!
I have made these two days in a row for myself. My boys discovered them today. I will be adding more onions and panko to my grocery order. Thanks for another great recipe. Stay well!!!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thank you, Lindsey.
Made these with pantry items and the guys in this household loved them! Used chickpea flour and gluten-free panko cause that what I had in the pantry. Going into the favorite rotation cycle! Thanks, Shane
★★★★★
Awesome, Janell!
Really good onion rings that are healthy!! Yay! Thanks again, Shane, for another great recipe. (My rings didn’t look as good as yours.) They didn’t seem to coat so well but they were still really good!
★★★★★
These were so tasty! Incredibly crispy. I also added some adobo seasoning to my dry mix. Happy to have found a healthier alternative to an unhealthy obsession of onion rings.
★★★★★
Shane, could a GF 1:1 flour be used? These sound amazing but due to Celiac I have to alter this recipe and use Bobs Red Mill 1:1. Was curious if you’ve tried GF flours in any of your recipes
I would try Gluten-Free Oat Flour or corn flour (masa). But, any gluten-free baking flour should be fine.
This is a most excellent recipe for onion rings. It took care of two things I dislike about fried rings: greasiness and the onion pulls out when biting into a ring. My oven must be hotter than dialed temp so next time a little less baking to avoid over browning and they’ll be perfect.
Excellent! Onion rings have always been my weakness:)