How to Make Oven baked Onion Rings Without the Grease!

Onion rings are a classic summer food.  They are loaded with flavor, but unfortunately when traditionally deep fried at burger joints and fast food restaurants, also loaded with fat.  Here is a healthy new twist on deep fried onion rings—they are oven baked.  And just like oven baked potato chips, these crispy, crunchy rings still hold in all that flavor without all of the extra fat and calories.

This recipe makes about 18-28 onion rings.  Be sure to use sweet Vidalia onions for the most authentic flavor and texture.

Ingredients:

• 2 Sweet Vidalia Onions

• 1 Bag Baked Potato Chips (about 3 Cups)

• ½ Tsp Cayenne Pepper

• ½ Tsp Garlic Powder

• ½ Tsp Onion Powder

• ½ Tsp Dried Thyme

• ½ Cup plus 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour

• 1 Cup Low Fat Buttermilk

• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

First, preheat oven to 450F.  Next, cut the onions into ½ inch thick rounds.  Be sure to cut the onions thick because it will affect the texture of the final product.  If you accidentally cut them too thin and don’t feel like starting over (or you don’t have the extra onions to do so), they will still be good, but you will lose the sweetness of the onion and the texture of the surrounding bread mix.

Next, crush up the baked potato chips in a food processor (or blender) until they are finely ground.  Place the ground up chips in a shallow bowl.

Season the chips with the cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, & dried thyme, and mix well.  Separate the onion slices into rings.  Place the rings into a large resealable plastic bag with ½ cup of flour.  Close the bag and toss so that all the onions are coated with flour (think shake and bake).

Next, spray a large baking sheet with cooking oil or brush with canola oil.  Whisk the buttermilk and remaining 2 Tbsp of flour with salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Remove the floured rings from the bag and dip them into the buttermilk mixture.  Now, coat the rings in the potato chip mixture and place them on a baking sheet.  You should be able to fit about 18 rings on one baking sheet.  If you have leftovers, you can place them on a separate greased baking sheet and cook them all at the same time.

Turn the oven down to 425F and bake onion rings in the center of the oven for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.  The finished onion rings will be nicely browned and crunchy on the outside with the soft onion on the inside. 

Serving Suggestion

Serve immediately with condiments such as ketchup or ranch dressing.  You can refrigerate the onion rings for 3-4 days.  To reheat, put them in a toaster or conventional oven for 10-15 minutes.  Don’t microwave these, as they will turn mushy.

For a healthier spin on a fast food greasy classic, you can use these baked onion rings to make western bacon cheeseburgers.  Simply substitute ingredients with a lowfat turkey burger, lowfat turkey bacon, baked onion rings, and serve on a wheat bun with reduced sugar BBQ sauce.