Ditch the deep fryer in favor of this quick and easy recipe for Crispy Baked Onion Rings paired with your choice of dipping sauces.
“But how does the breading stick?”
This is the culinary conundrum I face every time I ditch the deep fryer in favor of breading and baking my way to deliciousness (See: Baked Asparagus Fries).
The answer? A squeeze of mayonnaise into the whisked egg whites, which attracts the breadcrumbs like bees to honey, like syrup to pancakes, like Kelly to doughnuts. They get stuck. And stuck hard.
The result is baked onion rings that are just as crispy and crunchy as their deep-fried, beer-battered counterparts.
So go ahead and save the oil for the corn dogs (and the wonton poppers … and the apple fritter rings …) and preheat your oven for a healthier take on everyone’s favorite savory side dish. And don’t forget a side of crispy French fries, too!
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Ingredients
- 2 large Vidalia onions
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs (See Kelly’s Note)
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Slice the onions into 1/2-inch wide rings then place the rings in a bowl of water.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In a second medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites and the mayonnaise. Add the breadcrumbs to a third medium bowl.
- Remove each onion ring from the water, shaking off any excess and then placing it immediately into the flour, tossing until it’s thoroughly coated, then dip the onion ring into the egg white mixture until it’s thoroughly coated and then into the breadcrumbs, pressing them firmly onto all sides of the onion ring. Place the onion ring on the prepared baking sheet and repeat the coating process with the remaining onion rings.
- Throughly spray the onion rings with cooking spray (this is optional, but it helps them brown more evenly). Bake the onion rings for 10 minutes then flip them once and bake an additional 5 minutes until they’re golden brown and crispy. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Kelly’s Note:
- Fine (rather than Panko) breadcrumbs work best, as they adhere more easily to the onion rings. I prefer the Italian-style breadcrumbs, which are seasoned with herbs and spices. If you can’t find the Italian-style breadcrumbs in your supermarket, make your own by mixing plain breadcrumbs with garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, salt and pepper.
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Having never left a review in my life on anything, I feel obligated to save even one person from this mess to qualify as a human. Everything about it was horrible. The mess, the quantity of bowls and utensils, the hard fail of anything to even remotely attempt to stick to the onion, your fingers will pile up like cotton candy on a spool, anything else will gum up and build up but nothing will stick to the onion. The waste and then roughly half of the rings semi worked out and the finale… ta daa… awful and in the trash. Walk away fast.
Hi Eddie – I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe. If you removed the membrane, the coating should stick without any issues.
Excellent recipe. Next time, I will not put the onions in water because we felt some of the onion flavor was lost.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Adrienne!
Has anyone tried corn flake crumbs?
I have not but you’d just need to make sure they’re really crushed up so they adhere!
Got them in my oven as we speak!
So far they r looking just as pictured….
I hope you enjoyed the onion rings, Lucy!
They are crispy and brown! Great recipe! Thanks!
You are so welcome, Jeff! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
GREAT RECIPES!
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying them, Tara!
I love this recipe! I have been using it for about 4 years. I have shared your recipe with many friends and a lot of my patients who have diet restrictions and also love onion rings. I make them GF for my wife using GF flower and panko crumbs that I season with some Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Thank you for this recipe, it lets me indulge myself with onion rings and not feel terrible after eating a pile of them. :)
Love, love, LOVE reading this, Jon! I’m thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe for so long!
These turned out well. My only change was crushed pork rinds instead of breadcrumbs.
Fantastic!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Pat!
Ever follow an online recipe that looks amazing and it turns out EXACTLY like what the author touted it would? Yep, this is that recipe. Amazingly delicious and crispy onion rings. Do yourself a favor and make these rings. So good!
LOVE reading this! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
I love this recipe. I recently altered it for a celiac friend using GF flour and adding Italian seasoning to crushed Rice Crispies. So good!
Amazing! I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Tara!
These are CRISPY and CRUNCHY! Loved them! Next time I think I will try different seasonings in the breadcrumbs, perhaps parmesan, garlic and paprika?
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Louise! Those additional seasonings would be delicious, too!
Wonderful taste and texture without loads of fat!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Jo!
I searched for an onion ring that was baked due to cholesterol issues. I made these tonight and they were delicious! We were surprised how crisp and delicious they were. This will be my go to recipe from here on out!
Woohoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Terri!
These were great. My little one is kind of picky but he loves these. It was simple. I did add ranch seasoning in to the breadcrumbs.
I’m so happy to read this, Alberta!
So easy and turned out perfect! Thanks!
You are so welcome, Janice! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
Delicious and so easy to make!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Jane!
A good alternative option. The seasoning is a bit off. I’ll try it again maybe it will be better. Overall happy with the result : )
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, Georgie! Looking forward to reading your results next time if you switch up the seasonings! :)
Fabulous recipe! So, So crispy! Definitely will make again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Gail!
I don’t know if I’ve ever written a food review before but I had to for these onion rings. I was craving something deep-fried but since I don’t eat deep fried foods I was looking for some options. I saw this recipe and although I doubt it it would satisfy my craving it totally did! These onion rings are crispy and delicious And not that difficult to make. Next time I make these I might try putting the onion rings directly from the water into a bag of flour and seasonings rather than do it with my hands because they are messy. Highly recommend it!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review, Linda! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!