Baked Onion Rings

Who here loves a delicious onion ring?!?!

MEEEE!!!

You probably do also, right?  I love french fries and all, but when a place has a really good onion ring...man, I'm all over that.  But at our house, on Bloody Mary Saturdays (or Bloody Mary Sundays), we want something to munch on while we catch up on our Netflix shows.  By now you know how I despise frying things (okay, okay...so that last post was totally worth it, see: Bang Bang Shrimp.), so when I saw these baked onion rings, I thought I'd give 'em a go.  Since leaving the house was out of the question (Bloody Mary Saturday, remember?), I figured I'd whip up these batch of these.

They were so crazy easy, I would definitely make them again.  I loved using breadcrumbs rather than a thick batter coating, and cleanup was simple.  These were really, really good, but I would not compare them to the slutty greasy battered deep fried ones we all know and love.  But if you are making these at home, and want something that doesn't oilify your house, is friendlier on the waistline, and great to make in huge batches...this is for you!

*I used plain bread crumbs, because that is all I had, and they worked fine, but I think next time I will use half bread crumbs and half panko crumbs.

Baked Onion Rings
Printable Recipe
By Eat Healthy Your Way

• 2 medium yellow onions
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 large eggs
• 11/2 cups fine dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon seasoning blend, such as Cajun, jerk or Old Bay
• Olive oil or canola cooking spray

1. Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 450°F. Coat 2 large rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. Cut ends off onions and peel. Slice 1/2 inch thick; separate into rings. (Reserve the smallest rings for another use.) Place in a medium bowl; cover with cold water.
3. Combine flour and baking powder in a shallow dish. Lightly beat eggs in another shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs and seasoning in a third shallow dish. Working with one ring at time, remove from the water, letting any excess drip off. Coat in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in egg and let any excess drip off. Then coat in the breadcrumb mixture, shaking off any excess. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Generously coat the onion rings with cooking spray.
4. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn each onion ring over and return to the oven, switching the positions of the baking sheets. Continue baking until brown and very crispy, 8 to 10 minutes more.