Baked Onion Rings

Try these delicious vegan onion rings – you’ll love them! They’re incredibly simple to make, delicious, and crispy. Plus, they’re baked instead of fried, so they’re much healthier!

If you’ve ever ordered onion rings as an appetizer at a restaurant, you will definitely agree that they’re a guilty pleasure to eat. I used to be timid of making my own, but now that I’ve found this simple Onion Ring Recipe, all bets are off. These onion rings are easy to make, crispy, and oh-so-delicious!

The recipe is also vegan and gluten-free, so it’s a win-win situation! Of course, that implies that more family members and friends will be able to enjoy this delectable side dish with you!

Many vegans believe some items on the menu will never be made vegan-friendly, especially in the version of a healthy meal. Let’s be glad this dish is nowhere near the bottom of the barrel. After all, there’s no justification why you should not be able to enjoy these kinds of meals even if you have dietary restrictions. You might be amazed to see that a single onion yields a surprising number of onion rings.

I’m crazy about making quick and easy fast-food style baked dishes, that are full of flavor and satisfying, see my Baked Jicama Fries, Oven Baked Potato Fries, and Cauliflower Nuggets, 

Appealing Point: Baked, Not Fried

There is no denying the delectability of this indulgent dish. However, the traditional onion rings will certainly not soon be considered a healthy food and a far-reaching solution for those who carefully observe what they consume.

Luckily, this baked onion rings recipe is far healthier than your traditional fast-food version.

You can avoid the large vat of oil by baking these delectable vegan onion rings.  Indeed, if desired, this recipe can be made entirely oil-free (though for perfect crispiness, I love to use a little). Additionally, in the recipe notes (below), I have included an air fryer method, which cuts cooking time and produces wonderfully crispy results.

Furthermore, if you’re still not convinced, this recipe only calls for a few simple pantry ingredients. Most of which are almost certainly already available in your kitchen. Besides, this recipe is completely versatile, having plenty of substitution options. 

Vegan Onion Rings Recipe: A Step-by-Step Guide

These vegan onion rings are simple to make and will knock your socks off with their flavor and texture. For making these light, crispy, and tasty vegan onion rings, you need the following ingredients:

Ingredients

• Onion – it’s best to use large white or yellow onions. white onion is more spicy and stronger taste than yellow onion.
• Almond milk – use unsweetened almond milk or your favorite non-dairy milk.
• Tapioca starch – starch made from tapioca also known as yuca, manioc. See How To Make Tapioca.
• Brown rice flour – gives the onions a great crispy texture, substitute with millet flour.
• Nutritional yeast flakes – great cheesy flavor and for your rings.
• Cornmeal – I used organic cornmeal, medium grain.
• Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion, Salt– adds flavoring and color. 
• Continue below to the recipe card for full Ingredients

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 ℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat with oil.
2. Peel the onion and slice them into circles about ½ inch thick. Separate the onion rings from one another with caution and set them aside.
3. Mix tapioca starch and milk in a small bowl, and set aside.
4. In a medium-size bowl, mix brown rice flour, yeast flakes, cornmeal, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and sea salt.
5. Repeat with each onion ring, first dipping it in milk, then in the dry mix, and transferring it to the baking sheet.

Helpful suggestion: To ensure a less messy process, it’s better to use one hand for dry ingredients and the other for wet. Divide the dry ingredients into two bowls for even more convenience. For example, put the battered onion ring in one bowl and then press some from the other bowl on top.

1. Apply oil with cooking spray or brush to the battered onion rings. Bake them for 15 minutes (but watch carefully that they don’t burn).
2. To make them look like the photo above, brush them with oil after baking. Additionally, you must eat them immediately!

Recipe Notes

Ingredients Variations

• You can use white, yellow, or sweet onions according to your personal preferences.
• Instead of almond milk, you can substitute plant-based milk or vegetable stock/broth.
• You can make a lot of different variations with the herbs and spices that have been used in this recipe. Add cayenne pepper for extra spice/heat. Additionally, you can add black pepper, turmeric powder, mixed herbs, curry powder, oregano, etc.

Air Fryer Baking Instructions

Food-prep is super hip and easy with an Air Fryer, which gives you the same crispy fried results as oil, but it’s entirely oil-free! If you have an air fryer, bake these vegan onion rings at 400°F (or follow your air fryer directions) for 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on them to ensure they do not become too dark.

In order to prevent the onion rings from getting mushy, you will need to cook them in smaller batches, spreading the onion rings out in the basket.

Serving

• The Onion Rings will stay crispy for a few hours after making them but will become soggy in a single night if you leave them out. However, since they are suitable for eating warm, like most “fried” foods, serve them fresh.
• Onion rings are delicious when you dip them in ketchup, but they taste great with vegan sour cream or vegan mayonnaise as well.

Reheating 

These vegan onion rings, to be honest, are best when served out of the oven fresh. It is, however, possible to reheat any leftovers. However, I’m not a big fan of reheating them.

If you’re reheating leftover onion rings, follow these simple instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Line up the onion rings on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 3-5 minutes, or until they regain their crunch. Ensure that they do not become too dark.

Freezing 

Freezing onion rings works. Bake them first, then allow them to cool completely.  Then place them in an airtight container or a freezer bag. Stock them in the freezer. They can last up to 2-3 months.

Allow them to thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours before eating. Then, reheat them, following the instructions mentioned above.

Give a try to this vegan onion ring recipe, and please let me know how it turns out. I’d appreciate your feedback and rating of the recipe below.

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