Baked Onion Rings are a delicious, crunchy and ready in 30 minutes. Panko bread crumbs add crunch and Parmesan cheese, paprika and cayenne add great flavor.
In an attempt to create a good Baked Onion Rings recipe, I’ve had to experiment quite a bit. It hasn’t been easy because let’s face it, fried onion rings taste fabulous and are incomparable when done right. And there is much discussion about whether frying in olive or even avocado oil makes deep-fried foods healthy. Either way, it’s good to have variety and this IS an excellent baked onion ring recipe.
When looking for my baked onion ring option a few things mattered. First of all, the onion rings would need to be crispy, so adding panko bread crumbs to the flour mixture became a good option. Then adding a bit of olive oil to the bread crumbs gave a hint of deep-fried flavor that traditional fried oven rings are known for. Last and of course!, they had to have excellent flavor, otherwise what’s the point? I added smoked paprika, just a hint of cayenne and some Parmesan along with salt. This seasoning combination worked well together without being too spicy or overpowering.
Soaking the onions in buttermilk infuses a mild, almost creaminess to the rings. Dipping first in flour helps the batter stick to the onions and the panko mixture adds just the right amount of crunch. Set-up the process in assembly line fashion and it goes pretty quickly.
You can serve these with your favorite dip or ketchup, but they’re seasoned perfectly if you want to eat them straight up! This is a baked onion recipe where the rings come out crisp and flavorful and you won’t even miss the deep-fried version (much).
Baked Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 4 cups buttermilk, divided (you can make your own for equal success)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan, don't add more or the onion rings might stick to the pan
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large yellow sweet onions, sliced ¼ to ½ inch thick
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place parchment paper onto 2 baking sheets and set aside.
- In a large Ziploc bag, add onions and 2 cups buttermilk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but an hour is ideal. Flip bag occasionally.
- In a small bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons paprika, ¼ teaspoon cayenne, and 2 teaspoons salt. In another bowl or shallow dish, whisk together the remaining 2 cups buttermilk and 4 eggs. Add half of the flour mixture to the buttermilk and beat until smooth and thickened.
- In a separate bowl, combine 3 cups panko, ⅓ cup Parmesan, 4 Tablespoons olive oil and remaining 2 teaspoons salt.
- Lightly dredge the onion rings in the flour mixture and then drop into the buttermilk. Drain the excess batter and then lightly dredge in the panko mixture. Too much of the panko on the onions may result in your rings being too hard, so don't force more than will cling to the batter.
- Arrange on the prepared baking sheets in a single layer. You can place smaller rings inside bigger rings if necessary, just make sure there is space between them. Then place in the oven. Cook until golden brown, 14 to 20 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, flip over each onion ring to ensure even crisping and browning.
My 16 year old son made these for us lat night. They were really delicious!!! We had a few different sauces to dip them in. Will be making these again.
I could eat 4 onions cooked like this! They turned out great!
Oh be still my heart! 🙂
😀 xo