Oven-Fried Onion Rings
These oven-fried onion rings are less mess than the deep-fried version, but just as crunchy and delicious!
Yesterday, I teased you with a recipe for a copycat version of the dipping sauce that is served alongside the bloomin’ onions at Outback Steakhouse… today I’m back with a killer recipe for oven-fried onion rings. All of the fabulous flavor and crunch but without the hassle of deep frying!
These onion rings are absolutely delicious – crunchy and full of authentic fried flavor without needing to actually boil a vat of oil and smell up the house. I baked them up for an appetizer a couple of Sundays ago and everyone absolutely raved about them – they couldn’t believe how crunchy they were, and all agreed that the accompanying dipping sauce definitely put them over the top.
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The secret to these amazing onion rings? The breading is made from crushed saltines and kettle-cooked potato chips! The saltines help to absorb extra grease from the potato chips, which keeps them from becoming too oily while still retaining a great “fried” consistency and flavor. Genius!
I also love that the seasonings (cayenne, salt and pepper) are added to the buttermilk mixture instead of the initial flour dusting. I think this helps give the onion rings great flavor, as the buttermilk batter adheres in a much more pronounced way than the initial dusting of flour does.
If I haven’t convinced you that these are amazing, I have a killer recipe for beer-battered onion rings that’s amazing, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how great this recipe is. More than one person said that these were the best onion rings they’d ever had!
One year ago: Banana Cream Pie
Four years ago: Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cake
Five years ago: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Six years ago: Black Forest Cake
Oven-Fried Onion Rings
Ingredients
- ½ cup (62.5 g) all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
- 30 saltine crackers
- 4 cups (340 g) kettle-cooked potato chips
- 2 large yellow onions, cut into ½-inch rings, discarding any less than 2 inches in diameter
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees F. Place ¼ cup of the flour in a shallow baking dish. Whisk the egg and buttermilk together in a bowl. Whisk the remaining ¼ cup flour, salt, pepper and cayenne into the buttermilk mixture. Pulse the saltines and potato chips together in a food processor until finely ground; about 8 to 10 pulses. Place the crumb mixture in a second shallow baking dish.
- Working one at a time, dredge each onion ring in flour, shaking off excess. Dip rings in buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip back into bowl, then drop into crumb coating, turning rings to coat evenly. Transfer coated onion rings to a large plate or tray.
- Pour 3 tablespoons oil onto each of two rimmed baking sheets. Place the baking sheets in oven and heat until just smoking, about 8 minutes. Carefully tilt the heated sheets to coat evenly with oil, then arrange onion rings on the sheets. Bake, flipping onion rings and switching and rotating position of baking sheets halfway through baking, until golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Briefly drain onion rings on paper towel-lined plate. Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on June 16, 2010.
I just made these are theyre to die for… thanks so much! Omnomnom
thegourmetprincess.com
I just posted this recipe on my blog. They are so good, I can’t stop thinking about them and when I will eat them next. Thanks for the recipe.
I finally made these for the Super Bowl tonight and they were super yummy! Even though they’re coated in potato chips, I still feel a little better about baking vs frying :) I subbed in some yellow cornmeal for the flour for the first “dip”…added just a little bit more crunchy texture. Great recipe, thanks!!
I loved how even after these sat out for a little while, they stayed crunchy! I think the kettle cooked chips were the perfect choice. You have converted me from being a opposed to large chunks of onion.
Yay for conversions! These onion rings are a great thing to convert to ;-)
Hi. Do you think that this recipe could be adapted to be of the blooming onion style and if so, what do you think the bake time would be? I like the way the bloom looks but want to try a healthier version, if possible. Thanks!
Hi Christine, I’ve never tried to make it like a blooming onion (so unsure of the bake time), but you could sure give it a try! Let me know how it turns out!
I’ve done this recipe twice so far and it’s been a hit. I made a batch today (2 big onions) and before I knew it, it was almost all gone, so while my guests were busy chit chatting, I made some more (I had another onion and batter). Even those that hate onions loved them. For the dip I couldn’t find horseradish, so I don’t know what I’m missing. It was delicious I also experimented with jalapeno chips instead of regular and they tasted great.
Thanks for a great recipe. Will make again.
I made the first ones and these were a definite improvement, though I think I’ll just stick to panko. The chips really didn’t add anything flavour-wise (and I used an actual flavour, not just salted) and I rarely have saltines around the house. It just seemed like more work when I could just dip them in some panko and get the same result. I don’t think I’m going to be able to duplicate anything close to A&W rings ever, so I’m just gonna stop bothering already.
i used this whole recipe as a base to make homemade chicken fingers- which my husband usually hates. these he loved- i did everything the same- except baked them at 450 for 1/2 hour.
Tried these out today…the texture of the final product was great. However, it tasted “baked” to me. I mean the kind of baked taste that doesn’t compare to the unbaked (fried) version. However, I think it could be remedied by additional seasonings – maybe a sprinkling of onion powder, sugar, and minced parsley into the crumbs mixture?
The sauce was 100% righteous – yum and hits the spot!
This recipe is great! I didn’t have saltines, I used Matzo meal. I also used the egg white only. The coating stayed on and the final product was crispy. Thx for the re-work.
Mai – So glad that you enjoyed these. Thanks so much for the tips on using Matzo meal and egg whites!
Wow these look so good! I’m so intrigued by the kettle chips and saltines used for the coating.
If I could be assured of consistent quality, I’d always pick onion rings over fries. These look delicious, and I love that they’re made in the oven. I’m going to try this the next time we make burgers!
Yum… I’m going to have to try these :)
These look so delicious! YUM! I love onion rings – and I love them even more when they’re baked!
My husband and I made the Take II recipe and LOVE IT!! These are so delicious and much better the second time around…thanks Michelle!
Those look perfectly wonderful!
I’m always looking for ways to make lower calorie versions of deep-fried favorites – and onion rings are definitely one of my faves. Thanks for sharing!
You had me around oven fried instead of boiling in van of oil. But when i read the ingredients I was jumping with joys. Crackers and chips. Everything goods in one recipe.
WOW! These look great. I think I’ll try them next week after a get a couple of the ingredients I don’t already have in the pantry. I’ve never made onion rings before, and I’d love for my first try to come out delicious, haha ;)
I forgot to add – I wanted to say how much I absolutely love your blog in general. I find myself coming here on a regular basis, and always finding something that I just can’t wait to try. So kudos :)
These look EXCELLENT! I’d been thinking a little absently about onion rings in the past few weeks, and this reminded me that I wanted to try some. Hope to get to this recipe this weekend!
That looks like the crispiest onion rings I’ve seen! I so much wanna try to make them. Thanks for inspiration!
I love crunchy “Onion Ring!!” Looks delish:)
Thanks for sharing this. I’ve always been too intimidated to try making onion rings. Usually if I am craving them, I’ll just go out to Burger King. I thought you might like this recipe to go with the onion rings: Burger King Onion Ring Sauce. Keep up the good work!
I haven’t had onion rings in forever, but now, for some odd reason I have an intense craving for some! :) These look awesome!
Thanks for sharing this post-sometimes the little things make all the difference in the world and the rings look terrific!
Healthy onion rings!!? Can’t wait to try this one. We try to stay away from fried foods. Thanks for the recipe.
Also, I like the Autumn Leaf – Jewel Tea dishes. I received some from my Mother years ago, then I started, little by little to collect.
I love onion rings but always feel guilty about all the oil…thanks for this healthy recipe!!!
It’s always disappointing when a recipe doesn’t turn out exactly how you want it, but so gratifying when you can re-work it into something as tasty-looking as these onion rings. I love that they’re oven-fried.
I love the alternative to deep fried onion rings you’ve posted here. My husband would love these and I love that they are (maybe?) a little healthier than the fried version. Thanks, as always, for sharing!