Baked Onion Rings

When I go out to eat, I would be perfectly content just ordering appetizers and skipping the whole fancy schmancy entree part. They are all always so good, but I think they're that way because they are so darn bad for you. Pretty much everything is deep fried, covered in cheese or wrapped bacon. Not saying anything's wrong with that, but if you want to look good this summer I'd advise you to step away from the deep fryer.

Onion rings always seem like a healthy option to me, and since I love onions I usually order a plate of some. Thing is, they're fried too. So I guess that cancels out the healthiness factor, eh? 

I had a craving for some onion rings the other night, and since I'm trying to eat semi-healthy I decided I'd try baking some. They turned out delicious even after nixing the deep frying. They were perfectly coated and slightly crispy. Give these a try if you're trying to maintain your figure but still want the satisfactory of being able to eat those "bad-for-you" appetizers.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 cups fat free buttermilk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Slice onion into thick rings. Discard the smaller center rings.

Pour the buttermilk into a large bowl. Add the onions to the buttermilk and let them soak, at room temperature, for at least 30 minutes.

Mix the flour, pepper, cayenne pepper and salt in a shallow dish. One by one, remove the onion rings from the buttermilk and dredge in the flour. Tap off the excess and place on a dish. Continue with remaining onions.

Pour the breadcrumbs into another shallow dish. Moving quickly, take the onion rings that are now dredged in flour and, one at a time, dip them into the buttermilk again and then into the breadcrumbs. Make sure they are fully coated and then place on the baking sheet. Continue with remaining onions.

Bake onions for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time. If you like crispier rings, lightly spray the rings with canola oil so they crisp up while baking. Enjoy!

Source: SK Original