Spicy Baked Onion Rings

Onion rings. You just can't go wrong with onion rings — am I right? Onion rings feel like summer. Carefree, kind of indulgent, delicious, and full of happy. Those last four words happen to describe my current state of mind, as well.

I had one of those "I can make that!" moments a few weeks ago in regards to onion rings: one of those things (like yogurt, or salsa, or pretzels!) I never really considered making at home, until I actually thought about it and realized it would be easy as pie! That and my blinding craving for onion rings (ALL WEEK), which was a driving force in the creation of these babies.

I hunted around the internet for baked onion rings recipes and found a variety of information — all different batters and coatings, techniques for dipping, double dipping, baking, and flipping. This recipe is the amalgamation of what I thought would work and test best. It definitely did!

You'll start by slicing your onions into thick rings, and preparing the batter and breading. Before you actually get to the batter, toss the onions in a bag with a little bit of flour - shake it up really well so they're completely coated in flour! This will help the batter actually stick to the onions, rather than slide right off.

Then you dip it in your batter. Let the excess batter drip off (give it a little shake), then coat it in panko-herb goodness. Don't go light!

There you go! Bake them up, flipping halfway though, then enjoy with the topping of your choice. While I'm not a barbecue-loving girl in general, I think onion rings are MADE to be eaten with a sweet barbecue sauce!

Spicy Baked Onion Rings

2 large onions (yellow or sweet are best)
½ cup flour, plus 2 tablespoon for initial tossing
⅓-1/2 cup beer, or milk, for batter
¾ cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoon grated parmesan
1 tablespoon dried oregano flakes
fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Slice your onions in to rings about ½" thick. Prepare the batter by mixing the ½ cup flour with enough liquid (beer or milk) to make it runny enough to stick to the back of a spoon, but not more than a thin coating. In a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs, grated parmesan, red pepper flakes, oregano, and pepper.

In a paper bag, toss the onion rings with the 2 tablespoon of flour until well coated. One by one, dip the rings into the batter, gently shake off the excess, and then coat thoroughly in the breadcrumb mixture. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet when they're ready.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown, carefully flipping them after 10 minutes. Serve immediately with a sauce of your choice!