Baked Onion Rings

Update: These are AWESOME cold too! Leftovers are still crunchy and delicious!

I have nothing against fried food, but at some point you have to dial it back a bit, at least on the side dish, so here's my solution.

When the aroma hits you, and your mouth waters, you will thank me. I won't be there, so I'll say it now.

You're welcome.

Get these things together:

1 large onion (any kind will do)

2 cups cornflakes

3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs

1 large egg

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup AP flour

1 large onion (any kind will do)

2 tbsp olive oil

I forgot to put the buttermilk in the picture of ingredients, because at the time, it was in the refrigerator, with onions soaking in it, but....

Remember these little cuties? I needed buttermilk for some cornbread I was making a few weeks ago, and I froze the leftover buttermilk in ice cube trays.

Last night I took about half of this quart sized bag of buttermilk cubes, and put them into a Rubbermaid container in the refrigerator to thaw.

I chose this container because it was large enough to put all the sliced onions in when the time comes, why dirty two containers right?

Time to slice the onions. Nobody's favorite thing, but since we have to do it anyway, lets get the most out of it shall we?


Slice the onion slightly more on the thick side, thicker than you would for sandwiches, keeping in mind you want them to retain their shape after being cooked, too thin and you'll get floppy rings.

Pop out the centers, they don't make good onion rings, but they won't go to waste....

I diced up the centers of the onion slices, and it yielded 1/2 cup of chopped onions that are now in my freezer, waiting for a recipe that needs them, and when it comes along I won't have to chop onions!

This is the container I thawed the buttermilk in. About an hour before I wanted to eat, I sliced up the onions and put them in the buttermilk to soak. In the fridge.

They aren't completely submerged in the buttermilk, so put the lid on and shake it around.

Remove the onion slices from the buttermilk, but don't discard it! Pile the onions up on a plate, they'll be the start of your assembly line in a few minutes.

Look how well the buttermilk sticks to the onion rings when you take them out!

This is what's going to give you that thick batter just like deep fried, but without the extra fat.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Pour oil onto baking sheet, and put it in the oven for 2 minutes. When it comes out, tilt the baking sheet to evenly distribute the oil.

In a food processor or blender, combine corn flakes and bread crumbs, pulse until they are fine, and put them in a medium bowl.

In another medium bowl mix together the egg, buttermilk leftover from soaking, flour, salt & pepper, and any seasonings you choose, such as cayenne pepper, Old Bay, cumin, oregano, etc. It's going to look like there isn't enough of this, but I promise, it is enough.

Dredge the onions in the egg mixture, then the breading, then place on the baking sheet. Don't overlap or they'll be soggy.

Bake for 6 minutes, flip, bake 6 more minutes. That's it!