Crispy Oven Baked Onion Rings

Name: Crispy Oven Baked Onion Rings
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 large sweet yellow onion (outer skin removed, and sliced into 1/2" thick rounds); 1/2 cup all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika; 3 eggs + 3 tablespoons water (beaten); 2-1/2 cups panko bread crumbs; olive oil cooking spray; more salt for sprinkling on top

by Natalie on April 7, 2016 — updated November 2, 2021 // 10 Comments »

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5 from 2 ratings

Crispy oven baked onion rings. So easy and delicious! They’re extra crunchy thanks to the panko bread crumbs.

Don’t you get so excited when you learn that something you use all the time has a purpose you didn’t know about?

For instance, did you know that in your car where it shows how much gas you have, there is a little arrow next to that gas pump icon? And that arrow is pointing to the side of your car where you pump the gas?

That blew my mind.

Or that the headphones for your iPhone do a ton of cool things besides just “pause”? If you double tap really quick, it skips the song. And if you hold it down for a few seconds, Siri comes on.

That made my day.

The newest one I just discovered today was about my stroller. I’m tallish, 5 foot 8. And my stroller handle is just low enough that I barely have to hunch over when pushing it. I didn’t really notice it until I did a ton of errands in one day, and my bad posture was bothering my back.

Well today, I was walking around Trader Joe’s, wishing that my stroller handles could raise up just a little bit more. I was staring at the handle, and like magic I noticed that if I pushed the buttons on the side that let me collapse the handles when I put it away, also moves the handles up past 90 degrees if I keep lifting. I had always just stopped when it “clicked” at 90 degrees. But it can go up 2 more clicks if you need it to be taller.

I FREAKED OUT!

I’ve been walking around like a hunchback for no reason. This whole time it was right there! I couldn’t wait to show Shawn when he got home. His response?

“Yea, I already knew it did that Nat. Cool, right?”

Ummm, thanks for telling me!

My handy stroller hack didn’t impress him, but these crispy oven baked onion rings sure did! You would never guess they weren’t fried. These onions rings are crispy on the outside, and still tender and soft onions on the inside. They taste just as good as fried onion rings, but much healthier and way less clean up in the kitchen.

I’m already a fan of oven baked over fried, like my crispy oven baked potato wedges. But now those have some stiff competition, because these onion rings are really hitting the spot.

These crispy oven baked onion rings get their extra crunchy exterior from panko bread crumbs. They also get lots of flavor from the flour dredge. I add in a little smoked paprika, and it gives the onion ring a tasty smoky/sweet flavor. I love it.

You just spray them with some olive oil cooking spray, and bake them in the oven. No need to even flip them! While it does take a some time to dredge them all, about 20 minutes, after that you’re all done because the oven does all the work. No need to stand over a hot frying pot and stink up your house.