Oven Onion Rings

Ohmygoodness. The hubby is a big fan of all things fried. I don't fry stuff. Ever. So when I stumbled across a low-cal baked onion ring recipe from Food Network, I thought it must be too good to be true. Not so, my friend. These little badboys came out crisp, spicy, and oh so tasty. It was so refreshing to finally be able to eat a freaking onion ring without battling a quarter-inch layer of grease in your mouth- yuck! I served them with jalapeno ranch for dipping.

I modified the original recipe somewhat- this is my version. I used more spices and I didn't spray the battered rings with cooking oil before baking them. (It simply wasn't necessary.)

INGREDIENTS

Something to grease the pan- cooking spray, oil, or butter
4 cups dry bread crumbs
Seasonings to taste- I used Konriko Cajun seasoning, seasoned salt, cayenne, pepper, and garlic powder
1 cup lowfat buttermilk (I just used plain 2% milk and it turned out fine)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large onions, peeled

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Grease a cookie sheet and set aside. Combine breadcrumbs and seasonings in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine buttermilk (or milk), 2 tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper and set aside. Slice onions into 1/2-inch circles and separate into rings, keeping only large, whole rings (reserve rest of onions for other uses). You should come out with about 12 to 14 rings.

Place the remaining flour in a sealable plastic bag, then add onions, and shake to coat. Dip onions 1 at a time into the buttermilk mixture, then dip into seasoned breadcrumbs and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until coating is crisp.