Can oil-free onion rings really be delicious? For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved onion rings.
As a kid, we’d go to the A&W drive-in for root beer floats and onion rings. Those were the days when you’d order from a parking space and a server would bring out your order on a tray to the car window.
Anyone else remember that? Sure brings back memories. Many of my childhood memories and of my father are connected to food. Perhaps why I enjoy my work to this day.
Until now I’ve never recreated an onion ring recipe at home. I’ve also never cooked with deep frying (it scares me).
And when we have ordered vegan onion rings at restaurants, they haven’t been quite as good as my memories of eating them. Do you know what I mean?
I still love the idea of onion rings, but really don’t care for that greasy, heavy version anymore.
So, I wanted to makeover one of my favorite foods from childhood in a way that I could really enjoy again – and in a way that my family would enjoy too.
But can vegan, oil-free onion rings be tasty?
Oh yes!
After quite a few trials, I landed a delicious, crispy, irresistible, oil-free vegan onion ring!
The secret to these vegan onion rings comes down to a few things:
- First, presoaking the sliced onions. Since the onion rings are baked, this step helps soften that raw flavor, for a more mellow, sweeter baked onion ring.
- Second, the magic of aquafaba. Yep, our beloved plant-based diet egg-white sub shines again! I actually haven’t been focusing on developing aquafaba recipes per se, but here it just seemed like the perfect fit – and it is. So, don’t skip the soaking – and don’t skip the bean water.
- Finally, the extra step of separating the breadcrumbs helps keep these oil-free onion rings crispy. The 3-step coating takes a little bit of patience, but will be well worth it, I promise!
Okay, enough talk. Time to dig into some scrumptious oil-free onion rings!
Please let me know what you think of these, guys – and if you have Dreena’s Kind Kitchen, you can also find this recipe tucked inside that book. x Dreena
Oven-Baked Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 medium onions
- 1/3 cup chickpea flour
- couple pinches sea salt
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup aquafaba chickpea brine; the liquid from a can of chickpeas
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs of choice, I like panko (option to use gluten-free breadcrumbs)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika or regular paprika, but smoked much tastier
Instructions
- First, slice and soak the onions. Slice in rings, and place in a bowl covered with ice-cold water. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Let soak for 1/2 hour. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chickpea flour with the sea salt in a ziploc bag. Put the chickpea brine in a bowl. Finally, combine the breadcrumbs, sea salt, and paprika in a third bowl. Once mixing through, transfer roughly half of this mixture to another bowl. (The onion rings will be coated in three steps – first in the chickpea flour, then the chickpea brine, and finally the breadcrumbs. Separating the breadcrumbs into two batches will help keep them dry so they will adhere to the onion rings. So, work with one bowl of breadcrumbs and then about halfway through the coating process, move on to that second bowl of breadcrumbs.)
- Place the soaked/dry onions in the ziploc bag, seal, and shake to coat the rings. Remove, and dip each ring in the chickpea brine (discard any remaining), and next into the breadcrumb mixture. Place rings on the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. After that time, rotate the trays (from bottom to top), flip the rings, and bake another 10-15 minutes until golden and crispy! Serve.
Notes
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This post was originally published in 2016 and updated for 2022.
wonderfulcook says
I love onion rings and your recipe looks so delish and simple. Can’t wait to try it.
Misty says
These sound fantastic. Where did you find bread crumbs that have no oil in them? I haven’t found any yet.
Jules Shepard says
I never met an onion ring that I didn’t like! These look delightful!
Merna says
Would I be able to use cornmeal?
Dreena says
You can try it, I’m thinking it might be a little crunchy. Try to get the very fine cornmeal – like the corn flour by Bob’s Red Mill. Let us know how it works!
Nutrimom says
I can’t remember the last time I had onion rings. Now I have no more excuses 🙂
Kathy says
Do you wisk up the bean liquid?
Dreena says
no, just use straight
Mary says
Hi, these sound amazing! Hubs is allergic to peas – including garbanzo/chickpeas. Can I use liquid from other beans like navy or black? And chickpea flour – what might I sub for that? Would love to make these for his bday! Thanks!
Dreena says
yes, I think you can use the bean liquid from navy or white beans, not a problem. As for the flour… I’m thinking red lentil might be the best sub if you can use it – but I haven’t tested it.
Jacqueline Carter says
Absolutely, I cannot have any oil because it makes me sick to my stomach. I have had this since I used to diet and after when I was pregnant. I have a lot of foods to stay away from. I was very sick when pregnant and was not able to eat because I would vomit up everything, even jello and orange juice. I didn’t even look pregnant. My stomach to this day will not eat any meat because of the terrible visions of slaughtering animals.
Andrea E says
Wow, I remember the A&W Drive-in! We were such root beer fans! And onion ring fanatics! I have an incredible recipe that involves seltzer, but i’ll give these a try too.
Nancy Nowak says
Can I use the liquid from chickpeas that I cook myself in my INstant pot? Thank you!
Dreena says
Indeed! Just need to use the cooking liquid rather than the soaking liquid. Have fun!
Debbie says
I definitely have very good memories of going to A&W with my family while I was growing up. My brother , sister and I would get into our pyjamas and with us in the back seat and my Mom and Dad in the front, off we went to A&W for those little mugs of root beer and sharing some fries or onion rings. It was almost magical how Dad ordered through the speaker by our car and out came a server with these tasty treats and that little mug of sweetness. Good memories.
Lee @ Veggie Quest says
Dreena, these look so good! I love onion rings but haven’t eaten them in years, since deep-fried anything doesn’t agree with me now that I’m eating healthier. But these? Yum! Pinning this right now. 🙂
Alisa Fleming says
Chickpea flour is my favorite coating for gluten-free needs in our house, and I simply love that you doubled down with aquafaba, too!
Rebecca August says
Nice to see you using aquafaba, Dreena! 🙂
Bethany says
YES!! My family and I used to go apple picking each fall, with a trip to A&W on the way home for a Bag O’ Burgers, onion rings, and root beer. Ostensibly, the apple picking was just an excuse to justify driving an hour each way to eat junk. But man, was that TASTY junk!!
Dreena says
oh, lovey memory! I’ve never been apple picking, and was just talking with our daughter about it – think we need to plan that this year. Stuff of childhood. 🙂
Stephanie Weaver, MPH, CWHC says
Wow! I will have to try these if I can find good GF bread crumbs. Looks absolutely amazing. I know what you mean about the taste not living up to the imagined taste. Lots of childhood favorites are like that.
Dreena says
Thanks Stephanie! Yes, funny how that is. It’s the emotions tied to the foods more than the food itself, I guess.