Healthy Vegan Onion Rings (Fat Free!)

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These 6-Ingredient Healthy Vegan Onion Rings are Crispy, Golden Brown, and Absolutely Delicious…but you don’t need ANY Oil to cook them!

Ahhh, the Onion Ring. To be honest, I can’t really remember the last time I’ve had one. Mostly because as I became a more health-conscious person, my cravings for greasy, salty, and deep fried foods slowly faded away.

However, these Vegan Onion Rings are (1) not deep fried (2) not unhealthy (3) magically crispy, WITHOUT Oil. Say what?!

These Healthy Vegan Onion Rings are Fat Free and an easy Side Dish! #plantbased #onionrings #vegan #healthy #oilfree #easyrecipe #fatfree

Crispy and Fat-Free Onion Rings sounds like an oxymoron, but believe me, it is possible. And delicious! I brought these to a potluck and they were gone in less than 10 minutes. Which is a pretty damn good seal of approval, if I do say so myself.

I have provided instructions to cook these Vegan Onion Rings in both a conventional oven and an air fryer. An Air Fryer is a super cool device that allows you to “fry” foods without the use of oil! I recently acquired one a month or two ago, and have been pretty obsessed. (Side Note: it makes the BEST crispy tofu in only 10 minutes. Future recipe, perhaps?)

I would recommend the Air Fryer method, as the Onion Rings were more crispy and cooked in less than half the time! This is the one I use.

These Healthy Vegan Onion Rings are Fat Free and an easy Side Dish! #plantbased #onionrings #vegan #healthy #oilfree #easyrecipe #fatfree

This recipe is surprisingly simple, too. You only need 6 ingredients, and they’re all very affordable. Heck, you probably have most (if not all) of them in your pantry already! And most of us probably have an Onion (or two, or three) that may or may not be sprouting and is just screaming to be cooked with. Or is that just me…

Don’t forget the ketchup, though. It’s essential 😉

These Healthy Vegan Onion Rings are Fat Free and an easy Side Dish! #plantbased #onionrings #vegan #healthy #oilfree #easyrecipe #fatfree

A Few Final Thoughts:

  • These Onion Rings will stay crispy for a few hours after you make them, but will not last overnight. As with most “fried” foods, they are best served warm.
  • For a less messy preparation, try to keep one hand dedicated to dipping the Onion Rings in the wet mix, and the other for the dry. You’ll be glad you did!
  • This recipe would also work well if you swapped the flour for Gluten Free flour and used GF breadcrumbs. You could also use these breadcrumbs made from Chickpeas to give the recipe a higher-protein content.

If you’re looking for more Healthy Side Dishes, you’ll also love these Perfect Oven Baked Fries and this Easy Vegan Cornbread!

Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂

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Healthy Vegan Onion Rings

These 6-Ingredient Healthy Vegan Onion Rings are Crispy, Golden Brown, and Absolutely Delicious…but you don’t need ANY Oil to cook them!

  • Author: Caitlin Shoemaker
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6 People 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 23 Yellow Onions (3 medium or 2 large)

For the Wet Mix:

  • 1/2 cup Flour of Choice (All Purpose, Spelt, GF, etc)
  • 2/3 cup Unsweetened Plant Milk
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

For the Dry Mix:

  • 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs (make sure they are Vegan!)
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp Salt

Instructions

  1. If you are using an Oven, preheat it to 450F.
  2. Slice the end off of each Onion, and then peel the outer skin off. Carefully cut each Onion into 1/2″ circular portions.
  3. Note the “layers” that comprise each Onion portion (like the pattern in a tree trunk). We will be using two Onion “Layers” for each Onion Ring. Using your fingers, carefully press the center portion of each Onion away from two of the Onion Layers, to form a hollow Ring. Repeat with each portion of the Onion until no more circles remain, and then continue with the rest of the Onion portions.
  4. Add all of the Wet Mix ingredients to a medium bowl, and stir well.
  5. Add all of the Dry Mix ingredients to a separate bowl, and mix well. Then, divide the Dry Mix evenly into two separate bowls. (The Dry Mix gets a little “sticky” with time, and this prevents the mixture from becoming unusable.)
  6. Using separate hands for the Wet and Dry mixes, dip each Onion Ring into the Wet Mix, then transfer to the Dry Mix and coat evenly with breadcrumbs. Place onto a greased or lined Baking Tray, or into the basket of your Air Fryer if you are using one. Repeat with the remaining Onion Rings.

Air Fryer Baking Instructions:

  1. Bake the Onion Rings at 400F for 8-10 minutes. You will have to cook the Onion Rings in a few batches, so the basket does not become overcrowded. Serve Warm.

Oven Instructions:

  1. Bake the Onion Rings on a greased or lined Baking Tray (I used a silicone mat) at 450F for 30-35 minutes. If you are using parchment paper, I would suggest flipping the Onion Rings, but otherwise you should be ok. Serve Warm.

Notes

These Onion Rings will stay crispy for a few hours after you make them, but will not last overnight. As with most “fried” foods, they are best served warm.

For a less messy preparation, try to keep one hand dedicated to dipping the Onion Rings in the wet mix, and the other for the dry. You’ll be glad you did!

This recipe would also work well if you swapped the flour for Gluten Free flour and used GF breadcrumbs. You could also use these breadcrumbs made from Chickpeas to give the recipe a higher-protein content.

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These Healthy Vegan Onion Rings are Fat Free and an easy Side Dish! #plantbased #onionrings #vegan #healthy #oilfree #easyrecipe #fatfree

About the Author

Hey there, I’m Caitlin! I make easy-to-follow, wholesome, and budget-friendly vegan recipes that are mostly gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I’m also an avid yogi, love the great outdoors, am chocolate-obsessed, and enjoy eating almond butter straight off of the spoon.

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Comments

  1. What a fantastically easy and yummy recipe! I was dying for onion rings after a hard day of gardening, almost made a trip to the store to get Nathan’s frozen onion and I thought, “Maybe I can find a plant based recipe online.” Well, I found a super recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it! I will definitely make these again! 5+ stars!!!

  2. Best onion rings ever! I made them in my air fryer; they were crispy, crunchy and perfect in 8 minutes. Thank you Caitlin for this great recipe.

    1. This vegan fried onion (no oil) recipe is the BEST! I’ve tried a few others but this one really is exceptional. I did mine in the air fryer. THANK YOU!

  3. Sensational!!! These are classic onion rings, so delicious and you don’t even miss the oil. The panko gives them a nice crunchy exterior. XXOO

  4. Just what I was looking for! I baked them in the oven and they came out crisp and crunchy, though next time I will try a different onion (used white) and reduce the cooking time to about 20 minutes. I also have an air fryer and I will try this recipe with the sir fryer the next time I make them. Six ingredients, easy to follow instructions, and yum! Thank you!

  5. Just got a new air fryer for Christmas, and this was the first recipe I tried. They came out amazing — kind of reminds me of vegetable tempura, which I LOVE. I ended up cooking mine for 12 mins because I like the extra crisp and they were perfectly tender inside and crispy outside. I am amazed at the results without using oil!

  6. Hands down the best onion rings I’ve ever had!! Soooo crunchy and delicious, I can’t believe they’re baked!! This is a recipe I will keep in my favorites!! Thank you!!

  7. Hi. I just came across this recipe and it looked pretty quick and easy! Made it and really enjoyed it! Finished the batter on some mushrooms, delicious! Cooked them the same as the onion rings, 400 for 9 minutes! Will be making these again. Thank you so much for your hard work creating great content.