crispy ‘southern fried’ onion rings

Crispy ‘Southern Fried’ Onion Rings. Need I write more?  No, but I will.

This recipe was inspired by my hormones, as many of my recipes are. The greatest thing about these is that they are baked, not fried. I don’t care about the fact that this makes them healthier, I just like that they’re baked because that makes them easier to make! I don’t have a deep fryer and the whole process of frying things on the stove sounds exhausting, especially when you’re dying of cramps. Even though they’re baked, these onion rings are crispy (and salty) and everything my uterus was craving. I was actually surprised at how nicely they turned out!

To flavor these onion rings, I use the Southern Fried Chicken Spice Mix by Splendor Garden. I adore this spice mix and throw it on everything. I buy it from my local health food store and you can find it online here. However, if you do not want to go searching for a spice mix, my nine-spice mix will work nicely in this recipe as well. If you use the homemade version, I would use a little less salt.

crispy ‘southern fried’ onion rings

serves 1
active time: 15 minutes ~ total time: 35 minutes

These baked crispy ‘southern fried’ onion rings will satisfy any craving.  As always, they are vegan, gluten free, and fairly easy to make.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 large white onion
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour
• 1/4 + 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup gluten free bread crumbs (or non gf if you can!)
• 2 tbpsp tapioca flour
• 1 tbsp southern fried chicken spice mix, or my nine spice mix (recipe follows)
• 1/2 – 1 tsp salt*
• 2 tsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spread the oil on a parchment lined baking sheet.
2. Slice the onion in 1 inch rings and gently separate.
3. Combine the batter: mix the chickpea flour, water, and apple cider vinegar together.
4. Combine the coating: mix the bread crumbs, flour, spice mix, and salt.
5. Dunk an onion ring into the batter and then cover with the coating.  Repeat for all the onion rings or until you run out of batter and coating.
6. Bake for 20 minutes (or until crispy), flipping the onion rings after 14 minutes.

*Use less salt if you are using the nine spice mix as it already salty.

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nine spice mix

yields approximately 1/3 cup

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp onion salt
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp all spice

Directions:

1. Mix all the spices together in a jar. Shake well.
2. Store in an airtight container.