Oven-Baked Oil-Free Onion Rings

I hadn't made oven-baked onion rings in ages. Recently, I saw some that Shane and Simple had on his website, and it reminded me that I needed to make them again. His version is somewhat different, but it looks amazing, too! Check out his website. He has AWESOME whole foods plant-based oil-free recipes, too!

Chef's Note: Always use a different utensil to dip the onions into the batter than the one you use to dredge into the crumbs. Otherwise, you will get batter in the crumbs and those clumpy crumbs will not be usable.

1 large Vidalia (or other variety onion), sliced into 1/4-1/2" rings (depending on how thick you like them), air dry for 10 minutes

Batter: 
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or any kind of flour works)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t garlic powder

Crumbs:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 t salt
A few dashes of cayenne pepper if you want them spicy

Add the flour into a bowl plus enough water to make a batter that drips but will still stick to the onion slices (about the consistency of pancake batter). Add the salt, paprika, and garlic powder to it. Stir to combine.

In a shallow bowl, combine whole wheat bread crumbs with salt (and cayenne, if you want them spicy).

Dip individual sliced onion pieces into batter using a mini-sized pair of tongs, then drop the battered onion slice into bread crumbs. Using a fork and a gentle shaking motion of the bowl, coat the battered onion with the crumbs. Place battered and crumbed onion slices (one-by-one) on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Make sure none of the onions touch each other. Bake at 450 degrees F until crispy. This will take 20-ish minutes, depending on the size of your onion slices. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce!