Every year we go out to eat for my husbands birthday, and every year he chooses the same restaurant because he loves their onion straws. We just celebrated his birthday (quite a few months late–been busy!) and he decided we go to the same restaurant, but only get onion straws as an appetizer, then head over to a different place for dinner. I was relieved as the place is a burger joint and I would much prefer the
Blue Sushi and Sake Grill that we ended up at. It was a super fun night out with my sweet man! It was a stormy night, which made it quite fun and romantic. We drove an hour to Omaha to hang out in their downtown area, and ended the night at the best European dessert cafe called
Delice, sitting next to a fireplace. So much fun.
We devoured our greasy, delicious onion straws and a fun fruit drink, and honestly I felt quite sick right away! I love onion straws, but my body is not used to the grease. I knew I would have to try and figure out how to make them minus the grease & stomach ache, and I have done just that!
I started by slicing my onion thin with one of my favorite kitchen tools–my mandoline. This is not necessary, as onions can be sliced thin easily with a knife…but take my word for it…if you get one of these you will eat more vegetables. I use my mandoline daily and it takes just minutes to slice up a whole bunch of vegetables. My kids love it when I slice apples with it…nice and thin!
I searched the web for some baked onion straw recipes, and came up with one of my own using them as a guide. My recipe is close to this recipe from Closet Cooking.
I thought I had bread crumbs, but I didn’t. I decided to use the Triscuit Wheat crackers I had on hand ( I used Trader Joes brand) and it really gave them a good crunch & added some great fiber to the recipe. This is optional though…you can use regular bread crumbs, italian bread crumbs or panko crumbs.
The process was very easy, but messy. I used my hands to dip the onions. The mess really was no big deal and took just moments, but it kept me from taking pics of the process!
These were not greasy or overly salty like most onion straws you get at restaurants. They are full of flavor and nice and crispy, and really hit the spot without all the heaviness of your typical onion straws!
My family all ate them and loved them, and I will make them again for sure! My man was quite appreciative that I thought about him and took the effort to make a healthy version of one of his favs.
Healthy Baked Onion Straws
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 egg, beaten
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup crushed Triscuit type wheat crackers (I used a food processor for crushing) (or bread crumbs or panko crumbs)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
Soak sliced onions in cold water for 10 minutes. In the meantime, get 3 bowls out. Beat egg in one bowl. Mix flour and baking powder in another bowl. Mix crushed cracker crumbs or bread crumbs and seasonings + salt in the 3rd bowl.
Spray or coat a baking pan in oil to prevent sticking. I used Earth Balance and spread it out over the pan.
Drain onions well. Dip in flour/baking powder mixture. Then dip in egg. Then dip in breadcrumb/seasoning mixture. Place on pan. It is ok if the onions are not entirely coated…they will crisp up.
Bake at 450 for 7-10 minutes. Watch closely as they can get too brown very quickly. Enjoy!
