Pull Apart Onion Rings

When football season rolls around you start hearing the “I’m just here for the snacks” jokes - honestly I get it. I am here to mildly watch the game, but I am heavily invested in the football snacks. Now that Seahawks season is back in full swing + Sundays usually mean several hours of football, you better believe I’m making a fun snack. When I want something easy + fun + something that tastes delish with a cold beer I am making these - Pull Apart Onion Rings. Holy crap they are so good + I honestly can’t stop raving about them. Think oven baked nachos, but instead of chips you have a base of caramelized onions + crispy cheese that you can pick up + pull apart, and then you top it with all your favorite burger toppings. Chunks of ground beef (in our case it’s Impossible Patties), house sauce, dill pickle chips - the works. It’s so mouthwateringly delicious + it is impossible not to get totally hooked on them. Bonus - I’m pretty sure the keto community would say this is healthy, and I’ll take that win.

 
 

Part Onion Ring + Part Nacho

This recipe is football snack fusion. Think the taste tender, caramelized taste of the perfect onion ring and then the concept of nachos. That’s exactly what’s going on here. No breading or battering needed, and instead the onion rings crisp up in the oven with cheese - getting perfectly tender + a little bit sweet. The ultimate buttery, lush onion that’s hiding inside a breaded onion ring, except that’s the entire core of this situation. It’s all onion + no crispy coating I mean, which means no frying. Which also means no mess, and THAT is something that we celebrate here at my house.

You’ve Got To Make Sure the Cheese is Crispy

Now the nacho component - the melted cheese that cooks up with the onion to give you that solid base + allows you to rip up the onions and enjoy this as a finger food kind of app. The key is to really make sure you crisp up that cheese. Look for a solid brown + crispy edge on the outside of the pan and also some crispy bits on the top. Don’t hesitate to turn on that convection feature in your oven if you need it! It’s the cheese that turns this into little chips that you can pick up + dip in a little extra sauce.

 
 

All the burger toppings

The goal is to make this taste like a big mac. An easy thing to accomplish! We crumble up an Impossible Patty + throw that on top of the onions + cheese so it can cook up with the onion, and get nice + crispy as well. When it’s out of the onion we throw on all the toppings - pickles + a burger sauce being the must have items at our house. This would be so good with some shredded lettuce + diced up tomatoes, too.

The recipe + inspo has been heavily circulated in our friend group

 
 

For the onion rings

  • EVOO spray

  • 1 onion, thinly sliced with a mandolin

  • 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (a heaping cup)

  • EVOO spray

  • favorite dill pickle seasoning blend (or just salt + pepper)

  • 1 Impossible Patty, cut up into small bite chunks.

  • 1-2 dill pickles, cut into chips

  • house sauce

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking tray with parchment. Spray the parchment with a thin layer of EVOO. Spread the onions in a single layer on the baking tray. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, and then sprinkle the seasoning over the top. Finally, sprinkle the Impossible patty over the top. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes - you want the cheese to be crispy around the edges.

When the onions are finished cooking, remove the tray from the oven + let them cool on the pan for 10 minutes. To finish, sprinkle pickles over the top + drizzle with the house sauce. Cut the onions into squares + enjoy.

For a quick house sauce: Add 1/2 c. mayo, 1 tbsp Dijon, 1 tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp dll pickle brine, and a pinch of cayenne to a bowl. Add in a sprinkle of salt + pepper. Mix together + set in the fridge until you’re ready to eat!

Lesley ZehnerComment