Enjoy some game-day favorites and spare the guilt with these healthier baked onion rings and sweet potato fries with barbecue ranch sauce.
Healthy food on point!
It’s not a secret that I enjoy sweet potato fries more than the regular kind, baked and all. So it is time to wrap your head around how tasty they are with these skinny onion rings as well.
Let’s get to it!
Do not get discouraged by the fact that you will need to chop up your sweet potatoes into fry-looking things. It’s not that bad I promise. First, wash and peel the potatoes. Start by holding the potato with one hand and slicing vertically into half inch sections with the other. Once you have sliced the potato up, then start cutting the sections one fourth inch thick. You can always cut them thinner if you like but that’s a nice place to start. And they don’t all need to be perfectly cut cuz we want to finish them before the sun goes down.
I really love the flavor that these sweet potatoes have and let’s give it up to the seasoning blend I used! 👏 Read on for the deets on that! So much flavor and a little bit of a kick but not much which is just how I like them. Is your mouth watering yet?
Just pop these little guys into the oven for about 15 minutes, stir ’em around, and give them another 20 minutes and you have got yourself some amazing sweet potato fries.
You guys gotta try these!
Who says onion rings have to be deep fried to taste good? I am here to let you know that this skinny version is not going to let you down. Quite frankly, you may just decide to let go of the overrated and calorie-busting fried versions. Can I just say your body will thank you. You won’t get that bloated feeling either.
I have big plans for both these little guys. I am envisioning they will take part in many game-day parties, backyard BBQs, burger nights, younameit I am going to enjoy handing these healthy little guys out to my family.
Skinny Onion Rings and Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Fries
- 3 sweet potatoes
- 1-1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground Ancho chile powder or chile powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- pinch of black pepper
Onion Rings
- 2 large sweet onions such as Vidalia, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 1 quart buttermilk
- 4 egg whites
- 3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Ancho chile powder or chile powder
- nonstick cooking spray or olive oil spray
Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup light Ranch
Instructions
Sweet Potato Fries
- Wash sweet potatoes and peel.
- Slice potatoes into 1/2 inch sections. Then julienne into about 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch fries. Try to cut them the same size but is definitely okay if some are bigger than others.
- Soak sweet potatoes in cold water for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 425℉. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Rinse and drain sweet potatoes. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Place in a large sealable plastic bag and add corn starch. Shake bag until sweet potatoes are evenly coated with the corn starch, breaking up any clumps that may form.
- Transfer to a large bowl and add olive oil. With hands evenly coat all of the sweet potatoes with the oil.
- In a small bowl, combine chile powder, paprika, salt, coriander, cumin, and black pepper. Pour over the sweet potatoes and stirring frequently to get them evenly coated.
- Place sweet potatoes onto baking sheets in a single layer, trying not to let them touch each other. Bake for 15-18 minutes, stir up with spatula and spreading back into a single layer.
- Bake for another 18-20 minutes.
- Let cool for 5 minutes.
Onion Rings
- Place onion ring slices into a baking dish and pour buttermilk over rings to allow them to soak 2-4 hours. Cover tightly with saran wrap and refrigerate.
- After onions have soaked, remove them from the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Spray two baking sheets with nonstick or olive oil spray. Here's a spritzer if you're looking.
- In a medium bowl, add lightly beaten egg whites. In a baking dish, add bread crumbs, cornmeal, panko and next four seasonings from ingredient list and combine well.
- Dip onions into egg whites making sure to coat both sides.
- Then press onions into bread crumb mixture and coat both sides evenly. If it does not adhere to onions, try dipping into egg whites again and then coating with bread crumb mixture a second time.
- Place onions onto prepared baking sheets. Smaller onions can be placed inside larger onions as long as they aren't touching.
- Spray coated onion rings with nonstick spray or olive oil spray to seal the crumb mixture on to the onions.
- Bake for 15 minutes, carefully flip onions with tongs, and then return to oven to bake another 15 minutes.
- Let cool 5 minutes and then serve.
BBQ Ranch Dipping Sauce
- In a smal bowl, mix bbq sauce and ranch and stir. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
More Delicious Snacks
Coconut & Cashew Granola
Easy Chip N Dip Platter
