What’s better than an onion ring? A jalapeño popper onion ring! I’m all about putting things inside of things right now!

These glorious medallions of delight also have bacon, but they’re still vegan! They’re also super easy to make gluten free by using gluten free Panko!

Be sure to watch my video for more tips and fun!

Ingredients:

• Onions

Filling:

8 Oz WayFare Vegan cream cheese

2-3 tbsp diced jalapeños (depending on how spicy your taste buds are)

1 tbsp bacon bits (they’re accidentally vegan!)

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Breading for frying:

1 cup chickpea flour

1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup brine from the jar of jalapeños (if you don’t like it too spicy, you can just replace with more water)

Panko (you can use gluten free)

Oil for frying (I used vegetable)

Directions:

1. Slice some onions into full circles. I can’t really tell you how many onions you’ll need because it just depends on the size of your onions. You can use the inside to fry up as is while you’re at it, cut up and save for salads or whatever you want to use the rest of the onion for.
2. In a bowl, use a hand mixer to whip up the vegan cream cheese for a few seconds so it’s easier to work with. Then add the rest of the filling ingredients and whip up.
3. Place your raw onion rings on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Then fill each one with your filling so it touches the edge of the inside of the onions.
4. Place these in the freezer until frozen.
5. Once frozen, begin heating up the oil on the stove or a fryer and start making your batter.
6. Whisk together the chickpea flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, water and brine until smooth. If it’s too thick, add a little more water.
7. Put about 2 cups worth of the Panko in a shallow bowl.
8. Dip the raw onion popper medallions in the batter and then in the Panko and put back on the cookie sheet.
9. Now head over to the fryer and begin frying in batches for a few minutes on each side. Let them sit on some paper towels after you take them out to get rid of the excess grease.
10. Enjoy!