Name: Baked Onion Bhajis Recipe
Yield: 24
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 large onions, thinly sliced; 1 cup of Besan/Gram/Chickpea Flour (all the same thing, just with a bunch of AKAs); 1/2 tsp of baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 tsp of ground cumin; 1/2 tsp of curry powder; 1-2 Tbsp of Coriander chutney (I love KFI’s Coriander Chutney, because it is amazing with a bright taste and always ready to go, but if you prefer, 1-2 Tbsp of freshly chopped cilantro and a tsp of lime or lemon juice is great too); 2 Tbsp of Canola Oil; 8-10 Tbsp of water; drizzle of canola oil or cooking spray for oven baking.

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Ed’s most requested recipe! This baked onion bhajis recipe is delicious and easy to make – the perfect side dish for a curry or any Indian meal. Gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan. Every time he makes these he gets asked for the recipe – now he’s finally sharing to all our readers! ~Robin

by Ed

This baked onion bhajis recipe emerged in a very round about way. It begins, first and foremost with my family’s (specifically, Robin’s) love of onion bhaji. And what’s not to like?! If you’ve never had one, imagine onion rings but with more awesome flavours and you are starting to get close.

The next thing that spurred my desire to make onion bhaji was receiving an air fryer for a birthday gift a few years back. Here, at last, was a tool I could use to make Onion Bhaji without toting out my deep fryer and all the associated effort that goes with it. Plus: Healthy!

The first recipe I tried was very labour intensive and required waiting for the onions themselves to sweat out all the moisture needed to make the mixture. I’m sure this could be delicious, but I wanted a recipe that was fast enough to make on a weeknight after work.

The second recipe I tried – which I eventually adapted to what you see here – was much better, but the effort of air frying batch after batch to keep up with the relentless household demand for more, More, MORE! was too time consuming.

Was it possible, I wondered, to just oven fry the bhaji with a little extra oil on a cookie sheet, not unlike oven roasted potatoes or other high heat bakes?

The answer – yes it is and they are, in our humble opinion, even better than the air fryer version.

So here you have the final product: fast, oven baked onion bhajis – healthier than fried, gluten-free and vegan! I have yet to make enough in a single batch to satisfy my family.

Baked Onion Bhajis Recipe ~ Vegan, Gluten-free and Healthy!

Notes:

For these photos I used several small onions to make up for my lack of 2 large ones. This is a forgiving recipe and the onion-to-chickpea flour ratio is a matter of personal preference (we usually err on the side of MORE ONIONS)

Ingredients:

2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 cup of Besan/Gram/Chickpea Flour (all the same thing, just with a bunch of AKAs)
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of curry powder
1-2 Tbsp of Coriander chutney (I love KFI’s Coriander Chutney, because it is amazing with a bright taste and always ready to go, but if you prefer, 1-2 Tbsp of freshly chopped cilantro and a tsp of lime or lemon juice is great too)
2 Tbsp of Canola Oil
8-10 Tbsp of water
drizzle of canola oil or cooking spray for oven baking.

Steps:

Preheat oven to 400F

Chopping onions for bhaji — Thinly slice the onions. Smaller onions are usually fine just sliced, but medium to large onions I typically also cut in 1/2 or 1/3rds after slicing to make the bits more bit sized.

add oil to bhaji recipe — Add in the oil –

besan chickpea flour — Add 1 cup of besan/gram/chickpea flour – as previously mentioned, all the same thing.

add baking powder to bhajis — I forgot to get the baking powder in my ingredient shot (also the salt too), so for the visual readers, add the baking powder.

add coriander chutney and spices to bhaji recipe — Add the remaining dry ingredients and the coriander chutney (or chopped cilantro/lime juice).

oil parchment paper on baking sheet — Prep the baking sheet – I put a sheet of parchment paper down and a drizzle of canola that I spread around with my hand despite the fact that I totally own a pastry brush and this is pretty much the perfect time to use it.

mix baked bhajis — Mix the dry ingredients…

well coated onion bhajis ready to add water — … till they are well blended and most of the onion chunks are broken apart and coated in the flour

good consistency for baked onion bhajis — I really had to fact-check myself on this next step: I usually just hold the bowl under the tap and let a bit of water go in at a time while I mixed. Besan takes very little water to go from sticky mix to slush, so I always build up a bit at a time. For this recipe, I finally measured and found that anywhere from 8-10 Tablespoons seems to produce a good consistency. If your mix looks like the photo above, it is probably good. If it ends up too wet, add a bit more besan flour – see!? So forgiving!

spoon bhajis onto tray — What isn’t forgiving? Trying to scoop or ‘roll’ onion bhajis with your bare hands. Many recipes I found suggested oiling your hands and forming the little balls that way. I did not have success with this. Wet besan is basically a paste and my hands were quickly rendered useless. I’ve found that using two forks and making ‘haystacks’ as you would with some types of cookies is the best bet!

onion bhajis ready to bake — There we go – a full sheet. As long as they are mounded up pretty well, the ingredients will cook together for you (I say this because while forking them out, you are likely to think, “No way is this nonsense sticking together…”.)

spray with extra oil — Optional, but for added authenticity and flavour, brush with a bit more canola oil or spray with cooking spray.

bake onion bhajis recipe — Bake on middle rack at 400F for 10-12 minutes

ready to bake — At the 10-ish minute mark, turn the bhajis over. They should be starting to brown and for all the doubters out there, you will find that they hold together pretty well.

onion bhaji second baking — Return them to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until they look as browned as the onion bhajis you know and love.

onion bhajis baked and ready to serve — Here we go! Hot, oven baked onion bhaji. Make another batch while you eat these!

dip baked onion bhajis in tamarind sauce — Try with mango chutney, coriander chutney or, as above, with tamarind sauce.

Baked Onion Bhajis Recipe

Yield: 24

Ed's most requested recipe! Delicious and easy to make - the perfect side dish for a curry or any Indian meal. Gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan.

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Ingredients

2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 cup of Besan/Gram/Chickpea Flour (all the same thing, just with a bunch of AKAs)
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of curry powder
1-2 Tbsp of Coriander chutney (I love KFI’s Coriander Chutney, because it is amazing with a bright taste and always ready to go, but if you prefer, 1-2 Tbsp of freshly chopped cilantro and a tsp of lime or lemon juice is great too)
2 Tbsp of Canola Oil
8-10 Tbsp of water
drizzle of canola oil or cooking spray for oven baking.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F.
Prep the baking sheet: place sheet of parchment paper down, drizzle with canola oil and spread it evenly with brush or fingertips.
Place thinly sliced onions into a large mixing bowl. Onion slices should be bite-sized pieces (2 to 3 inches or smaller).
Add the oil and chutney (or chopped cilantro/lime juice). Stir to break up and coat the onions.
Add 1 cup of besan/gram/chickpea flour and add remaining dry ingredients. Mix until well blended and most of the onion chunks are broken apart and coated in the flour mix.
Gradually add 8 to 10 Tbsp of water, 2-3 Tbsp at a time, until the mixture looks like stiff cookie batter. If mixture ends up too wet, add a bit more besan flour.
Use two forks to make 2-3-inch diameter haystack piles (as you would with some types of cookies.)
Brush with a bit more canola oil or spray with cooking spray.
Bake on middle rack at 400F for 10 minutes then turn the bhajis over. Return them to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until they look as browned as the onion bhajis you know and love.
Enjoy! Try with mango chutney, coriander chutney or with tamarind sauce.

Notes

This is a forgiving recipe and the onion-to-chickpea flour ratio is a matter of personal preference (we usually err on the side of MORE ONIONS).

Nutrition Information

Yield 24 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 56Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gSodium 111mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 2g

We shared lots of delicious and quick to prepare side dish recipes:

Ed Hicken Co-Creator

Ed Hicken is a DIY Creator with over 30 years of experience, a Financial Educator and a talented home cook.

Baked Onion Bhajis Recipe ~ Vegan, Gluten-free and Healthy!

Baked Onion Bhajis Recipe ~ Vegan, Gluten-free and Healthy!

Notes:

Ingredients:

Steps: