Stella Drivas, content creator, cookbook author and founder of Hungry Happens, has had a series of viral recipe videos, but right now her two-ingredient Onion Ring Chips are queen, with over 19 million views and 1.1 million likes on TikTok. It’s even bigger on Instagram.
As a dietitian, I’ve suggested several of her Parmesan vegetable “chip” recipes to clients who are working on learning to enjoy vegetables. They’re high calorie and even higher sodium, so they’re not for every diet especially in large servings, but if you’re eating low-carb or working on a basic healthy diet and struggling to shake hands with sprouts or still cringing at carrots, this idea is a serious win. It’s also seriously simple; most recipes are just Parmesan, a veggie and some seasonings, with relatively easy prep.
Drivas came by her recipe development bona fides by working in her dad’s diner from the age of 14.
“I grew up eating cheeseburgers, french fries and onion rings, and those were my go-to, still are,” Drivas tells me, “But this is kind of a healthier version.”
I’ve made several of Drivas’ recipes in the last year, and I have my own fond memories of a certain special diner’s onion rings, too. She was kind enough to let me in on some tips for success, so let’s try it!
Drivas says that rule No. 1 to scatter a good-quality, well-aged and shredded Parmesan evenly over some parchment paper — no grated stuff in the green can on aluminum foil, or you’ll end up with a grainy mess and bits of metal in your molars. I’ve had good luck with her other recipes using a silicone baking mat, too, but whatever you do, line the pan, lest you be scraping burned cheese off for several days.
After setting the oven to preheat with the rack in the middle, I dutifully weighed out 7 ounces of shredded Parm and scattered it over the parchment.
Next is the important task of onion-slicing. Drivas’ recipe calls for two small ones in 1/4-inch slices, and it’s important that they are of an even thickness, so I’m using that setting on my mandoline with a cut-resistant glove. No mandoline? You can slice them by hand if you pay close attention to thickness, and that’s easier to control if you cut the onion in half root to stem first, then slice half-moons. It might sacrifice a little beauty, but that’s preferable to sacrificing a finger.
Drivas says it’s important to keep the slices relatively intact, touching but not overlapping, even cutting some rounds in half to fit into the corners and edges.
“Fill up the whole layer with onion,” she says, “On a lot of videos, there’s all this dead cheese space that could have been onion. That’s real estate!” Spoken like a true diner-owner’s daughter.
Finally, she brushes with olive oil, salt, garlic powder and paprika. I’ve added black pepper because I am an unrepentant addict. Then, pop them into that 400 F oven for 18 minutes.
I gave mine a few extra minutes, but the onion slices were still paler than I had hoped, and even after cooling for 10 minutes as instructed, they remained flexible. They’re 100% percent delicious, but not exactly chips.
Still, I was hoping for that golden-brown, crispy bite, and Drivas mentioned that oven variation and even things like relative moisture level in different varieties of onion might mean they would come out too soft, so I tried a few tweaks.
First, I tried a couple of 1/8-inch slices on individual cheese beds in the air fryer at 360 F for 8 minutes. They were delicious but similarly pale on the bottom and not exactly crispy. It’s a great way to try out the recipe with a small serving, though.
(image: air fried
It turned out that the key for me was a thinner cut done in the oven; this entire batch of 1/8-inch slices came out spectacularly — crisp and salty with the perfect hint of chew and a wonderful, concentrated onion flavor just as reminiscent of that hometown diner as I had hoped.
Drivas’ suggested Lazy Tzatziki dipping sauce is perfect for these — as the lemony bite rounds out the salty cheese. They would also stand up well to green goddess or blue cheese dressing, and I even used a few leftover pieces as croutons on a Caesar salad the next day. Brushed with pizza seasoning and dipped in marinara, they might also make a fun, pizza-adjacent option for a low-carb diet.
Like a lot of Drivas’ vegetable chip recipes, this one is well worth a little tweaking to perfect. If you’re not sure of the texture you want, start with slicing up just one onion in a couple of different thicknesses on a bed of 3 ounces or so of Parm, and see what you like best.
If a couple of them come out on the floppy side, don’t despair! Trust me — they are dynamite on a turkey sandwich, and that texture is a plus if you sprinkle them with pizza seasoning and dip in marinara for a low-carb, pizza-adjacent snack. They also freeze well and reheat beautifully with a couple of minutes in the air fryer, so I’ve got big burger plans.
