Tony Roma’s Inspired Crispy Vidalia Sweet Onion Loaf with Original BBQ Sauce

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

102 Comments

4.82 from 16 votes
6
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
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Amazing Tony Roma’s Onion Loaf copycat for the tasty popular appetizer! Crispy deep fried onion rings with original BBQ sauce copycat recipe.

Onion Loaf with SauceThe Tony Roma’s train keeps rolling today. Yesterday’s Cole Slaw post was one part of this delicious summer BBQ meal! Today we continue with a delicious side/appetizer called an Onion Loaf. These days they make the loaf in the shape of a mini bundt pan, but the onion loaf of my childhood was this amazing towering loaf. You could order a half or full order (we always ordered the full size) and it would show up at your table, no less than a foot high, crispy sweet and savory with a large bowl of bbq sauce for dipping. Pay no attention to the calorie count of this dish. If you are working towards getting ready for bathing suit season, this is not the recipe for you. If you are looking for a finger licking good, sticky, salty, sweet fried onion ring….this is your lucky day!

The best part is that the recipe is so easy! The steps are uncomplicated and in the end you’re left with a great bbq side! To get started, slice the onions into rings. You’re looking for somewhere between ¼ and a ½ inch thick.
Combine milk, eggs and salt in mixing bowl. Soak onion rings in mixture for 30 minutes to an hour. The longer, the more tender. Heat oil for frying in skillet to 375 degrees F.Pancake Flour
Remove onion rings from milk mixture, coat with pancake mix. You can use a bowl or a plastic bag that you can shake up.Coated Onions
Tap excess pancake mix off onions.  Make sure your oil is ready to fry. This is not ready…Oil Not Ready
Still not ready…Oil Almost ReadyAlmost….Oil ReadyAnnnnnnd ready! Onions FryingFry rings until golden brown.Crispy Onion
Drain fried onion rings on paper towels.Crispy Onions
Pack fried onion rings solidly, but loosely, without pressing, into 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes.Onion Loaf with Sauce
Garnish with parsley and serve with BBQ sauce. Heck, serve with Cole Slaw and BBQ Chicken while you’re at it!Tony Roma's Cole Slaw - Sweet, Tangy, Delicious Cole Slaw with a hint of celery seed. Part of the perfect BBQ meal this summer!Enjoy!

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Dinner, then Dessert

Tony Roma's Inspired Crispy Vidalia Sweet Onion Loaf with Original BBQ Sauce

Amazing Tony Roma's Onion Loaf copycat for the tasty popular appetizer! Crispy deep fried onion rings with original BBQ sauce copycat recipe.
Yield 6
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 4 medium Vidalia onions
  • 1 cup milk , whole or 2%
  • 3 eggs , beaten
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups pancake mix
  • canola oil , for frying
  • parsley , for garnish
  • Tony Roma's BBQ Sauce

Instructions

  • Slice onions crosswise and separate into rings. You're looking for somewhere between ¼ and a ½ inch thick.
  • Combine milk, eggs and salt in mixing bowl.
  • Soak onion rings in mixture for 30 minutes to an hour. The longer, the more tender.
  • Heat oil for frying in skillet to 375 degrees F.
  • Remove onion rings from milk mixture, coat with pancake mix. You can use a bowl or a plastic bag that you can shake up.
  • Tap excess pancake mix off onions.
  • Fry rings until golden brown.
  • Drain fried onion rings on paper towels.
  • Pack fried onion rings solidly, but loosely, without pressing, into 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.
  • Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Garnish with parsley and serve with BBQ sauce.

Notes

Adapted from: LA Times SOS Kitchen from 1995

Nutrition

Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 672mg | Potassium: 432mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 295IU | Vitamin C: 10.9mg | Calcium: 196mg | Iron: 1.5mg

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Tony Roma's Copycat Onion Loaf - This delicious onion loaf is like crispy thin onion straws baked together and crispy that are just begging to be dipped in the delicious original recipe BBQ sauce.

Tony Roma's Cole Slaw - Sweet, Tangy, Delicious Cole Slaw with a hint of celery seed. Part of the perfect BBQ meal this summer!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I’ve made an almost identical onion loaf for years but I prefer the rings to be thinner…about 1/8 inch or less. I fry them just to a faint gold color, not really browned, then do a similar bake step. I prefer just lightly salted after and plain ketchup rather than a bbq sauce. But they’re good either way.

    Reply

  3. I have been eating this onion loaf since I was in my teens. Its the best since slice bread, I’m retired now and just discovered my favorite recipe side for bbq. I gonna reminisce about the good old days now.

    Reply

  4. “Pack fried onion rings solidly, but loosely, without pressing, …”

    I’m confused. How do you pack something solidly, but loosely? Solidly and loosely are opposite terms!

    I’ve never eaten at Tony Romas’s or ever heard of an “onion loaf” before, but I came across this randomly and find it interesting because of the simple ingredients.

    Reply

    1. Its means you want the oaf to be a solid form, but you don’t want to crush it together. Its a delicate process, sorry for the confusion!

      Reply

  5. I haven’t made it but it looks finger licking good easy to make

    Reply

  6. Use open pit BBQ sauce for this. Had this it at Tony Roma’s and a few other places that had it. Open Pit was awesome.

    Reply