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How to make Homemade Onion Rings

How to make homemade onion rings with step by step easy to follow instructions.  Serve them as an appetizer for Super Bowl party food or as a side dish for a steakhouse dinner at home. Crispy crunchy onion rings in a beer batter, not greasy at all that everyone will love!

Just love onions, but don’t want a whole ring to maybe put on your burger? Be sure and check out or Crispy Onion Strips Recipe.

tower onion rings next to a cocktail

Best Onion Rings

There are times when life requires a dose of fried foods, something like these crispy fried onion rings. Nothing about them is healthy (yes, I know it’s considered a vegetable, and as much as I wish it did that doesn’t constitute being a healthy food.)

We love to partake in happy hour, but in today’s economy, it can get expensive. One of our favorite things is onion rings. Making them at home is a piece of cake. In less than 20 minutes you can have these Crunchy Fried Onion Rings. Perfectly seasoned, crunchy, tender crusted, hot onion rings!

These cuties are so simple it’s crazy. Anyone can do them.

Ingredients to make the best onion rings:

They require only 5 things to make them. The best part? You probably already have them in your kitchen because they are ordinary ingredients.

  • Onions
  • Seasoning Salt
  • Flour
  • Beer/Carbonated liquid
  • Oil

What onions to use?  

Any onion will work so again use what you have. We prefer the sweet onions like Maui Onions or Vidalia but honestly, the brown or white onions work equally as well.

What beer to use for the best coating on your onions

Using a carbonated beverage makes them light and airy. We use a good lager or strong-flavored beer like Blue Moon or Heineken. But use the beer you like.

What oil works best for crunchy onion rings?

Use a canola oil or vegetable oil for the best-flavored onion rings. Olive oil doesn’t get hot enough and you’ll end up with a greasy onion ring and no-one wants that!  Peanut oil leaves a strong flavor in the onion rings so even though it does get hot enough to avoid a greasy onion ring, it has an unpleasant aftertaste.

plate of onion rings for an appetizer

Tips for making the best onion rings:

Cut the onion rings all to the same width. I suggest cutting them to 1/4″ wide.

Take care to cut them to the same thickness they will cook evenly and all at the same time. Uneven widths will give you some that are much browner than others.

You need to mix the batter together right before frying so the carbonation is still in effect. This guarantees that the onion rings are light and crispy!

If you don’t want to use alcohol you can substitute carbonated water instead of the onion ring batter. The lightness of the batter comes from the carbonation of the liquid.

Preferential about seasoning? These are so versatile you can use any flavor you like …chili powder, seasoning salt, sriracha, cayenne pepper or just plain salt and pepper. Make them the way you like them!!

Carefully remove the onion rings using a special mesh spoon like this spider strainer that I use works really well. It allows the oil to drain easily but has a wide enough surface to remove several at a time so they don’t get too brown.

You can serve alongside your favorite cocktail for your home version of happy hour (I like any appetizer with a Bloody Mary or a Mai Tai) or these work great as a side dish for a nice steak dinner. Just make them. Then to really impress your guests…..display them in a tower….It looks like it was from a restaurant but made cheaper, and better at home.

How to make an onion ring tower 

  • Cut the onions to 1/4″.
  • Separate the onions rings and make sure to use all of the rings.
  • Stack the onion rings right after frying on a plate with the largest ring on the bottom and stack them larger to smaller all the way up.

More Game Day Appetizers or Happy Hour at home Appetizers!

stack of onions on a plate and close up of the coating

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plate of a tower of onion rings
Yield: 8 appetizer servings

Crunchy Fried Onion Rings

Crunchy Fried Onion Rings

Better than at a restaurant, these Crunchy Fried Onion rings are light, airy and hold their crunchy without being greasy at all!  Simple to make at home for an easy appetizer or as a side to go with a burger!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Peel onion.
  2. Cut onion into 1/2 inch rings.
  3. Discard middle rings and separate all onion rings.
  4. In large mixing bowl add flour and season salt.
  5. Mix well.
  6. Pour oil into pan to about 2 inches deep.
  7. Heat oil to medium high-high.
  8. While oil is getting hot start by adding 1/2 of bottle of beer to flour, mixing with a whisk to eliminate all lumps.
  9. While constantly stirring, continue adding beer until batter is the consistency of pancake batter.
  10. Add beer slowly and incrementally so it doesn't get too thin.
  11. You will know when the oil is ready when you drop a pea size piece of flour beer mixture into pan and it bubbles immediately and floats to top.
  12. One at a time, dip a few of the onions into batter then place in heated oil. Do not over crowd the pan.
  13. Cook 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown.
  14. Be sure to test one onion ring to make sure onion is cooked thru before doing the next batch, adjusting cooking times if necessary.
  15. If the oil gets to hot and starts to smoke, Remove the pan from the heat and turn temperature down. You will know if this happens if your batter browns too quickly.
  16. Don't get frustrated, the second batch of onions you fry are always better than the first (just like pancakes ;0)
  17. When rings are finished place them on stack of paper towels to drain, season with salt immediately. (Seasoning immediately after coming out of the oil allows the seasoning to stick better to onion rings.)

Notes

!Seasoning
You can use any seasoning salt you like, or try a tablespoon of a hot sauce, or bbq sauce. You can also use chili powder or paprika. Any seasoning will work as long as you enjoy the taste of it.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

8 appetizer servings

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 350Saturated Fat: 2gSodium: 876mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

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 collage of all of the onion rings

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Thursday 1st of September 2022

[…] Crunchy Fried Onion Rings: Better than a restaurant, these onion rings are light, airy and hold their crunch without being greasy at all!  Simple to make at home. […]

Arul

Saturday 27th of October 2018

What type of flour to use,maida or besan flour which one will be best?

Michele

Sunday 28th of October 2018

I have never used either of those flours but in reading about them I would try maida first.... ~. let me know how it turns out!~. ~michele

Sara | Life's Little Sweets

Thursday 24th of March 2016

These look amazing! pinning and sharing! I have such a weakness for onion rings!!

katie

Thursday 4th of December 2014

Made these for a girls night, everyone loved them. I still can't believe how easy they were!

Bbmyers

Thursday 4th of December 2014

YUM-I'm comin to your house for happy hour! What's the best oil to use for frying these?

WESTVIAMIDWEST.COM

Thursday 4th of December 2014

I use vegetable oil or crisco. Olive oil doesn't get hot enough, and peanut oil has too much added flavor!

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