Old Fashioned Onion Rings (2024)

Ready to make restaurant-worthy onion rings in the comfort of your own home? You've come to the right place! Trust us: You're going to want to bookmark this top-rated onion ring recipe.

How to Make Onion Rings

Lucky for you, making onion rings at home is incredibly simple. Here's what you need to know:

How to Cut Onion Rings

You'll need to cut your onion into rings before you start frying. Simply cut the onion into ¼-inch slices, then use your hands to separate the slices into rings.

How to Make Homemade Onion Rings

You'll find the full, step-by-step recipe below — but here's a brief overview of what you can expect when you make these top-rated onion rings:

Coat the rings in a flour mixture, then in an egg batter, then in bread crumbs. Deep fry until all the rings are golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Best Onions for Onion Rings

The best onions for onion rings? The ones you have on hand! Any onion will do, but remember that the variety you use will affect the overall flavor. A sweet onion will produce sweet and mild results, while red onions will produce more potent results.

Nicole's Top Onion Rings Tips and Tricks

Culinary producer Nicole McLaughlin (a.k.a. NicoleMcMom) suggests making these onion rings when you want something that's crispy and crunchy on the outside, but tender and sweet on the inside. Here are a few of her favorite tips and tricks:

· Some recipes suggest soaking the onions in cold water. But, according to Nicole, you can skip that step if you're using a mild or sweet onion.
· Make-ahead onion rings are super simple: Nicole suggests battering them and keeping them in an airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to fry.
· You can adjust this recipe to make battered or breaded onion rings, Nicole says. If you plan to air fry it, though, go for the breaded option to avoid a mess.

How to Serve Onion Rings

Nothing goes better with onion rings than homemade ketchup. As far as main dishes go, you can't go wrong with a classic pairing: Everyone loves burgers with a side of onion rings. Check out our collection of 16 Retro Diner Dinner Recipes for more inspiration.

How to Store Onion Rings

Allow the leftover onion rings to cool completely before storage. Transfer them to an airtight container and place a paper towel between each layer to absorb excess moisture.

How to Reheat Onion Rings

The best way to reheat onion wings is in the air fryer — this will crisp them back up quickly. You can also use the oven, but avoid microwaving them (they'll end up soggy).

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

"I love this recipe," raves Melissa Budahn. "I use sweet onions and cut them into petals instead of rings. To add kick to these, I put jalapeño slices in the batter and deep fry them at the same time."

"So crunchy and yummy," according to imelda. "We didn't have any bread crumbs, so we pulverized pretzels in the blender and sifted to remove coarse and large pieces. The 'pretzel powder' stuck to the onion rings well and fried up super crunchy and delicious."

"This was my first time making onion rings and I couldn't have asked for a better recipe," says Jennifer Rehnke. "I used a sweet Walla Walla onion and Panko crumbs. Next time I might add a bit of chili flake to spice them up, but as-is you can't go wrong with this recipe."

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams

Ingredients

• 1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion

• 1 quart oil for frying, or as needed

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup milk, or as needed

• 1 large egg

• ¾ cup dry bread crumbs

• ⅛ teaspoon seasoned salt, or to taste

1. Slice onion into 1/4-inch-thick rings.

2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place a wire rack over a sheet of aluminum foil.

3. Prepare breading station by setting out 3 wide, shallow dishes. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in the first dish. Whisk milk and egg together in the second dish. Place bread crumbs in the third dish.

4. Dip each onion ring into the flour mixture, turning several times until fully coated with flour. Transfer to the egg mixture and use a fork to turn until coated. Lift onion with the fork and shake gently so excess liquid drips back into the dish. Place onion in the bread crumbs and turn several times to coat, scooping crumbs over the ring if necessary. Lift again with the fork, tap any excess bread crumbs back into the dish, and place on the wire rack while you prepare the remaining onion rings.

5. Deep-fry 3 to 4 onion rings at a time in the preheated oil until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels while you deep-fry the remaining rings.

6. Sprinkle with seasoning salt before serving.

   

Nutrition Facts (per serving)