Air Fryer Onion Rings
Mar 05, 2021, Updated Jul 23, 2024
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These crispy air fryer onion rings are sweet and crunchy, lightly breaded, and cooked with a fraction of the oil of deep frying. And none of the mess! Serve them as a snack on game day or as a party appetizer.
I’ll always be a fan of traditionally fried onion rings. But these air fryer onion rings are my hands-free, mess-free alternative whenever I’m not up for deep-frying. With minimal effort and simple ingredients, these scrumptious, crispy onion rings come together for an ideal side dish at game time or anytime!
Serve them with crispy air fryer potatoes and pork chops or crab cakes. Plus, if you’re already a fan of my air fryer steak and these super popular cauliflower bites, you’ll love how easy it is to create a complete meal with your air fryer.
Why Cook Onion Rings In the Air Fryer?
- It’s quick. Not only is cleaning up super quick, but so is air frying. You’ll need to cook these onion rings in batches, but each batch takes only 10 minutes.
- Just as crispy. Of course, there will be some differences in texture, but I think you’ll find that air-frying onion rings makes them just as crunchy as their deep-fried counterparts.
- Less oil. All that flavor crunch, with a fraction of the oil? Yes, please! There are no hot splatters, no hovering over hot oil, and less grease with this onion rings recipe.
You’ll Need the Following Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these homemade air fryer onion rings. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable details, including amounts and step-by-step instructions.
- Onions – For this recipe, you’ll need large, sweet onions (see below). Trim the ends off, peel away the top layer of skin, and cut the onion into thick, ½-inch rings.
- Flour – You can use any type of flour to bread the onion rings. Almond flour, coconut flour, a gluten-free blend, or your favorite all-purpose flour. It’s all good, it all works! My favorite choice is coconut flour.
- Eggs – Lightly beat 3 large eggs.
- Milk – Milk adds a touch of richness and improves the texture of the batter. Any dairy or non-dairy milk does the trick.
- Panko – I use 2 cups of the gluten-free pork panko crumbs for this recipe, but you could also use regular panko breadcrumbs or your favorite breadcrumbs.
- Seasonings – Chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika, plus salt and pepper to season the breading mix.
The Best Onions for Onion Rings
Onion rings are usually made from white onions or yellow onions, and they do make tasty rings! However, I think that what really makes an onion ring special is the sweetness of the onion. For that reason, I recommend using Vidalia, Maui onions, or even red onions.
Recipe Tips
- Chill the onions. Some chefs swear by using chilled onion rings, saying that the chilling process helps the onion rings cling to the breading mixture more effectively. I’ll take it!
- Go easy on the egg. You’ll notice that there’s not a traditional thick batter in this recipe, and that’s very important! Very wet or battered ingredients don’t do well in the air fryer. So be sure to let the excess egg and milk mixture drip off of each onion ring before you finish breading it!
- Don’t crowd the basket. Arrange the onion rings in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Overcrowding can lead to uneven cooking.
- Serve immediately. Crispy onion rings are best enjoyed fresh and hot right out of the air fryer. They tend to lose their crunch if left out too long.
Optional Dipping Sauces
For serving, you can dip these air fryer onion rings in ranch, ketchup, honey mustard, or any of the ideas below.
- Roasted garlic aioli
- Remoulade sauce
- Tartar sauce
- Sweet chili sauce
- Bang bang sauce (from my bang bang shrimp recipe)
- Barbecue sauce
Serving Suggestions
Serve these air-fried onion rings as a side with air fryer chicken wings or diner-style with black bean burgers, classic American cheeseburgers, or salmon burgers. Onion rings are also a delicious appetizer on game day, paired with more finger foods like potato wedges, coconut shrimp, and bang bang chicken skewers.
Crispy air fryer onion rings also make a great side to seafood dishes, from lobster rolls to crab cakes and grilled Mahi Mahi.
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Air Fryer Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 large sweet onions, trim the ends, peel off the skin, and cut the onions into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- ¾ cup coconut flour, almond flour, gluten free flour, or all-purpose flour work just as well.
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 cups pork panko crumbs, you can also use plain breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- dipping sauces, for serving: ranch, ketchup, hot sauce, honey mustard, etc…
Instructions
- Prep the air fryer. Preheat the Air Fryer to 375˚F.
- Prepare the onions. Carefully separate the sliced onions into rings.
- Set up the breading station. Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Whisk the eggs with the milk in a separate shallow bowl. Finally, place the panko crumbs in a third bowl and whisk in the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Bread the onion rings. Dip the onion rings in the egg mixture; then dip it in the flour and coat on all sides with the flour. Again dip them back in the egg mixture, coating completely. Finally, add them to the breadcrumbs mixture to thoroughly coat; use your fingers to press the crumbs onto the onions.
- Transfer the onions to the air fryer. Spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil. Place each onion ring in the air fryer basket; do not crowd the basket. Leave a little bit of room in between the onion rings. You will have to cook the onion rings in several batches.
- Cook. Spray the onion rings with cooking oil and air fry them for 5 minutes. Flip over the onions, spray with cooking oil, and continue to cook for 5 more minutes.
- Serve. Remove the onion rings from the air fryer basket and transfer them to a serving platter. Serve with dipping sauce.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Air Fryer Onion Rings
With this easy recipe, you can make perfectly golden, crunchy onion rings right in your air fryer. Follow these simple steps.
- Prep the air fryer. Preheat your air fryer to 375˚F.
- Prep the onions and breading. Separate the onions into single rings and set aside. Place the flour in one shallow bowl, and whisk the eggs and milk together in a second shallow bowl. Finally, combine the panko crumbs, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a third bowl.
- Bread the onion rings. Dip the onion rings first into the egg mixture, then the flour mixture, then back into the egg mixture. Finally, dip each ring into the panko mixture. Use your fingers to press the crumbs firmly onto the onions. This part gets a wee bit messy, but it’s worth it.
- Cook. Grease the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Working in batches, spray the onion rings with cooking oil, then air-fry for 5 minutes. Flip the onion rings, spray with cooking oil again, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Serve. Remove the onion rings from the air fryer basket and set aside as you work through the batches. You can keep them warm in a low oven (set at 250°F), if you like, until all of them are cooked. Serve with dipping sauces.
How to Store Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store the leftover onion rings in shallow, airtight containers or in food storage bags. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. To reheat, you can briefly re-fry the onion rings or place them on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F until heated through.
- Freeze. To freeze the cooked onion rings, pre-freeze the cooled rings in a single layer until solid. Next, transfer the frozen onion rings to freezer bags and freeze them for up to 2 months. Reheat in the air fryer or oven from frozen.
yum so ezy and delicious. Dip, batter, airfry, BEST! Thank you
These were great! I will definitely be making these again. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Wow, these look amazing! Your photos are great!
Looking forward to giving this a try. Have you ever tried this with traditional bread crumbs?
Yum! My hubby and I are going to love these! So excited to give these a try!
I hope you enjoy them! Thank YOU! 🙂
wow! These onion rings look so crispy! I need to make them!
Thank YOU! I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
Such a perfect appetizer!! My kids couldn’t stop eating this!
Thank YOU! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I’ve been looking for more air fryer recipes and I’m so glad I found this recipe. It came out so crispy and perfect!
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed them! Thank YOU! 🙂
These Onion Rings are just so adorable! Perfect for my family!
Thank YOU! I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
So good and sooooo easy to make! We just love this recipe!
Thank YOU! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Followed the recipe to a T, and used almond flour.
When added to the air fryer, the mixture just all fell off. Boo Hoo!
So no onion rings with our dinner. Had to open a bag of Doritos to go with the Blackstone Smash Burgers
The air fryer is definitely my favorite appliance, and this recipe is perfect!
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂