Crispy Onion Rings with Dipping Sauce (VIDEO)

These crispy Onion Rings are delicious as an appetizer or in Burgers. They’re made restaurant-style, which means they’re crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and seasoned to perfection. Watch the video tutorial and learn how to make the best onion rings.

If you love easy appetizer recipes like Crispy Baked Potato Wedges or Fried Zucchini, this homemade Onion Ring recipe is sure to become a new favorite.

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The Best Onion Ring Recipe

These are a big hit with my family. My son usually won’t eat onions, but he devours onion rings without any protest.

The secret to these is double-dipping. This creates a beautifully crispy crust. Once cooked, the onions inside are tender and sweet. That strong raw onion flavor fades to the background, replaced with the crispy outer coating and seasoning. Here’s why you will love this recipe:

• Simple – Yes, making homemade onion rings is easier than you think.
• Restaurant-Style Results – These turn out irresistibly crispy every time.
• Kids Can Help – While using a fork or tongs will help with the dredging process, you can also enlist your kids and have them coat the onion rings for you.
• Versatile – Onion rings work as an appetizer, side dish, or even as a garnish. 

Onion Rings Video Tutorial

Watch Natasha make these easy onion rings, then grab the ingredients below and give them a try for yourself.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the print-friendly recipe card for quantities and instructions.

• Sweet or yellow onion – The larger the onion, the better when it comes to onion rings
• Milk – use any kind of milk (1%, 2% or whole milk)
• White vinegar – creates homemade buttermilk when added to milk
• Sour cream – helps thicken the liquid so it clings to the onion rings
• All-purpose flour – creates a light batter similar to a restaurant-style tempura batter
• Salt – we use fine sea salt for most of our cooking
• Black pepper – freshly ground black pepper will give the best flavor
• Garlic powder – adds so much flavor to the batter
• Oil for frying – use grapeseed oil, peanut oil, canola, or oil with a high smoke point

How to Make Onion Rings

Now that you’ve gathered your ingredients, it’s time to start cooking:

1. Heat the Oil – Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat with about an inch of oil
2. Make the Liquid Mixture – In a medium bowl, whisk the milk with the vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream.
3. Make the Dry Mixture – In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
4. Dredge the Onions – Slice and separate the onion rings and dip each ring in the sour cream mixture, followed by the flour (using a fork will keep your hands clean). Repeat by dipping the rings a second time in the milk mixture and flour. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining onion rings.
5. Cook the Onion Rings – Once the oil is hot enough for the onion rings to sizzle (375˚F on a thermometer), add them in a single layer (3-4 at a time) and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping halfway, or until the outside is crispy and light golden brown. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Pro Tip: The frying steps move fast, so have all of your onion rings breaded and ready to fry before you start adding them to the hot oil.

Pro Tip: Whenever you’re deep-frying, you can expect the oil temperature to fluctuate. It will drop when you add the food to the oil, then slowly increase as the food cooks. Don’t overcrowd the pot or the temperature will drop too quickly. We use a clip-on thermometer to monitor the temperature and adjust the temperature as needed.

Onion Rings Dipping Sauce

My husband used to work in Chilis restaurant where they served an ‘awesome blossom sauce’ and this is our version which is a delicious onion ring dipping sauce. It’s also really easy and you just stir the ingredients together.

• Mayonnaise and Sour cream – creates a creamy base
• Ketchup – adds a sweet and tangy flavor
• Worcestershire sauce – adds wonderful umami flavor
• Creamy horseradish – or substitute hot sauce to taste
• Paprika and salt – you can add these to taste

Common Questions

How to Serve Onion Rings

We love serving these onion rings freshly cooked with a dipping sauce, but they are so versatile and not just an appetizer.

• Appetizer – It’s fun to stack these in a tower and serve alongside a dipping sauce like awesome Blossom Dipping Sauce (in recipe notes below), ketchup, barbecue sauce, any of our burger sauces, garlic aioli, or avocado ranch.
• Side Dish – alongside burgers or hotdogs instead of french fries.
• Topping – for burgers and other sandwiches, or go all out for Thanksgiving and layer them onto your Green Bean Casserole instead of using canned onions.

Make-Ahead

Onion rings are definitely one of those foods that are best eaten fresh, while still warm and crispy. If you do have leftovers, here are some tips:

• To Refrigerate: Store onion rings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Freezing: Freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
• To Reheat: To restore some of their original crispiness, onion rings should be reheated in a 350ºF oven or in an air fryer.

If you love making restaurant-style appetizers at home like Coconut Shrimp and Easy Popcorn Chicken, these crisp onion rings are a must-try recipe. Because they’re double-battered, they get extra crispy and stand up well to all of your favorite dipping sauces. Best of all, they’re easy to make with simple everyday ingredients.

More Appetizer Recipes

If you love these onion rings, then you won’t want to miss these appetizer recipes:

• Crispy Buffalo Wings
• Pico De Gallo
• Air Fryer Chicken Wings
• Cheeseburger Sliders
• Sausage Queso Dip (with Real Cheese!)