We made crispy air fryer onion rings from scratch in less than 20 minutes! They are coated with a homemade seasoned breading and air fried until crispy! Homemade onion rings don’t get better than this!
The best part of going out to eat is the selection of appetizers, am I right?
I mean sure, I usually can’t eat the full meal that I order anyway, but I’m still asking for a pile of onion rings to come out 10 minutes before the rest of my food.
Now we can make onion rings in the air fryer, at home, from scratch, in minutes. These rival any restaurant onion rings too! So crispy and delicious!
Now, the important question…what do you dip your onion rings in? I’m a ketchup girl, but I’ll accept ranch dressing as well! But I’m always looking to expand my dipping horizons!
Table of Contents
How to Make Onion Rings in the Air Fryer:
Slice the Onion – Slice your onion into rings. We like them somewhere around 1/4 of an inch thick.
Make the Breading – Grab three shallow dishes. In the first add flour, salt and pepper and stir to combine. In the second add egg and water and whisk until smooth. In the last dish add panko, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Stir this to combine also.
Bread the Onion Rings – Take your onion rings one by one and dip them into the flour dish, flipping to get all sides covered. Then dip the same way into the egg bowl, and lastly into the panko bowl. Feel free to press the onion into the panko dish to be sure the breading sticks to the onion ring.
Cook – Spritz your air fryer basket with oil. Place the onion rings in a single layer in your air fryer basket and spritz the onion rings with oil. Work in batches if you have to, and if you have a rack you can use that to cook more onion rings at a time. Cook at 380 degrees F for 10 minutes flipping them after 5 minutes.
FAQ:
Get a large sweet onion for this recipe. Try to get one that is dry and firm on the outside without soft spots.
Keep the already cooked onions in an oven set at 200 degrees F on a baking sheet while cooking the rest.
Sometimes you’ll get an especially strong onion and soaking it in water for an hour before cooking will help to make it a bit sweet and milder. That said, we pretty much always skip this step and haven’t regretted it yet. If you do choose to soak your onions, be sure they’re completely dry before breading.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
Make it easy to slice your onion rings!
Start by cutting off the tips of your onion and then peel the papery skin off the onion. Next cut a very thin slice off one of the sides. You will do this to keep the onion from rolling around while you cut it. Now put that part you just cut flat on your cutting board and start slicing your onion rings.
What dips can I use for onion rings?
We tend to stick with ketchup for a classic onion ring dip, but ranch dressing is another go-to.
Feeling fancy? Mix together 1/4 cup mayo, 2 tablespoons ketchup, and a teaspoon of vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste and start dipping away!
More air fried appetizer recipes:
- Air Fryer Ravioli
- Air Fried Cheese Curds
- Frozen Pizza Rolls in the Air Fryer
- Bacon-Wrapped Chicken
- Air Fried Empanadas
Let us know your opinion!
We’d love to hear what you think of this recipe! Leave a comment and star rating down below! And don’t forget to pin and share!
Air Fried Onion Rings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet onion
- ½ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 ½ cups Panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Slice the onion into rings.
- Add the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to a shallow dish and stir with a fork to combine.
- Add the egg and water to a second shallow dish and stir well with a fork until smooth.
- Add the panko, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and remaining salt to a third dish and stir to combine.
- Spritz or brush the basket of the air fryer with oil.
- Dip each onion ring first into the flour, then the egg, then the panko, making sure that the onion is fully coated in each.
- Arrange onion rings in a single layer in the air fryer basket. If you have a rack, place the rack in the air fryer to make a second layer of onion rings. Spritz onion rings with oil.
- Air fry at 380 degrees for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Margaret E McCreary says
Chad & Karly, You guys are great. Every recipe I have tried is delicious and what I like. they are simple and usually ingredients I have on hand. Thank You
Karly says
Thanks so much, Margaret! I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes! 🙂
Mary Meyer says
Love my onion rings. Better than French Fries any day. Wonderful recipe.
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed this one, Mary! 🙂
Ralph Weeks says
Hi Karly…can I use gluten free flour or almond flour ?
Karly says
Hi Ralph! We have a recipe for almond flour onion rings on our low carb site here: https://thatlowcarblife.com/keto-onion-rings/ That one uses a mix of almond flour and grated Parmesan for the breading. 🙂
As for gluten free flour, that would likely work, but then you’d still have the Panko to deal with, so not sure it’d be the best option?
Wally Hollinger says
Just got my Air Fryer for Christmas and looking forward to using it . Karly send me all kinds of recepies to use in my Air Fryer
Karly says
You got it, Wally! 🙂
Make sure you’re signed up for emails and we’ll send a new recipe about twice a week. You can sign up here if you haven’t already! It’s totally free. 🙂
John Sedlock says
I liked this recipe as it addressed “racks”. I have an air fryer oven with racks and most of your recipes address air fryers with baskets. Personally, I have had no real issues using these recipes in my oven, however I usually skip the “cook half way and turn” step. Please try to include any adjustments involving racks vs basket if needed in future recipes. Otherwise I love the recipes and continue the great work!!! Thanks, John
Karly says
Hi John! The oven style will pretty much work the same way as the basket style. We actually used a rack in our basket air fryer for these, just so we had multiple layers. But you should be able to cook any of these recipes in an oven style air fryer without adjustments. I always flipped food when we used our oven style air fryer, but if it works for you not to, that’s just fine too. 🙂