Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings Recipe - Evolving Table (2024)

Air Fryer Onion Rings are super crispy and crunchy, easy-to-make, and so much healthier for you than deep-fried! Use a 3-bowl technique to coat your sliced onions with flour, an egg wash, and breadcrumbs. You’ll then cook them in the Air Fryer until golden brown and ultra crispy. They make a great game day snack or weeknight dinner appetizer or side dish!

Air Fryer Onion Rings Recipe

Can you fall in love with a kitchen appliance?

After making these Air Fryer French Fries I thought my devotion couldn’t grow any deeper.

That is, until I learned how incredible and EASY it is to make Air Fryer Onion Rings!

After trying and failing epically at baking onion rings in the oven, the Air Fryer was my last resort.

Not only did these spherical bites turn out super crispy, but they were also extremely quick to make and even healthier.

Once battered and dipped in some Panko breadcrumbs, it took less than 8 minutes to actually cook them up.

Meaning you’re less than half an hour away from enjoying the best homemade onion rings you’ve ever had!

Ingredients

You’ll only need a few ingredients for this recipe and they’re all extremely simple to find. I’ll also cover a few ingredient swaps you can try to make this recipe gluten-free and vegan.

Onions – Sweet onions are the best to use since they have a subtle sweetness to them. White or yellow onions can also be used, but red onions are not recommended. Aim for larger onions to get nice, large rings.

Flour – The rings are first lightly coated in a bit of flour in order to get the remaining layer to stick to the onions. Feel free to use a gluten-free flour such as Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1.

Egg – One egg is whisked with a touch of milk to form an egg wash. The stickiness of the egg helps the outer breadcrumb coating to stick to the onions.

Milk – Either regular milk, cashew, almond, or even soy can be used.

Seasonings – A mixture of garlic powder and paprika add a touch of flavor to the onion rings.

Breadcrumbs – Panko-style crumbs are the best to use for an extra crispy onion ring, but regular breadcrumbs can be used if that’s what you have on hand. If you’re gluten-free, Aleia’s makes a wonderful gluten-free Panko breadcrumb that works great in this recipe.

Oil – A high smoke-point oil is the best to use, such as avocado or safflower oil, but olive oil may also be substituted.

Cutting Onions into Rings

There’s a really simple process to follow for cutting onions into rings.

1. Trim the two ends from onion.
2. Remove the outer peel.
3. Cut onion into rings about ½-inch thick.

One large onion will give you roughly 25 onion rings.

Breading the Onion Rings

Once the onion has been cut into rings it’s time to bread them. It’s best to do this using a 3-bowl technique.

In three separate shallow bowls mix together the following:

Bowl 1: Add flour, garlic powder, paprika, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Whisk until well combined. (step 1 above)

Bowl 2: Add egg and milk. Whisk until well combined. Add in ⅓ cup of flour mixture from bowl 1 and mix until smooth. (step 2 above)

Bowl 3: Add Panko bread crumbs, remaining salt, and oil. Toss until crumbs are well coated in the oil. (step 3 above)

Dip one onion ring in the flour mixture (step 1 above), dredge the egg wash (step 2 above) , and then coat with the bread crumbs (step 3 above) . Place on a large plate or sheet pan until ready to air fry.

Repeat this process with the remaining onion rings and place on a plate until ready to air fry.

How to Air Fry Onion Rings

When all of the onion rings are breaded you can start the process of air frying them.

1. Preheat air fryer to 360°Ffor at least 3 minutes.
   • You want to make sure the Air Fryer comes up to temperature before adding in your onion rings.
2. Add rings in a single layer making sure not to overlap them.
   • You can place smaller rings inside of bigger rings to make more room.
3. Cook for 6-8 minutes, flipping rings halfway through. Repeat this step with remaining onion rings until they are all cooked.

Keep onion rings warm between batches by placing on a parchment paper lined baking sheet in a 250°F oven.

Serving and Storing

Onion rings, whether baked, fried, or air-fried, taste best when they are served immediately. I’m talking absolutely ZERO downtime between the hot Air Fryer to the plate.

You can then serve them with a side of ketchup or even a homemade sriracha mayo.

If you don’t think you’ll eat all of the onion rings in one setting, it’s better to only air fry what you think you’ll eat.

Store the uncooked onion rings in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Pull them out about 10-15 minutes before cooking and follow the directions for cooking.

If you want to store already cooked onion rings, place them in a large plastic or glass container with a piece of wax or parchment paper between the layer of rings.

Return the onion rings to a 300-325°F air fryer and reheat for a 3-4 minutes.

Game Day Appetizer Recipes

These onion rings make one of the BEST game day appetizers. If you want a few other easy ideas, you might also like:

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

Fried Goat Cheese

Buffalo Chicken Wings