Making onion rings at home is SUPER easy. It’s much more fool-proof than when I made sweet potato fries (even though I eventually found a way!). This recipe does a dry, then wet coating, then finally dipped in panko bread crumbs for that flaky and extra crispy layer.
Hot out of the fryer, how can you resist a crunchy, warm onion ring fried to a deep golden brown. Pair it with some ranch and ketchup dip on the side and you have a lovely appetizer!
If you’re even reading this, you’ve probably eaten a ton of fast food onion rings. You also probably know the joy of finding that lone onion ring in a carton of fries. It’s like finding buried treasure, but I bet those were intentionally added to get you hooked :).
One mind-blowing onion ring experience I had was in Oregon at Burgerville. They have these thick-cut rings made from seasonal Walla Walla onions. They’re sweet onions, and the rings themselves were thick and juicy–I’ve never had anything like it!
Don’t let the pan fool you–these are not baked onion rings, ha! I rested them hot out of the fryer on paper towels on these aluminum half sheets.
Here’s how to fry up your own:
Super Crispy Panko-Breaded Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 1/2 c all-purpose flour
- 1/4 c cornstarch
- 2 tbsp instant mashed potato flakes
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 c cold club soda
- 2-3 c panko breadcrumbs I kept needing to add more
- 1 large onion or 2 medium onions, cut into rings
- neutral cooking oil
Recommended Tools
Instructions
- Cut onions into rings. 1/4″ works well, but you can go slightly thicker.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, potato flakes, cayenne, and salt in a pan.
- Add club soda and mix until dissolved. Don’t worry about over-mixing, but don’t spend forever trying to making it completely smooth. Prep a second pan with panko breadcrumbs with one fork for each pan and heat about ~1″ of oil in a pot to 350F.
- Dip a ring into the batter and make sure rings are completely covered inside and out, the drop into the pan of breadcrumbs.
- Now use the dry fork to cover the ring completely, and then repeat with the remaining rings.
- Fry the rings in 350F, working in batches. About 2-3 minutes per batch until golden brown.
- Remove from the oil to a rack or a bed of paper towels and season with some salt while hot.
These guys look delicious AND beautiful, I love the horizontal image right underneath the in-process photos, it’s so dynamic!
Thank you Nicole, you are too kind 🙂
This seems a very good recipe. I have a question. You specify putting the battered ring into the panko and then you say “and repeat”. Do you mean to re-batter that ring and then put it into the panko again or do you mean to do the other rings in the same way? Also, what effect do the potato flakes have — do they make the batter thicker and stick to the onion better? Sounds interesting.
Hey Phyllis! Sorry this was not clearer–I have modified the post so there is no confusion. By “repeat” I mean to repeat with the rest of the rings–not rebatter the same ring. To be honest I’m not sure what effect the potato flakes have. I could test it, but there’s no reason to mess with something that works well :). Hope that helps!
Thanks for the onion ring recipe! Will have to try it out when I steal some club soda from work tomorrow. =) haha
I tried the recipe. And it taste amazing! Super quick and easy. I substituted club soda with water/sprite. Also I omitted the potato flakes part. It tasted amazing! The texture was what I was looking for! I also seasoned with a little bit of garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese for my next batch. Wonderful recipe! Thank you so much!
Glad it worked out for ya, and you offered so many great recipe tips to try, thanks Jovy!
Yum!