Beer Battered Onion Rings are the perfect combination of crispy, light and fluffy with a hint of sweetness from the beer. A great side for your summer bbq!
Just like with the immediately popular BBQ Pulled Chicken, you can serve this summer favorite with your favorite burgers like Philly Cheese Steak Burgers or Carl’s Jr. Breakfast Burger along side some Loaded Garlic French Fries.
Beer Battered Onion Rings
Beer Battered Onion Rings aren’t a side dish many people feel like they can make or even order as often as they’d like. Any restaurant you go to always has a huge upcharge on them as sides, some even charging ten or more dollars for them as an appetizer!
It’s an onion and some beer and flour folks, don’t go spending all your money on side orders of onion rings. Just a single onion will make you a mountain of onion rings!
It must be complicated right? Nope!
There’s only a couple of decisions to make, sweet or regular onions? Beer batter or panko crust?
The most important thing to pay close attention to is slicing the onions evenly. If you slice some thicker than the others you’ll be cooking them for different times which will mean you’ll probably end up with raw onions inside some. I find 1/4″ is the sweet spot for the onions softening during the time it takes them to brown and cook in the oil.
How do you make Beer Batter for Onion Rings:
- Onions – I use yellow or Maui sweet depending on which flavor I prefer. In this recipe we will stick with the yellow (or sometimes called brown) onion.
- Buttermilk – a nice soak in the buttermilk will tame the onion-y flavor.
- Flour – All purpose flour, nothing fancy to see here.
- Kosher salt – use regular table salt if you prefer, I always defer to kosher salt.
- Black Pepper – balancing our seasonings here.
- Garlic Powder – optional, but you won’t taste the garlic I promise.
- Beer – What’s your favorite? I love using a Heineken or Hefeweizen.
- Canola Oil – My go to for frying.
How do you get the batter to stick to onion rings?
Once you’ve soaked the onions in the buttermilk remove them with tongs and allow them to drip dry for a second before dredging in flour. Shake off the excess flour before dipping in the beer batter and frying.
What is the batter for onion rings?
Onion Rings can be fried with a number of different batters. The most popular and loved is the beer battered variety but we also love Crispy Thin Onion Rings that have a super light batter or a panko breaded onion ring which have a chicken nugget breading consistency.
Can you make beer battered onion rings in the air fryer? No, as a general rule I avoid all wet batter frying in the air fryer. The liquid in the batter would drip off the onion pieces and make a mess in the air fryer.
Tools Used in the making of these Beer Battered Onion Rings:
Lodge Cast Dutch Oven: – I use this dutch oven for a lot of frying and braising.
Spider Strainer: Love these strainers for quickly draining oil away and scooping out fried food.
Breading Station: I use this because the pans are wide with a flat bottom.
Beer Battered Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion , peeled and sliced into 1/4 thick slices
- 1 cup buttermilk
- canola oil for frying , 3 inches deep
- 1 cups flour , divided
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 cup beer (I used Heineken)
Instructions
In a large bowl add the onion slices and buttermilk together and let soak for ten minutes while you make the batter.
- In a second large bowl add a half a cup of the flour, salt, black pepper and garlic powder and whisk them together.
- Add the beer and whisk until just combined.
- In a third bowl add the remaining flour.
- Add canola oil to a dutch oven (about 3" deep) and heat on medium high heat to 350 degrees.
- Using tongs remove the onions from the buttermilk and let drip dry.
- Dredge in the flour then through the beer batter one at a time.
Add to the oil and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool on a cookie sheet or cooling rack, do not place onto paper towels.
Can I sub heavy cream for buttermilk?
It will make a sweeter batter but yes, you can use it instead if you’d like.
I would like to make these ahead of time and freeze before frying. Will that get the same results?
No, you’d end up with greasy, heavy onion rings if the batter even stayed on. I don’t recommend it. These need to be dipped and fried at the time you serve them. The batter is wet, so freezing it would be difficult because it would pool on your baking sheet before it had time to freeze.
Made a small batch for my hubby and me and they were excellent! Not too doughy and light and crispy! I didn’t have buttermilk, so soaked in regular milk before dredging in flour. Next time I will probably put a little cayenne, just cause I like a little bite. Thank you for a great recipe !
Glad you liked them and that cayenne will be the perfect touch to kick them up a notch.
I followed the recipe almost exactly (I let the onions soak for 2 hours) and the onion rings turned out perfectly. Delicious! I will definitely be making them again – as soon as my husband gets home. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
How long is too long to soak them in buttermilk?
I wouldn’t soak past 24 hours 🙂
Will using regular milk instead of butter milk change the outcome?
Yes, it would, I haven’t tested it with whole milk but that is a much thinner liquid.
Dang, these are delicious! Bookmarked, will do again. Next time will try mushrooms. I used my Fry Daddy, worked perfectly.
Yay!! Thanks for letting me know, Tom.
Another awesome recipe Sabrina, I made these tonight for dinner and they were an absolute hit. I don’t drink and I was to lazy to go and buy a beer so I just soaked the onions for 2 hours in buttermilk and dripped them into the seasoned flour. I’ll definitely be making these again . Thanks for sharing this.
You’re welcome, Stefan!
Try Club Soda instead of beer
I made these onion rings the best I ever eat. Going to make them again for new year’s Eve for a snack with my wife and son. I may not get any if I have to cook I think my wife plan it this way.
Haha, she sounds like a smart woman!
I just made it. Fluffy and crispy… Exactly as the picture. A favorite for all the family!
So glad you all enjoyed it, Thanh!
This recepie was fantastic. Used Sweetwater 420 instead of the other and my propane fryer. Be sure to cook at 350 degrees. Going over 400 will kinda brown it too quick. Also, adding just a tad more beer to the mix thins it up enough so some of the onion is exposed…which is also delish.
Thanks for your suggestions! So glad you enjoyed it!
Hiya. Recipe looks great but just a note that is unfortunately *not* vegan – buttermilk is dairy. Thanks.
Thanks for catching that! Oops!
These were great! Thanks for the recipe, we really enjoyed them!
Thanks Jeni!
These look amazing! So crispy! I woud love them as a side to pulled pork, too!
A perfect match!
This guide is SO helpful!
Thanks Allyson!
These sound amazing along side an ice cold beer and burger!
Sounds like a fantastic idea!
These onion rings look just perfect! I need to make these for our next party!
Thanks Abeer! Send me an invite 😉
Yummy! My husband will love these!
Onion rings are my favorite!!
So good!!
Seriously I could eat these all dayum day!!! Amazing!