Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings Recipe

Do you love onion rings? Do you have an air fryer? Trust me, you are going to want one. These Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings are the bomb! Hands down the BEST we have ever eaten by a long shot!

Homemade onion rings are so good, especially when you make them in an air fryer. Less oil does not mean less crispy. You can even make them spicy too.

Let’s face it, all that deep-fried food is not the greatest for your health. Your heart and waistline can attest to that. Making them in the air fryer is the perfect solution.

I happen to love fries and had to find another way to make them so that I could enjoy them more than a few times a year. Crispy Spicy Fries happen a lot around here now. The perfect side to ANYTHING. Looking for a great appetizer or main dish? Fish cakes in the air fryer work well for both.

RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for making these air fried onion rings are at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients For Air Fryer Onion Rings From Scratch 

These easy onion rings turn out crispy, delicious and are fun to make. Get the kids involved if you like (maybe not the slicing part). Once you have onions sliced and separated into rings, the rest is like an assembly line.

I promise you will not miss deep-fried variety again.

You will need:

• onions
• eggs
• flour
• panko breadcrumbs
• seasoning

Best Onions for Making Onion Rings

Honestly, I don’t think there is a right or wrong onion (except for just yellow cooking onions).

• Spanish
• Sweet White
• Vidalia
• Red (the variety used in this recipe) 

My pickled onions are made with red onions too. Experiment and see which onion variety you like best. They will all turn out delicious and super crispy. 

How To Coat Onion Rings

You will have 3 different bowls to dip and coat in. One for eggs, one for flour and one for breadcrumbs.

I seasoned each of the bowls with Frank’s seasoning. We love our food on the spicy side. Feel free to omit this if you prefer, add more if you like, or use something else altogether.

Now here comes the fun (and a bit messy) part, ALL the dipping! This process involves several dipped and coated layers, but trust me, it is so worth the effort. 

For each onion ring you will:

• dip in egg mixture
• then flour mixture
• back in egg mixture
• again in flour
• one more egg dip
• then in breadcrumbs

After all the dipping and coating, place your battered onion rings on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

NO, you cannot skip this step (just in case you were wondering).

This is our family favourite air fryer onion ring recipe. The only way we will eat them now. 

Recipe Tips

• Can you cook frozen onion rings in the air fryer? YES! In fact, these are cooked from frozen. Once they are all coated, you place them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes (but up to 1 week). 
• How long does it take to air fry onion rings? That will depend on your particular air fryer. This recipe was cooked at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes.
• Be sure the cut your onion into THICK slices, and separate the rings before coating. 
• Spray the onions rings with some cooking spray before placing them in the air fryer. This will help give them a nice brown colour as they cook.
• The smaller rings will cook faster, so you may want to remove those before the rest are done so they don’t burn.
• I love using *(affiliate) panko breadcrumbs in recipes. This is the key to ultimate crispiness. Regular breadcrumbs work, but not as well.
• You can use any kind of seasoning you like for this onion ring recipe. I used *(affiliate) Frank’s Seasoning since we like our food on the spicy side. You can try Italian, Greek,  or Jerk seasonings. There is no wrong way to make these tasty and delicious.
• Can you reheat onion rings? YES, these reheat beautifully. Use a lower temperature like 325-350ºF for about 5 minutes (or until they are hot enough for you).

Best Air Fryer 

There are lots of different brands of air fryers on the market. For this recipe, I used the *(affiliate) Breville Smart Oven Air.

This oven has a large mesh basket that slides into the oven. This makes it very easy to cook a lot of food at once. 

Perfect for large cuts of meat like steaks and pork chops. Great for chicken wings andy Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks too.

You can also use this as a regular oven, toaster oven, pizza oven, proof bread, bake cookies and more. BONUS, it works as a dehydrator too. The perfect little oven for many uses.

Do you own an air fryer? If so, what brand do you have? Do you love it?

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Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings Recipe

These Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings are crispiest the onion rings you have ever tried. THE BEST!

5 from 40 votes

Print Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Canadian

Keyword: Air Fryer Recipe

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 12 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 506kcal

Author: Gloria | Homemade & Yummy

Ingredients

• 13 ounce red onion (I very large onion)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Frank's Seasoning (optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the ONION RINGS:

• Peel and cut the onion crosswise into thick slices (approx. 3/4 inch thickness), then separate the slices into rings.
• Get 3 shallow bowls.
• Place the flour in one bowl, the beaten eggs in another bowl, and the breadcrumbs in the last bowl.
• Divide Frank's seasoning evenly between the bowls, and mix to combine.

To COAT:

• For EACH ring dip and coat in this order:

  Egg mixture

  Flour mixture

  Egg mixture (this is the second time in egg)

  Flour mixture (this is the second time in flour)

  Egg mixture (this is the third time in egg)

  Finally, in the breadcrumbs (press to coat nicely)
• Place ALL the coated onion rings on a metal baking sheet, and put in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. **NOTE** You can actually do this up to a week in advance.

To AIR FRY:

• Preheat your air fryer to 375º F.
• Remove onion rings from the freezer.
• Place the onion rings in a single layer in your air fryer container. Spray lightly with cooking spray. 
• Fry for approximately 10-12 minutes (turning over at the halfway point).
• Onion rings are ready when they are tender, golden brown and crispy.
• ENJOY!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 245mg | Sodium: 3848mg | Potassium: 365mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 6.8mg | Calcium: 136mg | Iron: 6.1mg

Notes

The Frank's Seasoning is rather salty. If you are worried about sodium intake, reduce the amount, leave it out or replace it with something less salty. 

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Nutritional information on this site is generated via a plugin. I am not responsible for the accuracy of the plugin information.