These Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings are the hands down the BEST we have ever eaten.
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. Make onion rings from scratch without a deep fryer.
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 these air fried onion rings can be found at the bottom of this post.
Ingredients For Air Fryer Onion Rings
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 the deep-fried variety again. You will need:
- onions
- eggs
- flour
- panko breadcrumbs
- seasoning
These onion rings are made with no buttermilk.
Best Onions To Use
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.
Have you ever tried Caramelized Onion Jam? This bourbon flavoured condiment is perfect for burgers and more.
And talking about delicious recipes, this Homemade Onion Gravy is the BEST gravy from scratch hands-down. Any steak would love to be topped with this rich sauce.
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. There really isn’t an onion ring batter. More like layers of coating.
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 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).
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.
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If you love this recipe, you might like to have a look at these other air fryer recipes from some of my blogger friends:
Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings Recipe
Ingredients
- 13 ounce red onion (I very large onion)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 eggs
- 2 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Frank’s Seasoning (optional)
Instructions
For the ONION RINGS:
- Peel and cut the onion crosswise into thick slices (approx. ¾ 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 mixtureFlour mixtureEgg 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!
Lisa
Big onion ring fan here — but we only enjoy them on rare occasions because of the fried aspect. Didn’t know that air-frying was even a possibility. I’m going to check out the Breville one you suggest — sounds like that might be my next kitchen gadget. Can you tell me about how much space it takes up? We have limited storage… but for healthy onion rings, it might just take up residence in my daughter’s closet! LOL!
Homemade & Yummy
This little oven does so much more than air fry these onion rings perfectly!! It is the size of a microwave, so really like having another oven in the kitchen.
Stine Mari
I haven’t wanted an air fryer as much as I do today. This recipe looks fantastic, and those onions rings looks so CRISPY, amazing!
Homemade & Yummy
YES I know….you really need to make them.
Veena Azmanov
I have been looking at all the air fryers these days. I want one for Valentine’s day. I’ve been hinting hubby as well. These look so good. I love how crisp they turned out.
Homemade & Yummy
Well I hope he buys you one…my hubby was right ….I DID need one of these.
Danielle Wolter
I want an air fryer soooo bad, even if it’s just to make onion rings! Love that you used Franck’s seasoning on them too, what a great idea!
Homemade & Yummy
I know right…these onion rings are SO good. You really want to give these a try.
Anna Hettick
I am SO intrigued by the air fryer! I haven’t ever had anything made with one…. that I know of anyway. But I REALLY want one now. Also, I have only made onion rings with yellow onions….. but I love the flavor of red onions so I need to try that!!!
Homemade & Yummy
Well I am hooked…and there will be LOTS more recipes on the blog for sure
Amanda
I just got an air fryer, and with Super Bowl this weekend, these onion rings couldn’t come at a better time! Can’t wait to try them. Thanks for sharing!
Homemade & Yummy
They will be the hit of the party for sure. They also warm up nicely too.
Lois Christensen
These look amazing! I love the fact that you can prep them ahead of time too!
Homemade & Yummy
Yes that makes things super easy for sure.
Lauren
These onion rings look so good! I’m having a bit of a love affair with my air fryer at the moment, so I can’t wait to try these out!
Homemade & Yummy
I can’t wait to make more delicious things in it too.
Catherine Brown
They do look SO crispy! I haven’t bought an air fryer yet… but man, I think this is the recipe that’s convinced me I NEED one!
Homemade & Yummy
Well, I am convinced too….and this little oven is FANTASTIC!!
Stephanie
These look so good. I love onion rings but I don’t have an air fryer. This might be a good reason to own one.
Homemade & Yummy
YES, this is a REALLY GOOD REASON! Check out the link to Breville!!
Caroline
I don’t have an air fryer but these onion rings have me seriously tempted – both easy and healthier, love the idea!
Homemade & Yummy
These are so good….and much healthier than deep fried. You can enjoy them more often for sure.
Denise
Those look so good! We went out to lunch yesterday and my son had onion rings and it’s all I can think about. Then I saw your post and I take it as a sign from above! haha. Your air fryer looks so nice. Mine is much bulkier than yours. I’ll have to check it out next time I need one.
Homemade & Yummy
I can only thank HUBBY for insisting I NEEDED one…HE was RIGHT!
Jeannette (Jay Joy)
I swear every day I find something new that I LOVE to make with the air fryer! I wonder how they would taste with coconut shavings as well.
Homemade & Yummy
I know for sure I will be posting LOTS more delicious air fryer recipes on the blog.
Jolina
I love onion rings! And we always have a big bag of vidalia onions from costco and they would be perfect for this. Now to get the air fryer…we were thinking of getting one on boxing day. Not too late!!
Homemade & Yummy
YES…those would be PERFECT for this recipe…ENJOY! Check out the link to BREVILLE…it really is an amazing little oven.
Kelly Anthony
I love that these onion rings aren’t dripping with oil. I think I need to get an air fryer just to make these onion rings!
Homemade & Yummy
I know…and they are super crispy too. We LOVE them!!