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Air Fryer Onion Rings are extra crispy and make a perfect game day snack or party appetizer. Perfectly seasoned, easy to make, and so delicious! Ditch the deep fryer in favor of this quick Air Fryer recipe!
Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings are perfectly seasoned, dipped in batter, dredged in panko breadcrumbs and then cooked to crispy-perfection in the Air Fryer! These faux-fried onion rings are tender on the inside and so crisp on the outside, just how we love them. They make a great healthier but so delicious snack or side dish. Serve them up with your favorite dipping sauce for the perfect party appetizer or game day snack!
We love making our favorite game day snacks in the Air Fryer like Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Air Fryer Chicken Tenders, and Air Fryer French Fries. Compared to deep frying you save a lot of oil, have a lot less mess to clean up, and save a good amount of calories. You only need a few tablespoons of oil to get similar results in the Air Fryer, which makes eating onion rings made in the Air Fryer a better-for-you choice than eating onion rings that have been deep fried.
My husband loves onion rings and orders them whenever we go out. He was amazed by how similar my homemade version tastes and how simple it is to make them. So if you’re craving Onion Rings you have to try this easy recipe!
Tips and Tricks for Making The BEST Air Fryer Onion Rings
- Using panko breadcrumbs makes these Onion Rings extra crispy!
- If you don’t have panko breadcrumbs you could also use normal breadcrumbs but the result might not be as crispy.
- Divide the panko breadcrumb mixture in two. The battered rings will make the mixture sticky so it’s best to half it so you can switch to the second part of the dry mixture after the first part is sticky.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make your own by adding 1 Tbsp of vinegar or lemon/lime juice to a ½ cup of milk.
- Instead of paprika, you can also add your favorite spices like a bit of garlic powder, cayenne pepper, or chili.
- Place them in a single layer in the Air Fryer basket! You can put small onion rings in the bigger rings as long as they don’t touch each other. My Air Fryer comes with an additional rack so I can add a second layer, this way I can fry a whole onion at once even though my Air Fryer is quite small.
- The cook time depends on your Air Fryer model. The onion rings take about 12-15 minutes but some models run hotter or colder so keep an eye on your first batch.
- Spraying the onion rings with cooking oil spray after half the cook time is over makes them extra crispy and browner.
- You don’t need to turn the onion rings during the cooking process! It’s just not necessary, they will get perfectly crispy on both sides.
- Depending on your Air Fryer model you might have to preheat it. Mine doesn’t require preheating!
How thick to slice Onion Rings?
I cut them into 1/2-inch thick slices and then separate them into rings.
Which Onions are Best for making Onion Rings?
Sweet onions like Vidalia, Texas, Maui, or Walla Walla are best for Onion Rings since they’re sweet and usually flatter than other onions. They don’t have that sharp and pungent taste that other onions have.
How long to cook Onion Rings in an Air Fryer?
Depending on your Air Fryer model about 12-15 minutes until they are golden brown.
Julia recommends for this Air Fryer recipe:
Air Fryer: This is the model I own. I really like it and would recommend it for smaller families. It came with a rack which doubles the space in the basket. Before buying this model I had the older XL Air Fryer which was bigger but took a lot more space to store.
Air Fryer Oven: This oven is on my wishlist! I saw it at Costco and it has great reviews. It has a lot more functions then an Air Fryer!
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Air Fryer Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, see tips above for making your own
- 1 egg
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow sweet onion, sliced 1/2-inch thick and separated into rings
- Oil Spray, optional
Instructions
- You need 4 shallow bowls or deep plates. In the first one combine flour, paprika, and ½ tsp salt. In the second combine buttermilk (or milk and vinegar/lemon juice) and egg, then add ¼ cup of the flour mixture from the first bowl. In the third combine panko breadcrumbs, ½ tsp salt and olive oil with a fork, until the oil is evenly distributed. Put half of the panko in a fourth bowl so you can switch to the second part after the first got sticky.
- Pat dry the onion rings with paper towels to remove excessive moisture. Using a fork, dredge the onion rings in the flour mixture, drop them in the buttermilk mixture and then dredge them in the panko mixture. (TIP: Freeze the breaded onion rings for 15 minutes on a baking sheet, this helps the panko mixture to stick better.)
- Spray Air Fryer Basket with oil spray. Place onion rings in a single layer in the Air Fryer basket. You can place smaller rings inside bigger rings if necessary, just make sure there is space between them.
- Cook at 400°F until golden brown and crispy, about 11-15 minutes. Spray with some cooking spray after about 6 minutes. You don't need to turn the onion rings.
- Carefully lift out the onion rings with a cookie spatula or fork and serve.
Notes
- Make sure to use sweet onions for this recipe! White and yellow onions don't work well with the breading.
- This recipe is messy but well worth the effort. Read all my tips before starting!
- If you don’t have panko breadcrumbs you could also use normal breadcrumbs but the result might not be as crispy.
- Divide the panko breadcrumb mixture in two so you can switch to the second batch after the first gets sticky.
- Use a fork and not your hands to coat the onion rings.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make your own by adding 1 Tbsp of vinegar or lemon/lime juice to a ½ cup of milk.
- The cook time depends on your Air Fryer model. Keep an eye on them!
- You don’t need to turn the onion rings during the cooking process! Don't shake the basket or the breading will fall off!
- Be careful when lifting the onion rings out of the basket! I recommend using a cookie spatula or fork to lift them out.
Nutrition
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If you’ve tried this or any other of my recipes, don’t forget to rate the recipe and to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!
Outstanding recipe ! I dredged the rings in the flour and egg twice before doing the panko because we wanted extra crunch. It was perfect and wouldn’t change a thing! We did need a bit extra panko to get thru onion but I agree we it’s worth the effort and dishes ! These were the best onion rings either of us had ever tasted!!!
This recipe for air fryer onion rings is AMAZING and totally worth the time it takes to make them! We had them last week and I’m making them again tonight because they are so great. I made some “Campfire” Sauce (1/2 mayo, 1/2 bbq sauce w/ a sprinkle of chipotle) to go with them this time. Thanks for posting! Just printed about 10 of your other air fryer recipes!
Delicious I usedsweet vidalia onion, 4c seasoned breadcrumbs
I’m so full right now…this stuff was great! I followed the instructions with the exception of the olive oil and they came out perfect. My coating was welded on to the rings and the flavor was just fine – mild but really good as a dipper. I used a copycat blooming onion sauce recipe as a dipping sauce.
Thank you!
To get the panko crumbs to stick, slice the onions, spread them on a tray and refrigerate them for a few hours. The rings lose that slipperiness which keeps anything from sticking to them.
Hello I love this recipe but had a hard time getting Panko to stick to onions I followed recipe to a T (did Cajun seasoning in flower mixture and a little in panko) flavor really good super crispy just don’t know why I had such a hard time getting panko to stick.
Sorry, you had problems getting the panko to stick. I’m trying to figure out why some of you have this problem, but it is a bit hard to troubleshoot because I never had this happen. One thing that comes to my mind is how coarse the panko is. If it is really coarse it won’t stick well, my panko (Kikkoman brand) is coarser than breadcrumbs but not as coarse as other panko brands I’ve seen in the grocery store. So perhaps crushing the panko into finer crumbs would help to make it stick better. I also use my hands to toss the rings in the breading and then try to be careful when transferring to the Air Fryer and flipping. It is a common Air Fryer problem that breading doesn’t stick as well as in a deep fryer because the food is handled more but it should not give you such a hard time, I hope my tips help a bit!
When it comes to crispiness these were pretty decent. However we won’t be using this recipe again. We weren’t happy with the lack of even flavoring, also doing the flour, batter, panko method seemed pointless due to the flour not actually sticking to the onion pieces. It was a bit better when we switched to batter, flour, batter, panko, but even then. In terms of simpleness, this hits it right on the head.
Also to note for anyone trying, the temperature and time listed for cooking them may need to be altered for your specific air fryer. We have a bella air fryer, @400 degrees, beyond 6 mins the rings started to be burnt.
Not sure what recipe you were following!! These are amazing- we can’t believe how good they are! They are not nearly as messy as even the author says! In my opinion , such a good recipe – the best
I just did this recipe but it was so messy. I wasn’t happy with the final outcome either. Overall, it will be my last time making onion rings.
Sorry, you had problems with this recipe, Mjay! I try to make my recipes as easy as possible but some recipes will always be a bit trickier and involve more steps or a bit of a mess. Making onion rings from scratch is always messy because of the different steps but there is not really a less messy way to put breading on an onion ring except buying onion rings at a store. I tested this recipe several times and the onion rings always came out perfect, the part that is the most tricky in my opinion is turning the rings and removing them because of the breading. Did you follow all the instructions? I’m not sure what you didn’t like about the final outcome, so I sadly can’t really help with that.
The trick to onion rings is one hand wet and one hand dry, that way you don’t get a sticky mess all over your hands
These look incredible! My husband loves onion rings. I can’t wait to test them out in the air fryer.
I struggle with my air fryer…it just doesn’t get things crispy. Hoping your tips will help :-).