Up your snack and side dish game with a crowd-friendly recipe for hot, crispy Beer-Battered Onion Rings.
Nothing beats the winter blues quite like a hot tub … of bubbling oil. Your Super Bowl menu has likely taken shape at this point (don’t forget the Nutella Chocolate Football Truffles!), but for all those looking to add a hot, crunchy, salty snack to the lineup, look no further than homemade Beer-Battered Onion Rings.
These circuitous golden brown beauties are an easy treat, starring a pale ale beer batter and thick slices of sweet onion. The carbonation in the beer leads to the lightest, crispiest breading, while a touch of paprika provides a deep golden hue. (Pro Tip: Not a beer fan? Sub in any other carbonated beverage, including ginger ale, club soda or your favorite soft drink!)
After a quick soak in the stovetop jacuzzi, they’re seasoned and served hot with your choice of dipping sauces.
Opt for a side of homemade spicy ketchup to keep your taste buds on their toes. Then sit back and tune in to the tube as you wash them down with (another) cold one. Now you can have your beer, and eat it, too.
Craving more? Sign up for the Just a Taste newsletter for a fresh serving of content delivered every week to your inbox! And stay in touch on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) pale ale beer (See Kelly's Notes)
- 2 large yellow or Vidalia onions
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Spicy ketchup, for dipping (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups of flour with the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk in the beer until the mixture is well combined. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- While the batter rests, cut the tip off of the stem side of the onions then remove the peel. Slice the onions horizontally into 1/2-inch-thick rings and toss them with the remaining ½ cup of flour.
- Add the vegetable oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot (Dutch oven) to a depth of 2 inches and heat it over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 375°F.
- Working in batches, dip the onion rings into the prepared batter, shaking off any excess, then immediately drop them into the hot oil. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Allow the onions to cook in the oil, flipping them once to guarantee even browning, for a total of about 3 minutes. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate. Immediately season them with salt. Repeat the coating and frying process, returning the oil to 375°F between batches, with the remaining onions.
Kelly's Notes:
- When measuring beer, don't include the foamy head in your measurement. Pour it down the side of the liquid measuring cup (to minimize the head), and then measure the liquid part only.
- Not a beer fan? Sub in any other carbonated beverage, including ginger ale, club soda or your favorite soft drink.
- Shake off as much of the excess batter as possible when coating the onion rings in order to get the best ratio of onion to batter.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Shoutout
Did you try this recipe?
Share it with the world! Mention @justataste or tag #justatasterecipes!
Recipe by Kelly Senyei of JustaTaste.com.
Fantastic recipe, thanks a lot for sharing! We don’t get as much onion rings in Switzerland like you guys in US and is therefore fantastic to have a great home experience. I followed exactly your instructions and it works out perfectly!
You are so welcome, Martin! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
This is my first time making onion rings and they did not disappoint! These are VERY easy to make and the batter is so light and fluffy on the rings. The batter stayed solid around the onion rings throughout the whole process. Will definitely make this again!
This is what I love to read, Derek! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These were lovely! I used corona lager as that’s all we had in terms of fizzy beer/lager. Also added onion powder as the salt replacement as I put salt as seasoning once they are cooked.
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Babs!
These were amazing! The whole family loved them and I’ll definitely be making them again. Thank for the recipe!
You are so welcome, Emma! I’m thrilled your family enjoyed the onion rings!
PS do you have a thermometer that you like? I didn’t see one listed on your “store” page.
Yes! I like the Thermoworks Thermapen.
Hi Kelly –
Have you ever tried to make this using shallots? Would that work? I realize they wouldn’t be “rings” but wonder if it might work (I have a TON of shallots! Might be a great way to enjoy them).
I haven’t tried it but should work!
Made these with our fish and chips and they are delicious. They keep their crisp through the whole meal. My only change was to sub in 1/2 cup of cornstarch for 1/2 cup of the flour. Will be my go to recipe from now on.
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Kathleen!
why is the breading frying off of my onions?? They are not coming out of the oil looking covered. The crispy part is literally coming off of my onions.
Hi there! Did you prep the onions as directed in the recipe?
Very easy – great taste with the paprika and garlic powder included. Worked beautifully as a side to Steak & Chips.
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Adam!
Your recipe worked very well. I did make one change. Rather than use all flour for the batter, I substituted 1/2 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of corn starch. I use cornstarch in all my fried food coatings. It makes the batter lighter and more crispy once fried. Otherwise, I didn’t make a change and the onion rings were delicious. I made my own dipping sauce of equal parts mayonnaise and catsup with a teaspoon of dijon mustard and a couple dashes of tabasco. I also needed to cook the rings for an extra 30-40 seconds as the temperature wouldn’t recover quickly enough and the coating was a tad doughy next to the onion. The extra time fixed that! Thank you
Amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Keith!
Best Recipe for Onion Rings!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Stefaine!
Hi Kelly, I’ve made the recipe but instead of beer I substituted to three parts of white wine vinegar and one part water and substituted the paprika to cayenne pepper instead cause didn’t have any paprika. I halved the recipe and still putted two teaspoons of salt in the batter so to make salt and vinegar battered onion rings. Salt and vinegar onion rings that’s something different isn’t it Kelly and thought you’d like to try them as well Kelly. Mostly I tasted the vinegar then the salt. Tasted delicious
Thank you Kelly!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Kevin!
These were AMAZING! Super easy to follow and turned out exactly like the photo. Everyone I made these for was raving about them. Crispy and delicious and the onion didn’t slide out when you bite into them like some onion rings do. Will be making these again for sure.
Love, love, LOVE reading this, Kyra! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
Very light batter and vidalia onions, you can’t go wrong!! Give recipe a try. Delicious.
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
Ciao Mi piace
This one was great! A few suggestions I would make is add a ton more seasonings so you can taste them. 2nd would be, after you have the dry ingredients the way you want, throw the onions in and toss, remove to a plate. Then mix in the beer. Go slow so it won’t be too thin depending on how you like it. Use common sense.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Jon!
This was an excellent recipe. Other than cutting it in half since there were only 2 of us (we will however eat them all!) followed it exactly and they were amazing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Kim!
Excellent!!! Looked up beer batter onion rings as a last minute idea and found this one. I added a little extra garlic because, well because we love garlic lol. I also added 1tablespoon of ground Chipotle Powder, they had just the right kick to them. Oh I also used a stout (Guinness) beer to give it that extra flavor.
Love reading this, Steve! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Completely enjoyed this recipe. Tried too many others in the past with ZERO success. Thank you for posting this, we all think it’s awesome!
You are so welcome, Mark! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!