Beer Batter Onion Rings
Beer Batter Onion Rings are perfectly crispy, crunchy, and slightly sweet. It’s a great snack for the game day, St. Patrick’s Day, or as a side dish for dinner instead of your usual fries. Serve it with some ranch or my homemade onion ring sauce!
Check our more of the best fried recipes like Reuben Egg Rolls and Fried Calamari.
Table of Contents
Do you love ordering a side of crispy, crunchy onion rings with your burger? Or maybe just an appetizer of these flavorful, beer batter coated slices of onions? I can practically hear that distinct crunch of biting into it. It’s so satisfying!
It’s even more satisfying knowing that you can easily make them at home. You can make this favorite hot and crunchy appetizer right in your own kitchen, and all you need is a handful of inexpensive ingredients and a pot of oil or a deep fryer.
Once you make these onion rings with beer batter, you may never want them any other way. The subtle kick of beer really sends them over the top! I’ve also included a recipe for the very best creamy, tangy dipping sauce to best compliment the flavor of the batter.
Ingredient Notes
Onions – Sweet varieties are usually preferred, but regular yellow or white onions will work as well. Try to choose the onions that have more of a long or oval shape rather than round. It will make better rings.
Flour – All purpose flour will work just fine here.
Beer – I like to use red ale, but feel free to substitute your favorite instead. Stick with ales or lagers, as they have a bolder flavor than light beers like Bud or Coors. I recommend you stay away from stout and IPAs because they tend to have very strong and bitter taste.
Worcestershire Sauce – This is a great flavor addition – don’t skip it!
Seasoning – A simple combination of salt and pepper is all you need for the batter. All of the other seasonings listed are for the bold dipping sauce!
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Beer Batter Onion Rings
Make the batter. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper together. Pour in the beer and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk it all together until smooth. Taste the batter to make sure you have enough salt. Cover and set aside for about 30 minutes.
Prepare the onions. Slice the onions into thick rings that are between 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch thick. Pat them dry with a paper towel to soak up excess onion juice.
Preheat the oil. Preheat the oil in a large skillet, deep pan, or in a fryer on medium heat. Make sure to preheat to and maintain the oil between 350°F and 365°F.
Prepare a cooling area. Line a large wire rack with paper towels to soak up the excess oil after frying and place it on the counter nearby.
Add the battered onions to the oil. Dip the onion rings into the batter and carefully add them to the hot oil.
PRO TIP: Do not use a shallow pan so that you minimize the splatter!
Fry the onion rings. Fry until they are golden brown and flip. Give them a couple more minutes to fry until golden brown on the other side.
PRO TIP: Fry them in batches and don’t overcrowd the pan/pot or they won’t cook properly and stick together.
Let them cool. Use metal tongs to take the onion rings out of the hot oil. Place them onto the prepared wire rack to soak up excess oil.
Make the dipping sauce. Simply mix together all of the ingredients until smooth and serve with the onion rings!
What Sauce To Serve With Onion Rings?
You have a few options when it comes to onion rings. I’ve included a delicious onion ring sauce with the recipe and that sauce is reminiscent of the blooming onion sauce you’d find at Outback.
You can also use Ranch, remoulade, BBQ Sauce, ketchup, Alabama White BBQ Sauce, avocado ranch, Green Goddess Dressing, blue cheese dressing, and many other sauces you love
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can substitute seltzer water and about 1/2 tsp of baking powder to the batter. When using seltzer, there won’t be much flavor to the batter, so feel free to add some seasonings like garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and/ or a pinch or cayenne in addition to the salt and pepper.
You can always use buttermilk if you would like a richer batter.
Another option could be a non-alcoholic beer like O’Douls, but get the Amber or Premium version for better flavor.
Heat your oven to 225°F and place a baking sheet inside with a wire rack on top. You can keep the food warm in there as you cook the rest of the onion rings, and the airflow around the rack will keep things from getting soggy.
Choose a neutral variety with a high smoke point like canola, vegetable, or safflower. These are able to reach higher temperatures without burning and won’t affect the overall flavor of your food.
The best temperature for frying is between 350°F and 365°F. Don’t let it get dip lower than 350°F. If it does, give it some time to heat up before frying another batch.
To test the oil when you don’t have a thermometer, gently hold the end of a wooden spoon in the oil. If bubbles form around it and start to float to the surface, it’s ready.
However, if it starts to look like it’s boiling then the oil is too hot. Let it cool a bit, then test again.
Tips for the Best Beer Batter Onion Rings
- Don’t overcrowd the pot – fry in batches. If you try to cook too many at one time, the temperature will drop and you’ll end up with soggy onion rings. Since the size of your pot or fryer will vary, be sure there is room for everything to move around freely without touching.
- Add some heat. Mix a dash of cayenne pepper in with the flour if you like things to be a little spicier.
- Make sure to keep the oil temperature at 350°F! Check the temperature every few minutes and adjust accordingly. When the temperature is too high, your food will cook too fast on the outside but not cook through on the inside. If the temperature is too low, the cook will cook too slowly and take in way too much oil in the process, resulting in a soggy mess.
- Use avocado oil. I recommend using avocado oil because it has a nice and neutral flavor, high burn point, and it’s the healthiest option among other frying oils. Read more about this on the National Library of Medicine. The drawback of avocado oil is that it is more expensive than most other oils. If this is out of your price range, use canola oil.
More Appetizer Recipes To Try
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Beer Batter Onion Rings Recipe with Sauce
Ingredients
Onion Rings:
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup red ale can also use lager or ale
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 large onion white or sweet
- 3-4 cups canola or vegetable oil for frying
Onion Ring Sauce:
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 1/2 tbsp horseradish
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper and then pour in beer and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk it all together until smooth.
- Taste the batter to make sure you have enough salt.
- Cover and set aside for about 30 minutes (if you have the patience).
- Slice the onions into thick rings that are between 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch thick. Pat them dry with a paper towel to soak up excess onion juice.
- Preheat the oil in a large skillet, deep pan, or in a fryer, on medium heat. (Do not use a shallow pan so that you minimize the splatter.) Make sure to preheat to and maintain the oil at 350° and 365°.
- Line a large wire rack with paper towels to soak up the excess oil after frying and place it on the counter nearby.
- Dip the onion rings into the batter and carefully add them to the hot oil. Fry until they are golden brown and flip. Give them a couple more minutes to fry until golden brown on the other side.
- Fry them in batches and don't overcrowd the pan/pot.
- Use metal tongs of a metal slotted spoon to take out the fried onion rings and place them onto the prepared wire rack to soak up excess oil.
- Give it a couple of minutes to cool down and serve.
- For the sauce: simply mix all the ingredients in a cup until smooth and serve with the onion sings!
Video
Notes
- Gluten free: If you want to make your onion rings gluten free, it’s very simple! Use your favorite all purpose gluten free flour instead or regular one in the batter. You can use gluten free beer instead as well, or use club soda. (See the notes below.)
- Remember to cook the onion rings in batches so they don’t stick together!
- Omitting Beer: Yes, you can substitute seltzer water and about 1/2 tsp of baking powder to the batter. When using seltzer, there won’t be much flavor to the batter, so feel free to add some seasonings like garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and/ or a pinch or cayenne in addition to the salt and pepper.
You can always use buttermilk if you would like a richer batter.
Another option could be a non-alcoholic beer like O’Douls, but get the Amber or Premium version for better flavor.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in February 2014.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I do love onion rings but have never made them at home! Yours look perfect!
Thank you, Tonia! So easy and satisfying 🙂
These look PERFECT! I love onion rings but have only made them once at home….can’t WAIT to try these!
Awww, thank you, Cathy!
Wow these look sinful!!!
Thank you, Julie! (They are 😉 )
Wow, Lyuba, these are so mouth watering and your photography is stunning! Onion rings are a favourite of mine and this recipe is definitely be saved. Thanks so much!
Thank you SO much, Robyn!
Just got a new Fryer so am going to try this Thanks for sharing
Awesome, Jackie! Great way to break it in 🙂
Pinned!
Thank you, Patti!
Lyuba, these onion rings look amazing! I am definitely going to try these – thank you so much for sharing at Best of the Weekend! Pinning! Have a happy Sunday and a fabulous week!
Thank you, Cindy 🙂
Seriously!!!! I opened this in my inbox with the hubs standing behind me. He had a few choice words when he saw the pic- because……..now we HAVE TO make them!!! 🙂 YUUUUUMMMM!!!!!!!!!! You found my weakness – fried food. Oh my!!
Awww, that is so nice 🙂 Thank you, Gina! I hope you love it!
We aren’t alcohol drinkers. What would you recommend as a substitute?
Hi Katie,
If you substitute anything other than beer, it will be regular batter. You can always use buttermilk. If you are worried about alcohol, alcohol actually cooks out. If you are still not comfortable, use buttermilk 🙂
Oh, Katie, you can use non-alcoholic beer, like O’Douls!
I just found your blog for the first time from a link party at Rattlebridge Farm… these onion rings look amazing! I’ll definitely be making them and sharing with my own friends — i’m a sucker for deep fried apps. 😉 Come visit my new blog if you have a chance — I could use some new blogging friends!
Welcome, Tracy! Thank you for your sweet comment!
Lyuba, loving how you incorporated this beer in with this beautiful batter. They look absolutely amazing!
Thank you, Gloria 🙂
Now that is some serious comfort food! You did a fantastic job with the prep work shots – the lighting and clarity is amazing! I think I could handle a plate of these, no problem 😉
Haha, thank you, Mary!