Air Fryer Onion Rings
Deliciously crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings are a favorite game day snack, appetizer or side dish. Forget the deep fryer, making onion rings in the air fryer is easy and the results are truly scrumptious!
You are going to love making onion rings in the air fryer! These air fryer onion rings have the same crispy texture and delicious flavor as deep fried onion rings, but they’re so much healthier. They’re also a lot less messy to make, since you won’t have to worry about cooking them in a deep fryer full of hot oil.
Ever since I got my air fryer, I’ve been hooked on air fryer cooking. An air fryer allows you to easily make your favorite crispy foods and snacks with much less oil. From Air Fryer French Fries to Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Air Fryer Chicken Tenders and these crispy onion rings, air fryer recipes are the best when it comes to making appetizers and snacks for game day or any day!
Air Fryer Onion Rings Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this onion ring recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour & Cornstarch: Flouring the onion rings helps the batter to stick to the onion. Adding cornstarch to the flour helps to make the onion rings extra crispy. A little flour is also added to the onion ring batter to thicken it and help it coat the onions.
- Eggs & Buttermilk: The onion ring batter is made of eggs and buttermilk, plus seasonings. The batter acts as a glue to make the crispy bread crumb coating stick. You’ll love the tangy flavor that the buttermilk adds, just like making Air Fryer Fried Chicken with buttermilk.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, salt and pepper are the perfect seasonings for onion rings. The seasonings are added to the batter to ensure that the onion rings are well seasoned. You could also add some smoked paprika for even more flavor.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: Using panko bread crumbs makes for the crispiest coating on the onion rings.
- Sweet Yellow Onion: A sweet yellow onion will give you the onion flavor that you crave without being overpowering. You can also use a regular yellow onion if that’s what you have on hand.
- Oil Spray: Spraying the onion rings with oil spray before air frying helps them to crisp up as they cook. I used an olive oil spray, or you can use canola oil or coconut oil.
How to Make Air Fryer Onion Rings
If you’re new to air fryer cooking, this How to Use an Air Fryer guide can help you to get started.
- Prepare the onion ring batter and crispy coating. In a wide, shallow dish, whisk together the flour and cornstarch. In a second dish, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, seasonings and 1/4 cup of flour. Place the Panko in a third dish.
- Slice the onion into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Then carefully separate the rounds into onion rings.
- Preheat the air fryer to 380° F for 5 minutes. Preheating the air fryer helps the rings to crisp up as soon as they hit the hot air fryer basket.
- Coat the onion rings, first in the flour/cornstarch mixture, then in the batter and finally in the Panko. Let any excess batter drip off, and be sure to fully coat the rings in the Panko. You can place the coated onion rings on a baking sheet while you wait for batches to cook.
- Cook the onion rings. Working in batches, place the onion rings in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Small rings can be placed inside of larger rings to maximize space. Spray the tops of the rings with oil spray and then air fry until crispy and golden brown. You don’t need to flip them over during the cook time.
- Serve the onion rings immediately, hot from the air fryer. Or, you can wait until all of the onion rings are cooked and then put all of the batches back in the air fryer for about 2 minutes to heat them through again. They don’t need to be in a single layer this time.
Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card below.
How Long to Cook Onion Rings in the Air Fryer
At 380° F, cook onion rings for 10-12 minutes in the air fryer, or until they are golden brown and crispy. The cook time may vary slightly between air fryer models.
What to Serve with Onion Rings
Served with a dipping sauce, these air fryer onion rings are completely irresistible! Try them with BBQ Sauce, Honey Mustard, Ranch Dressing, ketchup or tartar sauce.
You can serve these onion rings as part of your game day snacks spread, along with Cajun Fries, chips and Salsa and Pizza Bites. They’re also a favorite side dish to serve with Turkey Burgers, Black Bean Burgers or Baked Chicken Tenders.
More Favorite Air Fryer Recipes
Forget deep frying, the air fryer is the way to go when you’re craving crispy homemade onion rings!
Air Fryer Onion Rings
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups Panko bread crumbs
- 1 large sweet yellow onion
- oil spray, coconut oil, canola oil or olive oil
Instructions
- To prepare the onion rings you will need 3 wide, shallow bowls, dishes or pie plates. In one dish, whisk together ½ cup of the flour and the cornstarch.
- In the second dish, combine the eggs, buttermilk, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Whisk. Then whisk in the remaining ¼ cup of flour until well combined.
- In the third dish, place the Panko bread crumbs.
- Slice the onion into ½-inch thick rounds. Carefully separate the rounds into individual onion rings.
- Preheat the air fryer to 380° F for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, working with a few onion rings at a time, coat each one in the flour and cornstarch mixture, and gently shake off any excess flour. Then coat in the egg mixture, making sure to fully coat all sides and letting any excess batter drip off. Finally, fully coat in the Panko.
- Place the onion rings in a single layer in the air fryer basket. (You will need to cook them in batches.) Small onion rings may be placed inside larger rings. Spray the tops with oil spray.
- Air fry at 380° F for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. You do not need to flip the onion rings as they cook.
- You can serve the batches immediately as they come out of the air fryer, or wait and add them all back to the air fryer to heat through for about 2 minutes once all batches are cooked. They don't need to be in a single layer this time.
