Crispy Thin Onion Rings (With a Secret Ingredient!)

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

33 Comments

4.34 from 3 votes
8
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
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Easy, delicious, steakhouse-style, crispy, thin onion rings! The batter is made with a secret ingredient, making this recipe super easy!

This recipe makes for SUPER easy frying and even easier cleanup using my shake-and-fry technique, some pancake batter, and a just a little bit of chill time to let it all set. Forget the fries, and give these a try the next time you make Classic Burgers for dinner.

Sabrina’s Crispy Thin Onion Rings

Homemade onion rings are a side dish most people don’t make because they aren’t really a popular frozen food in the grocery store. They aren’t nearly as awesome when baked and people tend to be a bit fearful of frying them at home themselves.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Crispy Thin Onion Rings (With a Secret Ingredient!) Recipe

Easy, delicious, steakhouse-style, crispy, thin onion rings! The batter is made with a secret ingredient, making this recipe super easy!
Yield 8
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Onion rings on a platter with sauce on the side
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 4 medium white onions
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 3 large eggs , beaten
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups pancake mix
  • vegetable oil , for frying

Instructions

  • Slice your onions into rings 1/4-inch thick.
  • In a large ziploc bag add the onions, eggs, milk, and salt.
  • Close the bag TIGHTLY with some air in it so it is kind of like a pillow and carefully shake until all combined.
  • Let the air out, reclose and put in the fridge for as long as you can, up to 2 hours.
  • Drain the onions and toss with the pancake mix (ok I will be honest here, I use a second, large ziploc bag, add the pancake mix and onions, and shake….NO dishes or mess! Only a frying pan to wash!
  • Using tongs tap excess pancake mix off onions against the side of the bag.
  • In a cast iron skillet add oil ⅓ the way up the pan (I use my skillet, if you use a pot, add a couple inches worth of oil).
  • Fry rings until golden brown 1-2 minutes. Keep the oil around 365 degrees as you fry.
  • Drain fried onion rings on brown paper bag or on a cooling rack.

Nutrition

Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 495mg | Potassium: 217mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 131mg | Iron: 1mg

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About This Recipe

You ready for the secret ingredient? It’s pancake mix for the onion ring batter! I use a fancier variety than you need to (a gift from my husband’s aunt, she loves sending us Williams-Sonoma pancake mixes). Truly, Bisquick works great for this onion ring batter recipe. I have made it with Bisquick probably… oh I would guess 20 times? It is delicious. I think any pancake mix would work for you and for the most part, this onion rings recipe is very hands-off and easy.

Chef’s Note

If you go the lazy route like me and use the two Ziploc bags, you won’t have pancake mix spilling or any mixing bowls to wash! There is a New Year’s Resolution I am helping you keep, keeping the house as clean as possible! Enjoy these onion rings, they are delicious!

Tips and Tricks

To make these onion rings you really don’t need any special equipment. I use my trusty cast iron skillet, tongs, and a couple of large Ziploc bags. The onion rings are thin enough you only really have to care about the color of the outside once they’re cooked. The onion ring batter here isn’t a batter to be concerned about cooking through.

FAQ’s

Is the pancake mix wet or dry?

Since the onions are first mixed in with the eggs and milk, dry pancake mix will hold to the onions when you toss them into your second Ziploc bag. There is no batter in this recipe so it has less mess and makes clean up super easy!

What is the best temperature to keep my oil at?

You don’t want your oil getting too hot. I find it best to keep the oil temperature at 365 degrees.

More Homemade Fried Sides

Easy delicious steakhouse-style Crispy thin onion rings! Made with just five ingredients and so good you'll eat most of them as you cook them!

Images used in a previous version of this post:

Easy delicious steakhouse-style Crispy thin onion rings! Made with just five ingredients and so good you'll eat most of them as you cook them!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Must use sweet vidalia onions, this is the most important thing. If you can find Drakes coating it’s so much better!

    Reply

  2. Hi Sabrina! I was wondering what the temperature the oil is supposed to be at please? Thank you And I cannot wait to try this recipe!

    Reply

  3. These sound really good.
    I would love a copycat recipe for the dipping sauce that a specific restaurant serves with their onions.
    Would you happen to have one?
    I would surely appreciate it.

    Reply

  4. I use Bisquick with seasonings for fixing fried chicken. I never thought to use it for onion rings. I know they’ll be good!

    Reply

    1. When I first saw the idea of it I thought it sounded terrible. But it was used in a copycat recipe I needed to make for nostalgia purposes and it was SO good it is the only way we batter onion rings now unless we beer batter! It also helps that it is SUPER easy.

      Reply

    1. Me too! I always Yelp stalk a restaurant before ordering their onion rings. I need to see them to make sure they aren’t awful/frozen premade looking! Yes, I am crazy, I know it!

      Reply

  11. I think my husband will be extremely happy if I cook these onion rings for him! I’m going to be shopping for the ingredients for them tomorrow. I have a feeling the whole family is going to enjoy this recipe! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply

    1. Yes, definitely not an every day food. But moderation with everything is key and these onion rings are awesome, so they’re worth the extra 20 minutes on the treadmill.

      Reply

  13. I’ve tried making my own onion rings a few years ago and was never successful! I must give your recipe a try!

    Reply

  14. Wow, I don’t even like onion rings but would totally try these. Is it weird that I think they’re pretty? lol

    Reply

  15. Pancake mix for onion rings… I never would have imagined that. I can not believe the entire process is so easy either!

    Reply

  16. I can’t wait to make these onion rings. I never knew that you could use pancake batter as a coating for frying. I will definitely be trying it for all of my frying now.

    Reply

    1. Crazy right? It is the only way I make onion rings now… well unless I am doing fish and chips with a beer batter, then I throw some onions in that for good measure.

      Reply