Beer Battered Onion Rings are just about the perfect appetizer. What if I told you that you could have freakin’ delicious crispy onion rings right in the comfort of your home, anytime you want? And that you could make them on the grill — no deep fryer required?
I’m stoked to say you can believe all of it. I first made the beer battered onion rings with Samuel Adams Summer Ale for these BBQ Bacon Burgers. If there’s a chill in the air and you can’t find the Summer Ale, the Golden Pilsner or American Light are great options too!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Beer Battered Onion Rings
Onion rings are so freakin’ delicious, but I don’t love being trapped inside a hot kitchen with a vat of hot oil. Our recipe takes this process outside to the grill! You still get crispy onion rings without the smoke and heat inside. If you can find Sam Summer, which is an American wheat ale with a citrus blend of orange, lemon and lime peel, you’ll find it complements the rest of our flavors perfectly.
Want more of some yummy, zesty onions? Check out Steak with Tennessee Onions, Grilled Steak with Cheese Stuffed Onions and my Oklahoma Onion Burger.
Beer Battered Onion Rings Ingredients
Super simple ingredients on this one!
- Onions: I prefer yellow onions in this recipe, but you could use sweet onions too.
- Beer: Sam Summer is my go-to as the best beer for these onion rings. You can adjust to another lager beer, pale ale beer or light beer if you can’t find it out of season.
- Batter: All the good stuff — flour, cornstarch, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper — to bring out the onion ring flavor.
- Frying oil: I usually go with vegetable oil or canola oil. Peanut oil is an option too, though it’s slightly more expensive (and obviously a no-go for people with nut allergies).
Peeling the Onion
If you’re looking around the grocery store and aren’t sure what type of onion to pick for these beer-battered onion rings, I’ve got you covered. Go with yellow onions or sweet onions, like Maui or Vidalia onions.
All these types of onions have a mild flavor and are known for their sweetness. Some Vidalia onion farmers will even say you can eat one of their onions like an apple! I’ll take their word for it.
Maui and Vidalia onions are technically white onions, but they have a much higher sugar content and lower sulfur levels than typical white onions. I’d avoid traditional white onions in this recipe because they have a sharper bite to them.
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Beer Battered Onion Rings Instructions
Prep the Onions
First, take the stems off your onions and peel the skin. Then, slice the onions into 1.5” thick rings, making sure to separate them into individual onion rings. As a final step, soak them in ice water, which will remove some of the raw onion pungency and soften the flavor.
Preheat your outdoor grill to a medium-high heat (around 375-400 degrees F). Then, place a deep dish cast iron skillet or large Dutch oven over the fire with at least 2-3” of frying oil in the cast iron. Make sure to account for the bubbles produced by frying when picking out a deep skillet (the oil level will rise because of it!). Bring the oil up to 375 degrees F.
Prep the Beer Batter
In a large bowl, add 1.5 cups of flour, along with the 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon garlic powder and 1 tablespoon of cayenne. Slowly pour in 12 ounces of beer, while also mixing, until you have a smooth batter with the consistency of pancake batter. Finally, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour to a separate bowl.
Pull the onion slices out of the fridge and remove them from the water. Then, gently pat the onion rings dry (so that our batter will adhere better).
Fry the Onions
Next, add one onion ring to the 1/2 cup of flour and coat it evenly. Next, add that floured onion to the beer batter and coat evenly. Take the battered onion ring and add it directly to the frying oil to cook for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
Repeat this process until all the onion rings are battered and fried. You can cook 3-5 onion rings at a time, but try not to overcrowd the skillet. Once the onion rings are done, place on a wire rack over a baking sheet with paper towels on it to absorb excess grease.
Serve with buttermilk ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, ketchup or your favorite dipping sauces and enjoy!
What to Serve With Beer Battered Onion Rings
We all know onion rings are a freakin’ delicious appetizer or side dish for sandwiches, burgers, fried chicken, shrimp and more. But I’m always stoked to put onion rings ON the burger, like that BBQ Bacon Burger recipe. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
If the above looks good to you, you can make it following my BBQ Bacon Burger recipe!
Leftovers and Reheating
To store leftover beer batter onion rings, put them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, bake them in a 350-degree oven for 5-7 minutes or warm them in your air fryer.
Your Onion Rings’ Main Dish
FAQs
I’ve tried all the tricks: refrigerating the sweet onions for 30 minutes before slicing, cutting them under running water and wearing goggles. Ultimately, though, the best method is to power through it and cry if you want to.
Sure. Just remember that wholewheat flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose flour, so you may need a bit of extra beer in the batter to get the right texture. If you’re going to use whole wheat, I’d go with a blend of 1/3 whole wheat and 2/3 all-purpose flour.
Samuel Adams is based in Boston but sells its delicious beers nationwide. Check out the Find a Sam locator for a store that sells it near you!
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Beer Battered Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 2 Yellow Onions sliced into rings
- 12 oz Sam Adams Summer Ale
- 2 cups White Flour
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Cayenne
- Frying Oil
Instructions
- Take the stems off your onions and peel the skin. Slice into 1.5” thick rings making sure to separate them into individual onion rings. Put the rings in ice water to soak.
- Preheat your fire to a medium high temperature (around 375-400F). Add a deep dish cast iron skillet or dutch oven over the fire with at least 2-3” of frying oil in the cast iron. Bring the oil up to 375F.
- In a bowl, add 1.5 cups of your flour along with the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne. Slowly add in your beer, while also mixing, until you have a smooth batter with the consistency like pancake batter.
- Add the rest of your flour to another separate bowl.
- Pull the onion rings out from the fridge. Drain the water and gently pat the onion rings dry.
- Begin by adding one onion ring to the flour and coat evenly. Next, add it to the beer batter and coat evenly.
- Take the battered onion ring and add it directly to the frying oil to cook for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Repeat this process until all the onion rings are battered and fried.
- You can cook 3-5 onion rings at a time, but try not to overcrowd the skillet. Once the onion rings are done, place on a wire baking sheet with paper towels underneath.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!
