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Beer Battered Onion Rings

Beer Battered Onion Rings are the perfect complement to any burger, game day BBQ, or just settling that craving for your favorite fair food. It only takes two onions to serve up a crowd, but be warned, they’ll be hungry for more!

white bowl of beer battered onion rings
Beer battered onion rings are an easy homemade fair food and burger pairing.

What is the best beer for beer batter?

Whether you’re making beer battered onion rings, chicken, fish, or any other number of recipes – having the right beer makes all the difference. In theory, you can use any beer that tastes good to you, much like cooking with wine. A typical ‘good’ beer for beer batter is one with a lot of carbonation and a hint of flavor. Stouts, IPAs, Lagers, and of course Brown Ale are all among the top contenders for creating a beer batter with loads of puff and great flavor.

picture of beer battered onion ring burger
Onion rings on or off? There are no wrong answers here.

Learn more about the science of using beer in batter here.

Do beer battered onion rings have alcohol?

No, alcohol burns off in a matter of seconds at 172F making these deep fried onion rings alcohol free.

Ingredients for beer batter

What I’ll call ‘traditional’ beer batter, like the one used for this recipe, you’ll need:

  • Onions – I used Vidalia due to their size and sweetness.
  • Beer – An English Brown Ale is perfect with its nutty flavor and carbonation.
  • Flour – All-Purpose but you could use gluten-free.
  • Seasonings – salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.

Keep in mind you can change up the seasonings for a slightly different taste, but this batter gives you a good baseline to start playing with.

ingredients needed to make homemade onion rings
Just 8 ingredients to make onion rings for a crowd!

How to make beer battered onion rings

  1. Preheat peanut oil in a 5 or 6-quart dutch oven (affiliate link) over the stovetop, using an infrared thermometer (affiliate link) to 425F.
  2. While the oil heats, slice your onions into 1/4-1/2 inch slices.
  3. In a large bowl make your batter.
  4. Work in batches to dredge your onion rings in the batter, reserved flour, and then fry until golden brown.
  5. Remove using a spider strainer (affiliate link) to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with additional salt if desired. Serve with dipping sauce.

Chef’s Tip

Check your oil temperature before dropping each batch for frying. Oil temperature changes quickly and drastically during the frying process.

How to make beer battered onion rings without beer

Obviously we love using beer in this recipe for the flavor and carbonation. However, if you don’t have beer or just don’t want to use it, you can use milk or soda. Soda has the carbonation that we’re looking for (think Sprite, Ginger Ale, or Coke) and milk is used more traditionally in a batter.

What to serve with onion rings

I’m not sure there is a dish you can’t serve onion rings with, but here are some of our favorites!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with onion rings sound like a winner in my book!
You’ve got the oil already heated, let’s add some Fried Chicken to the mix!
Finish the dish with some Peach Cobbler – another Dutch Oven classic!

Beer Battered Onion Rings

Forget the fast food and the fair – enjoy quick, easy, crunchy, and slightly sweet beer battered onion rings on your burger or on the side!
Print Recipe
white bowl of beer battered onion rings
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:20 minutes
Total Time:30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 vidalia onions cut into thin rings
  • 64 ounces peanut oil
  • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup reserved
  • 24 ounces Newcastle Brown Ale 2 bottles
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 Tablespoon black pepper
  • 1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
  • 1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

  • Heat a dutch oven with peanut oil on the stovetop over medium heat, until oil reaches 425F.
  • In a bowl combine flour and spices, whisk thoroughly. Add the beer to the dry ingredients to make a batter.
  • Slice the onions into 1/4 inch rings. Dredge a few at a time in the batter and then into a bowl with the reserved flour.*
  • Fry the onion rings for 3-5 minutes. Remove and place on a plate with a paper towel to drain excess grease. Check the oil temperature before starting each new batch. When completed, enjoy with your favorite sauce.

Notes

*You can also put the reserved flour in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and shake the onion rings. Just be aware that you might not have super even coverage of batter on your onion doing it this way. But the process will go quicker and they will still taste amazing. 

Nutrition

Calories: 2839kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 303g | Saturated Fat: 51g | Sodium: 1178mg | Potassium: 199mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 82IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 2839kcal
Author: Katie Chase
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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    My hatband loves Onion rings. I’ve never thought of making these until now. This seems much easier then I thought. I’ll let you know how they turn out!

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