These crispy homemade sourdough onion rings are battered with sourdough discard and deep fried to perfection! They're a great appetizer for game-day or side for burger night! The sourdough discard makes a perfect batter for fried foods like onion rings! It add extra flavor and helps make the onion rings extra crispy, crunchy, and delicious!
Deep fried onion rings are surprisingly easy to make at home with just a heavy bottomed pot, cooking oil, and a thermometer!
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Why You'll Love These Homemade Onion Rings
These homemade sourdough onion rings are one of my favorite game-day snacks that everyone will love!
- Perfectly crispy breading with soft, sweet onions inside.
- Great way to use up leftover sourdough starter discard!
- Surprisingly easy to make with just a few ingredients!
- Even better than restaurant onion rings!
These sourdough onion rings also happen to be naturally vegan!
You can also use this same recipe for onion straws/onion strings! Ideally you want to use a mandoline slicer so that you can get the onions thin enough. I like to do ⅛ inch slices, then follow the rest of the instructions as written, just fry for about 2-3 minutes instead.
You might also like these fried pickles, buttermilk fried chicken tenders, or sourdough soft pretzels!
Ingredient Notes
You just need 4 simple ingredients (plus some spices) to make these homemade sourdough onion rings!
Sweet Onions - I recommend large sweet onions for the best flavor! My favorites are either Walla Walla onions or Vidalia onions. However, regular sweet onions also work great and yellow onions will do in a pinch. One large onion (roughly softball sized) will feed 2-4 people and 2 large onions will feed 4-6!
Sourdough Starter - I typically use leftover sourdough discard to make these crepes because I always need to use up extra discard, but ripe active sourdough starter works just as well! You'll probably need to thin out your discard with a little extra water depending on the consistency. For a good onion ring batter, you want it to be about the consistency of pancake batter.
Cornstarch - Adding a little bit of cornstarch to the flour breading mixture is a great trick for extra crispy onion rings! It helps absorb moisture and prevent gluten formation so that you don't end up with soggy or gluey breading.
Spices - We don't skimp on seasoning around here! A mistake I see in many fried onion rings recipes is that there isn't enough seasoning in the breading, so you end up with bland onion rings. But feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste. [For example, don't like smoked paprika? Just leave it out! Love garlic? Add a little extra!]
Hot Sauce - This is optional, but if you want slightly spicy onion rings you can add 1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce to the sourdough discard! My husband loves adding Franks Hot Sauce (just note that some hot sauces, like Franks, are very salty so you might want to reduce the salt content of the breading if you go this route).
Oil for Frying - I typically have canola oil or vegetable oil at home so that's what I use, but peanut oil is also a really delicious option (as long as you aren't allergic of course). You just want to make sure you're using an oil with a high smoke point that is intended for frying.
Flaky Sea Salt - This is optional, but I love a little sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of the homemade onion rings after frying.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sourdough Onion Rings
Pour 2-4 cups of vegetable oil (you want it to be at least 2-3 inches deep) into a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 375°F. [I love this thermometer because it clips to the pot.] Place a cooling rack on top of a lined baking sheet and position it next to your stove.
While the oil is heating, bread the onion rings.
First slice your onion rings. Trim away both ends of the onion and remove the papery outer layers. Then slice the onion crosswise into ½ inch rings. Gently separate the rings and set aside.
In a large dish, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne.
In a separate bowl, add in the sourdough discard. If needed, slowly whisk in water to thin it out until it reaches the consistency of thick pancake batter. [I usually have to add anywhere from ¼ to ½ cup of water depending on how fresh my sourdough discard is].
Take an onion rings and dip it into the sourdough discard and gently shake off any excess (you just want a thin layer).
Then dip the battered onion ring into the flour mixture to coat fully. Repeat with all the onion rings.
Once the oil reaches 375°F, add the first batch of onion rings and fry for about 3-4 minutes, flipping halfway, or until golden brown. Only fry 4-6 onion rings at a time in a single layer to avoid overcrowding the pot which can cause the oil temperature to drop.
Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to remove the onion rings the oil and place on the wire rack to let the excess oil drip off.
Repeat until all the onion rings have been fried (it usually takes me 4-5 batches).
Once fried, you can keep the fried onion rings nice and crispy by transferring the baking sheet to a 200°F oven. The low temperature ensures the onion rings don't overcook but the heat helps keep the breading from getting soggy.
Sprinkle the sourdough onion rings with flaky sea salt and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce!
Serving Suggestions
You can serve these homemade sourdough discard onion rings as a standalone appetizer or snack, or as a side for burgers, hot dogs, bbq, wings, etc.!
Homemade onion rings are delicious with any of your favorite dipping sauces! I love:
- Ketchup
- Homemade ranch
- Blue cheese dressing
- BBQ sauce
- Garlic aioli
- Honey mustard
You can also use this recipe to make homemade fry sauce which is a classic onion ring dipping sauce.
Homemade Fry Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (or pickle brine)
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt (more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or hot sauce to taste)
Whisk all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week!
Recipe FAQ's
Fried onion rings are best eaten immediately while still hot, but they will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat in the oven at 400°F for about 10-15 minutes, until crispy. I recommend placing them on a rack over a baking sheet so that the air can fully circulate around them and get super crispy again!
These homemade onion rings freeze super well! Let them cool completely to room temperature on your wire rack. Then freeze flat in a single layer on a baking sheet for about 1 hour. After the onion rings are frozen, transfer to a bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, bake from frozen at 400°F for about 10-15 minutes, until crispy. I recommend placing them on a rack over a baking sheet so that the air can fully circulate around for maximum crispiness.
This recipe is designed to be deep fried and with this particular type of batter and breading, I personally don't recommend baking or air frying the onion rings because they won't cook and crisp up properly in the oven. If you want baked or air fried onion rings, I recommend searching for a different recipe.
For the best flavor you want to use some variety of sweet onions! Walla Walla onions, Vidalia onions, and Maui onions are all excellent choices! Regular sweet onions or yellow onions also work well. However, I do not recommend using white onions or red onions as the flavor is just too strong and pungent.
These sourdough onion rings are delicious dipped in fry sauce, homemade ranch, ketchup, bbq sauce, garlic aioli, etc.! They're the perfect side for burgers (with sourdough pretzel buns), hotdogs, or sandwiches!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Sourdough Discard Onion Rings
Special Equipment
- 2-4 cups canola oil for frying
Ingredients
Onion Rings
- 2 large sweet onions, (Walla Walla or Vidalia are best)
- 1 ½ cups sourdough starter discard
Flour Breading
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
Instructions
- Pour 2-4 cups of vegetable oil (you want it to be at least 2-3 inches deep) into a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 375°F. [I love this thermometer because it clips to the pot.] Place a cooling rack on top of a lined baking sheet and position it next to your stove.
- While the oil is heating, bread the onion rings.
- First slice your onion rings. Trim away both ends of the onion and remove the papery outer layers. Then slice the onion crosswise into ½ inch rings. Gently separate the rings and set aside.
- In a large dish, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne.
- In a separate bowl, add in the sourdough discard. If needed, slowly whisk in water to thin it out until it reaches the consistency of thick pancake batter. [I usually have to add anywhere from ¼ to ½ cup of water depending on how fresh my sourdough discard is].
- Take an onion rings and dip it into the sourdough discard and gently shake off any excess (you just want a thin layer).
- Then dip the battered onion ring into the flour mixture to coat fully. Repeat with all the onion rings.
- Once the oil reaches 375°F, add the first batch of onion rings and fry for about 3-4 minutes, flipping halfway, or until golden brown. Only fry 4-6 onion rings at a time in a single layer to avoid overcrowding the pot which can cause the oil temperature to drop.
- Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to remove the onion rings the oil and place on the wire rack to let the excess oil drip off.
- Repeat until all the onion rings have been fried (it usually takes me 4-5 batches).
- Once fried, you can keep the fried onion rings nice and crispy by transferring the baking sheet to a 200°F oven. The low temperature ensures the onion rings don't overcook but the heat helps keep the breading from getting soggy.
- Sprinkle the sourdough onion rings with flaky sea salt and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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