Frizzled onions are as delicious as they are easy to make! They make a tasty, fresh alternative to store-bought French-fried onions, perfect for enhancing elk burgers, mashed potatoes, and hot honey chicken sandwiches!
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One of our favorite dishes around here is pork chops and potatoes. However, oftentimes when we want to make this dish, we find that we don't have one of the key ingredients, French-fried onions. That's never going to be an issue again, because these made-from-scratch frizzled onions are the perfect substitute!
These light, crispy onions add texture and flavor to potatoes, sandwiches, salads, and more!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These frizzled onions are fresher and more flavorful than the ones you can get from the store.
- Making your own crispy onions is easy and doesn't require any special equipment, and calls for simple ingredients.
- You can prep the ingredients in advance to save yourself some time.
- Fried onions make a great topping to a variety of dishes, but can also be enjoyed as a snack!
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Onions: You can use sweet yellow onions or red onions, or even shallots!
- Milk & vinegar: Adding vinegar to milk is a quick way to make your own buttermilk alternative, but you can simply use buttermilk if you have it.
- Spices: Garlic, smoked paprika, smoked salt, chipotle powder.
- Oil: Use an oil with a high smoke point, like avocado or canola oil.
*See recipe card for full list of ingredients.
🧅 How To Make Frizzled Onions
Step 1: Thinly slice onions into crescents, then gently pat them dry and place them in a bowl. Mix milk and vinegar, then pour over sliced onions. Soak for 1 hour.
Pro Tip: Don't be alarmed if the milk starts to curdle. Like buttermilk, this mixture is slightly acidic, similar to kefir or yogurt, which is more effective for tenderizing the onions than milk alone.
Step 2: In another bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, smoked salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and chipotle powder. Dredge onions in the flour mixture until evenly coated.
Step 3: Heat oil in a medium-sized pot to 350°F, then fry battered onions, in batches if necessary, for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil using tongs or a slotted spoon, then strain over a wire rack or colander. Sprinkle with additional smoked paprika, smoked salt, and garlic powder before serving.
Pro Tip: Oil temperature is important! If it's too hot, the onions will burn before the batter can set, and if it's not hot enough, the soggy batter will slip off. Try to keep it between 350-375°F.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Frizzled onions are tasty enough to snack on, but they're ideal for garnishing all sorts of delicious dishes. Try them on smoked burgers, Chicago style hot dogs, instant pot scalloped potatoes, air fryer twice baked potatoes, dill pickled chopped salad, Swiss chard soup, Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, and more.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Fried onions actually do freeze well, if done correctly. Start by freezing them in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
You can re-crisp fried onions several ways:
- In an oven/toaster oven at 350°F for 3-5 minutes (spread out in a single layer).
- In an air fryer for 2-3 minutes at 335°F, shaking halfway through.
- Heated in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until crispy.
You can create a substitute for buttermilk with milk and vinegar or lemon juice by adding 1 tablespoon of either to every 1 cup of whole milk.
🍴More Onion Recipes
Love onions? We do too! Here are some of our favorite onion recipes!
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Patting the excess juice from the onions helps ensure that the batter will adhere to the onion slices.
- I prefer a more rustic cut, but if you want the onions sliced extra finely, you can use a mandolin.
- Allowing excess oil to drain using a strainer or wire rack is preferable to a paper towel, which will harbor excess moisture, softening the frizzled onions.
- You can flip the onions halfway through frying, but don't touch them before they've sat for at least 30-45 seconds, as this can cause the batter to detach.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container lined with a paper towel and keep in the fridge or a cool, dark pantry for up to 3-4 days.
- Don't store frizzled onions in a plastic bag, as this will cause them to soften.
- Make sure they're completely cool before storing to ensure they don't trap excess moisture.
🍟 More Delicious Fried Recipes
Love these frizzled onions? Give these recipes a try!
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📖 Recipe
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Thinly slice onions into crescents, then gently pat them dry and place them in a bowl. Mix milk and vinegar, then pour over sliced onions. Soak for 1 hour.
- In another bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, smoked salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and chipotle powder. Dredge onions in the flour mixture until evenly coated.
- Heat oil in a medium-sized pot to 350°F, then fry battered onions, in batches if necessary, for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil using tongs or a slotted spoon, then strain over a wire rack or colander. Sprinkle with additional smoked paprika, smoked salt, and garlic powder before serving.
Nutrition
Notes
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- Don't be alarmed if the milk starts to curdle. Like buttermilk, this mixture is slightly acidic, similar to kefir or yogurt, which is more effective for tenderizing the onions than milk alone.
- Oil temperature is important! If it's too hot, the onions will burn before the batter can set, and if it's not hot enough, the soggy batter will slip off. Try to keep it between 350-375°F.
- Patting the excess juice from the onions helps ensure that the batter will adhere to the onion slices.
- I prefer a more rustic cut, but if you want the onions sliced extra finely, you can use a mandolin.
- Allowing excess oil to drain using a strainer or wire rack is preferable to a paper towel, which will harbor excess moisture, softening the frizzled onions.
- You can flip the onions halfway through frying, but don't touch them before they've sat for at least 30-45 seconds, as this can cause the batter to detach.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container lined with a paper towel and keep in the fridge or a cool, dark pantry for up to 3-4 days.
- Don't store frizzled onions in a plastic bag, as this will cause them to soften.
- Make sure they're completely cool before storing to ensure they don't trap excess moisture.
Nena Sterner says
We hope you enjoy this recipe!