Onion rings are a beloved appetizer and side dish, perfect with burgers, pasta, steak, or pizza. While traditional onion rings are not keto-friendly due to their high-carb breading, the good news is that you can create delicious, low-carb onion rings that fit perfectly into a ketogenic diet. By making a few smart ingredient swaps, you can enjoy this tasty snack without derailing your health goals.
Why Traditional Onion Rings Aren't Keto-Friendly
Onion rings have a vegetable as the base but the ingredients that go into making them can be quite bad for you if consumed too much and too often. Normally, they are not keto-friendly because they contain large amounts of high-carb breading. Traditional onion rings are typically made with wheat flour, cornflour, or breadcrumbs, all of which are high in carbohydrates. This high carb content makes them unsuitable for a ketogenic diet, which requires a very low intake of carbohydrates to maintain a state of ketosis.
The Keto Onion Ring Solution
The secret to making keto-friendly onion rings lies in substituting high-carb ingredients with low-carb alternatives. The most common substitutions involve replacing the breadcrumb coating with options like almond flour, coconut flour, pork rind crumbs, or whey protein isolate. Depending on the ingredients that you use, a plate of 6 homemade, keto-friendly onion rings can only have between 6 to 7 grams of carbs.
Key Ingredients for Keto Onion Rings
- Onions: White onions and yellow onions (AKA Vidalia onions) are popular choices, with white onions offering a slightly sweeter, milder flavor. Cut the onions into thick rings, about ½ inch in width, to prevent the batter from falling off and to avoid burning. Thin onions won’t hold onto the batter and can burn more easily.
- Almond Flour: A great gluten-free and low-carb alternative to traditional wheat flour. Blanched almond flour is recommended over almond meal for a finer texture. While using almond flour may also add up a little bit to the net carb count, it will still be a healthier and also a gluten-free option compared to regular bread crumbs and wheat flour. Moreover, almond flour still has less net carbs compared to coconut flour.
- Keto Bread Crumbs: These can be made from a variety of low-carb ingredients, such as crushed pork rinds or a mixture of almond flour, parmesan cheese, and spices.
- Eggs: Used as a binding agent to help the breading adhere to the onion rings. Some recipes use heavy whipping cream whisked with the eggs. Be sure to dip your onions in the egg wash twice, you risk the batter falling off the onions once you fry them.
- Pork Rind Coating: The secret ingredient that makes the regular onion rings low-carb and keto-friendly is the use of pork rind coating as a substitute for breadcrumbs in the recipe.
- Whey Protein Isolate: This is a secret ingredient that makes the batter tastes very similar to one made with wheat flour because it uses my secret ingredient - whey protein isolate. It is super-fine and becomes incredibly crispy - much more than any almond flour coating! This should be unfavored whey protein.
- Parmesan Cheese: Adding grated parmesan cheese to create a mouth-watering pork rind parmesan coating is another alternative. Freshly grated will give you the best taste and texture.
- Seasoning: A good amount of spices is essential to flavor the breading mixture. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and other spices can be used to enhance the flavor.
- Oil: Choose an oil with a high smoke point for frying, such as avocado oil, ghee, or coconut oil. Vegetable oil is a good option over canola oil for deep frying. Another option would be to use a light olive oil.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Keto Onion Rings
Here’s a general recipe combining the user's information to guide you through making your own keto-friendly onion rings:
- Prepare the Onions:
- Use a fork to steady the onion. Slice into 1 cm rings. Remove the skin and separate the rings. Discard the ends and the small rings right in the centre.
- Slice your onions into 1/2-inch slices.
- Use thickly sliced white onions that are about ½ inch in width (vidalia onions work too).
- Set Up the Breading Station:
- In a one bowl, add the almond flour, salt, and pepper.
- In another bowl, add the keto bread crumbs and in a third bowl, add the eggs and whisk together.
- Place all the dry ingredients in a shallow bowl and mix. Add the wet ingredients to another bowl and mix to combine.
- Coat the Onion Rings:
- Get one onion and dip in the egg mixture, followed by the almond flour mixture, then the egg mixture again, and finally in the keto bread crumbs.
- Dip an onion slice in egg, almond flour, egg again, then breadcrumbs. Shake off excess and set aside.
- Dip each onion ring in the egg mixture and then into the dry mixture to fully coat them with the breading.
- Coat and fry the batter in batches rather than coat all in one go. This will ensure the whey doesn’t absorb into the egg mix. I coated 8 onion rings at a time and then fried them in batches of 4. Then I coated more and repeated the frying.
- Shake off excess coating and set aside. Repeat the process until all the onions are coated in the batter.
- Use the one wet hand, one dry hand method. Coating: Use one hand for the bowl with the dry mixture and the other hand for the bowl with the wet mixture. That way, your hands won't get sticky and messy.
- Make sure you press the breading firmly into the onion rings before cooking. Some air fryers have a fan that can blow the coating off. These can stick, leaving the coating behind.
- Fry the Onion Rings:
- Add one inch of oil to a saucepan or deep pot.
- Heat the oil in a 18 x 9 cm saucepan until really hot and slightly bubbling. The oil should be deep enough to fully cover the onion rings. I used 2 cups.
- Once the oil reaches an internal temperature of 350C, add the battered onions and fry for 2-3 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Carefully lower 4 onion rings at a time into the hot oil and fry about 45 seconds or until golden and crisp.
- Make sure the oil is hot before dropping the rings into it to ensure they become as crispy as possible.
- Don’t let them overcook. Keto breadcrumbs don’t get as golden as traditional breadcrumbs, which means your onion rings may LOOK like they’re not fully cooked, even though they are.
- Once the onions are golden brown, place them on a plate lined with some paper towels. Repeat the process until all the onions are fried.
- Place each deep fried onion ring onto a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
- Serve and Enjoy:
- Keto Onion Rings are best consumed fresh out of the pan. The batter will go softer when cool.
- Serve your onion rings with your favorite condiments and enjoy.
Alternative Cooking Methods
Air Fryer
Air frying is a healthier alternative to deep frying, as it significantly reduces the amount of oil used while still achieving a crispy texture.
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- Instructions:
- Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees.
- Place the battered onions onto a lined baking sheet. Add spices.
- Arrange the onions in a single layer, cooking in batches as needed. (If desired, you can line your air fryer with air fryer liners.)
- Spray the breaded onion rings with cooking spray and air fry at 180C / 350F for 8 minutes or until the top is browned.
- Spray the onions with cooking spray and cook for 5 minutes.
- Use a spatula to carefully reach under the onions and flip. Respray and cook 5 minutes longer.
- Then flip them over with a spatula and air-fry for a further 8 minutes or until fully crisp.
- Do not overcrowd these-you need air to circulate around them.
- Air fryers can vary wildly in performance, so make sure you keep a close eye towards the end of the cooking time. You may need to cook longer or shorter.
- The most important thing is to keep the rings in a singer layer so the air can circulate around. If you have a smaller air fryer, you'll need to cook them in 2 batches.
Oven Baking
While oven-baked onion rings won't be as crispy as their fried counterparts, this method is still a viable option for a healthier, lower-fat version.
- Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange the onions in a single layer and spray with cooking spray.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Flip and respray with oil.
- Bake for another 10 minutes or until the keto breading is golden all over.
- You should have realistic expectations - they will not be as crispy as if you had fried them.
Tips for the Perfect Keto Onion Rings
- Don't Overcrowd: When frying or air frying, avoid overcrowding the pan or air fryer basket. This ensures that the onion rings cook evenly and get crispy.
- Use Hot Oil: Make sure the oil is hot before adding the onion rings to achieve the best crispiness.
- Double Dip: For a thicker, more secure coating, double-dip the onion rings in the egg mixture and breading.
- Season Generously: Don't be afraid to season the breading mixture generously to create flavorful onion rings.
- Press the breading firmly: Make sure you press the breading firmly into the onion rings before cooking.
Serving Suggestions
Onion rings taste even better with a dipping sauce! While the recipe we’re going to give you below will yield crunchy and flavorful keto onion rings that you can eat as-is, you can also prepare a couple of dips or condiments to go with them. Serve them with homemade sugar free ketchup, keto mayonnaise or sugar free sweet chili sauce. They also taste great with ranch dressing or a blue cheese dressing. Keto Ranch Dressing is SO good!
Storage and Reheating
- Storage: Keto onion rings are best fresh. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. They will go soft. You can bread the onions up to one day ahead of time.
- Reheating: To crisp them up again, reheat in the air fryer or in the preheated oven at 200C / 400F for about 5 minutes. When you’re ready to eat your leftovers, put them on a baking tray, preset the convection oven to 350-375 degrees F, and bake for 10 minutes. I do not recommend using a microwave to reheat this recipe.
Recipe Variations
- Coconut Flour: For a tasty twist on the recipe below, you can switch almond flour with coconut flour. I haven’t tested this recipe with coconut flour, so I can’t say if it would work, but if you try it, leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!
- Parmesan Crust: Adding grated parmesan cheese to create a mouth-watering pork rind parmesan coating is another alternative.
Are Onions Keto-Friendly?
Onions are are suitable for a keto diet in moderation. Since an average whole onion contains 11 grams of net carbs, it's important to keep the portion size low.
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