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by Stephanie Manley, Last Updated 10 Comments
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These Dairy Queen onion rings are from restaurants in Southeast Texas. All Dairy Queens are not equal, some do only ice cream treats, some are Brazier stores, and some are not.I made countless of these during my days at the DQ.
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Homemade Onion Rings
This copycat Dairy Queen onion rings recipe is based on onion rings made in Southeast Texas restaurants. I made countless numbers of these during my days at Dairy Queen.
These homemade onion rings are crispy with just the right amount of crunch and perfectly seasoned. You can make them in your kitchen with this easy copycat onion rings recipe. All you need are a few simple ingredients.
Dairy Queen Onion Rings Ingredients
What you need to make this recipe:
- Vidalia Onions
- Flour
- Cracker crumbs
- Cornmeal
- Vegetable oil for frying
What Are the Best Onions for Onion Rings?
Fragrant and tasty sweet onions such as Vidalia, Walla Walla, Texas, or Maui are the best options for making delicious and crunchy onion rings. They don’t come with the sharp and pungent taste of some onions.
They are also usually flatter than other kinds of onions, so make the best-shaped rings.
How to Make Crispy Onion Rings
Deep-fried onion rings should be crisp on the outside but tender within. Here are some tips:
- Ice-cold batter will stick better to the onion rings while frying and make them crisper. Many people also like to chill their onion slices in ice-cold water for at least ten minutes. Make sure to thoroughly dry off your rings using paper towels before coating them with batter.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Allow it to heat up hot enough to fry, but not to smoke. The best temperature is 375 degrees. Use a deep-fry or candy thermometer attached to the side of your pot/frying vessel. This helps you adjust the temperature if it does not remain consistent. If the temperature becomes too low, the rings will soak up too much oil, and you will end up with soggy rings.
- Cook the onion rings in small batches, so they don’t stick together. When one side is fried, turn them over to brown on the other side. The process should take about three minutes.
- Don’t place your cooked onion rings directly on top of paper towels to drain. If you do so, the onion rings will soak up whatever oil ends up on the paper towel. Instead, place some paper towels on a cookie sheet and then lay a wire cooling rack on top. Place your fried rings on top of the rack to drain, so they don’t sit in oil.
- Season with some salt and serve your perfect crispy onion rings immediately.
How to Deep Fry Onion Rings
- Place flour in a shallow bowl.
- In a large bowl, combine buttermilk and water.
- In a separate bowl, combine cracker crumbs and cornmeal.
- Coat onion rings one at a time with flour, dip them in buttermilk, and then dredge in cornmeal mixture.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan or deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Working in batches, fry the battered onion rings in the hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes.
- Remove fried onions from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain them on a wire rack.
What is a Good Dipping Sauce for Onion Rings?
There are unlimited different sauces for you to dip your crunchy onion rings into. Dipping sauces can be based on mayo, ketchup, mustard, cheese, and more. They can be sweet or spicy. Here are a few recipes:
- Blooming Onion Sauce
- Campfire Sauce
- Zesty Sauce
CopyKat Tip: Make dipping sauces a day ahead to allow the flavors to mature. If the sauce thickens too much, add a little water to thin it out.
Are Dairy Queen Onion Rings Vegan?
The answer is no. Buttermilk is not vegan, and you would need to closely examine the ingredients in the crackers you use to make cracker crumbs. However, you can make vegan onion rings.
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Dairy Queen Onion Rings
Made fresh every day, it's hard not to love Dairy Queen Onion Rings.You can make them at home with this easy copycat recipe.
5 from 2 votes
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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Dairy Queen Onion Rings, Dairy Queen Recipes
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 409kcal
Author: Stephanie Manley
Ingredients
- 2 Vidalia onions or 1015 sweet onions sliced into rings
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups Buttermilk
- 1 cups water
- 2 cups fine cracker crumbs
- 2 cups white cornmeal
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
Slice onions 1/2 inch thick. Do not use the very small rings, save those for chopped onions.
Place the flour in a shallow bowl.
In a large bowl, combine buttermilk and water.
In a separate bowl, combine cracker crumbs and cornmeal.
Take out rings one at a time and coat them with flour, then with buttermilk, and then coat with cornmeal mixture.
Drop battered onions into hot oil and fry until golden.
Drain on a wire rack.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 406mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 3.8mg
About Stephanie Manley
I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.
Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
One Hungry Gaonkar
Wow. Never thought of adding Corn Meal in Onion Rings Recipe. That might help to add crunch in the Onion Rings. Surely will add Corn Meal and try to make Onion Rings. I will also like to suggest trying using Panko Bread Crumb to the Onion Ring Lover.Reply
Kandy
Hi Stephanie! Would your recipe work in an Air Fryer? I tried a recipe for air fried Onion Rings and they tasted terrible. NO flavor, no sweetness which I love and even my Vidalia onions did not taste sweet inside. The flour and Panko crumbs did not stick and coat very well at all. I assume I did something wrong but where? I am so sad, cutting up that onion and spending time making them and even my air fryer did not cook them evenly… all around I’m throwing them out because they are good enough to eat :'( I need a recipe for an air fryer and thought “why not look for a DQ copy” because I had them a few weeks ago and they were AWESOME!!!
Please help me if you can, I would love to be able to make my own at home using the air fryer if possible. Thank you!Reply
Stephanie
I think for this to work, you would need to prepare the onion rings with an egg wash, and then add panko bread crumbs to the onion rings. I would give them a good spray with some non-stick spray then air fry them. I love my air fryer, but I don’t think it does a great job in making things “fry”. I think it does a superb job at browning and making things crisp.
I don’t think a flour coating like this recipe would work, I don’t think the flour would fry, it would brown. I hope this helps.
Reply
Mark
Hi Stephanie,
Any idea how to make traditional old school DQ brazier sauce? I used to love it and have tried another version online…but it was not the same at all and not good!Reply
jamesking
The last 2 DQ location I went to and ordered onion rings tasted different. they tasted more like burger king’s, which is less flavorful and more batter. Those 2 locations used to server great onion rings last year but I have a feeling they changed the recipe to go with cheaper more processed options? I will try some more DQ locations, but just wondering if anyone else noticed. I think they just started using the new onion rings this year 2015.
Reply
Stephanie Manley
When I worked there, we were part of the American Dairy Queen stores, which were not the Brazier stores. They may have different recipes. I can only speak to the ones that I used to make.
Reply
Stephanie
You know I just went to a DQ and ordered onion rings, they were panko breaded onion rings, I don’t think they were made onsite.
Reply
Jim Moden
What do you do with the cracker crumbs? They are in the recipe but the instructions don’t say what to do with them. After the first coating process or step in the cornmeal, do you dip the onion rings back in the buttermilk, then into the cracker crumbs, then fry them?
Reply
Stephanie
Mix together the corn meal and cracker crumbs. You will dip them into this cracker crumb and corn meal mixture together.
Reply
Ness
Hi,I can’t wait to try these. I grew up and ate at the DQs you’re talking about. Do you by any chance have the taco meat or chili recipes that they used to use?
Reply
