Air Fryer Frozen Onion Rings
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Air fried frozen onion rings take just a few minutes in the air fryer to make them crispy. You don’t need any extra oil and it’s super easy to learn how to make crispy air fried onion rings from frozen.
How Long To Air Fry Frozen Onion Rings
Though there’s different brands, we have a time range that you can rely on for crispy onion rings. Bbase timing is about 10 minutes at 400°F. Then add additional minute or two if needed to get the onion rins crispy to your liking. Adjust timing when needed and you’ll have a wonderful batch that tastes like it came out of the deep fryer.
Best of all, you didn’t have to add any oil. The crunch of the onion rings are so good, it’s hard to resist making a second batch!
Tips for How to Cook Air Fryer Frozen Onion Rings
- Don’t thaw first. The onion rings cook up the crispiest when they are cooked straight from frozen. No need to thaw beforehand.
- Try to keep the onion rings close to a single layer so they can cook evenly.
- The more you fill the air fryer basket/tray, the more frequently you’ll need to shake the basket to help them cook evenly.
- Don’t fill the basket/tray too much. About 1/2 full is the max you’ll want to fill it.
- See recipe below for the details.
- Pro-Tip: here’s our favorite tools to help make air frying easier:
We LOVE Evo Oil Sprayers. Not the prettiest, but they’re functional and spritz oil great! They don’t clog up like many others we’ve bought. There’s different styles, but all seem to have the same great spray head. Works great for grilling!
There are Square Mats & Round Mats. These perforated non-stick silicone mats are used to cook food in your air fryer or steamer to minimize sticking. Holes allow hot circulating air to cook the food & keeps the food from sticking.
Parchment sheets are great for your air fryer or bamboo steamer (food tends to stick most on wire basket or tray). Choose from different sizes, shapes, white and brown (unbleached). Holes allow air to cook food evenly.
Video making Frozen Onion Rings in the Air Fryer
What is the best brand of frozen onion rings for the air fryer?
There’s so many brands and they are all quite good. We haven’t found a brand we din’t like…. yet! What differs between the brands is the size and thickness of the onion rings. Also, the style of breading changes too so there’s lots of delicious air fried frozen onion ring possibilities out there. We tested this recipe on the Alexia brand with Panko bread crumbs on the outside crust and the results were crunchy, non-greasy onion rings. Yum!
Air Fryer Frozen Onion Rings
All air fryers are different and some cook much hotter than others. Once you cook your first batch of onion rings, you’ll know more of what works for your model of air fryer and size of food. These were tested on basket style air fryers. Read more recipe notes below the recipe.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (170 g) Frozen Onion Rings
- salt , to taste
- black pepper , to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Place the frozen onion rings in the air fryer basket and spread out evenly. No oil spray is needed.
- Air Fry at 400°F/205°C for 10 minutes. Shake and gently stir about halfway through cooking. If cooking larger batches, or if the onion rings don't cook evenly, try turning them multiple times on following batches.
- If needed air fry at 400°F/205°C for an additional 1-4 minutes or until crisped to your liking. Season with salt & pepper, if desired.
Notes
- No Oil Necessary. Cook Frozen – Do not thaw first.
- Shake or turn if needed. Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket.
- Recipe timing is based on a non-preheated air fryer. If cooking in multiple batches of onion rings back to back, the following batches may cook a little quicker.
- Recipes were tested in 3.7 to 6 qt. air fryers. If using a larger air fryer, the onion rings might cook quicker so adjust cooking time.
- Remember to set a timer to shake/flip/toss as directed in recipe.
If your air fryer is preheated or if you are cooking multiple batches, you may need to reduce timing by a few minutes (unless preheating is called for in the recipe).
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Will oil spray help the onion rings get crispier?
No, not really. We tested this method by spraying the onion rings with oil before air frying. It didn’t make the onion rings any crispier but what you do end up is with more calories from the oil. The frozen onion wings are already pre-fried so there’s oil in them already. Air frying will release those oils to help the rings get crispy.
Why did the onion rings burn?
It’s probably because your air fryer cooks really hot or the heating element is too close to the onion rings. For your next batch, reduce the heat to 380°F and this should help.
What to serve with onion rings?
- Burgers in the air fryer are amazing!
- Air fryer sliders
- Hot dogs in the air fryer are quick and easy
- They’re great as a simple appetizer. Drizzle some hot sauce, grated cheese or other toppings for a loaded onion ring platter.
You might also love these Air Fryer Recipes
- Air Fryer Frozen Waffle Cut Fries
- Crispy Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
- Air Fryer Frozen Pizza (Personal Size)
- Air Fried Frozen Chicken Nuggets
- More–> Air Fried Frozen Foods and All French Fries Recipes
- This recipe was originally published in 2019
- Check out these yummy loaded onion rings recipe.
6 Comments on “Air Fryer Frozen Onion Rings”
My kid had some friends over the other day and I remembered seeing this recipe and that I could totally just pop some frozen onion rings into the air fryer. Saved the day with this recipe. Thanks so much.
My kids seriously can’t get enough of these onion rings. They’re crispy.
Saving this recipe for Super Bowl day. This was do perfect.
This was a really great for my party. I made 4 batches because everyone was amazed at how delicious and crispy they turned out. Everyone enjoyed the onion rings.
Kids are in love with these. Air frying it is much better than frying them and microwaving them.
I have a small 3 qt air fryer and they cooked a little quicker. Probably because my air fryer was small. The onion rings cooked amazing! Wow, i’ll never cook them in any other way.