For those aghast to see onion on this website: stress not. The inspiration for this recipe actually came from my low FODMAP onion ring recipe, which uses pickled onions instead of regular onions. I figured that people who can tolerate onion would also like a recipe, hence this recipe for gluten free onion rings.

Gluten free onion rings (egg free, vegan option)

Name: Gluten free onion rings
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 175 g fine white rice flour (use divided); 50 g corn starch or potato starch (see notes); 8-10 g fine salt; 2 g (baking soda); 300-400 g yellow/brown onion (sliced into rings (about 2 medium onions)); 125-180 ml full cream milk (see notes for alternatives); 10 ml white vinegar; Generous neutral oil (for frying (I used sunflower seed oil))

This recipe uses yellow/brown or white onions as the onion of choice. The onions are dipped in a simple mix of white rice flour and corn starch or potato starch along with salt, baking soda, milk and vinegar. There are plenty of substitute options, which we will go into below.

These gluten free onion rings are of the crispy variety as opposed to the herbed and breaded variety. The latter are not super common in Australia (as far as I am aware) but the crispy sort are, which is why I am making them in this style. I also find that store bought gluten free bread crumbs are always substandard, so the crispy version are just better and quicker.

The onions are fried until beautiful and crispy in a small pot of hot oil. And that’s it! Super easy, super simple and super delicious.

These gluten free onion rings are xanthan gum free, egg free, nut free and easily made vegan.

An aerial image of gluten free onion rings on a cooling rack atop a dark mottled baking tray

My testing notes

I thought it might be helpful to outline what I tested in developing this recipe in case you’re looking to make this recipe your own.

First, I tried using sparkling water (from my Aarke machine) as the liquid. This worked fine, but the milk version is more evenly browned and slightly more flavoursome. Some of the water versions I tested browned unevenly, so milk is fantastic for the visual result as well as flavour.

Next, I tried thinner batters and thicker batters. I found that thinner batters resulted in a more shatteringly thin crust but too thin resulted in an uneven coverage of the onion. Thicker batters resulted in a thick and full coverage of the onion, but a firmer and less crisp crust.

I tried frying onion, dipping it in the batter a second time and re-frying it. I found that this resulted in doughy onion rings that sometimes had uncooked flour in the centres (particularly in the end pieces of onion).

Next, I tried using baking powder instead of baking soda. In the water version, I found that the baking powder resulted in uneven browning and that it took ages for the rings to brown. Baking soda is known for aiding in browning, which is why I settled on baking soda.

However, my original batters didn’t use any vinegar. Baking soda needs an acidic ingredient to cause a bubbling reaction. Without it, baking soda can have a soapy, distinguishable taste (which the rings had without vinegar). As a result, vinegar made it into the rotation.

Things I haven’t tried:

Using bread crumbs of making a breaded version
Using a wholegrain flour other than rice flour
Pan frying or shallow frying the onion rings
Baking the onion rings or air frying the onion rings

An aerial image of gluten free onion rings on a cooling rack and plate atop a dark backdrop

Dietary and FODMAP notes

This is not a low FODMAP recipe – simply a gluten free recipe. If you want to make low FODMAP onion rings (which are also gluten free) see my recipe here.

Corn starch is the best starch for creating super crispy fried foods, in my opinion. If you can’t have corn, my next recommendation is potato starch. I find that tapioca starch tends to be quite chewy, which I don’t love in a fried context. However, you can use it in a pinch. I am yet to try glutinous rice flour. However, I find it tends to taste quite ‘ricey’ when combined with white rice flour.

Unfortunately, I have no substitute for rice flour at the moment. I have been tinkering with substitutes generally, but nothing has measured up yet. In this recipe specifically, rice flour creates a beautiful crispy crust. Rice flour is known for it’s crisping abilities, which is part of why I use it here.

This recipe is naturally egg free and xanthan gum free. Although it contains milk, you can easily use a dairy free milk in place of regular milk. I have tested full fat dairy milk, full fat lactose free milk and soy milk. I haven’t tested any other milk varieties.

Tips for your gluten free onion rings

If you plan to deep fry regularly, I highly recommend getting a Thermapen. They’re not the cheapest, but they are super accurate and handy. I also use mine for gluten free sourdough baking, caramel making, etc. The ideal oil temperature for deep frying is around 170-190C or 340-375F. I generally found 180C/356F was my sweet spot.

This can be a little hard to gauge without a thermometer, but not impossible. If you dip an onion ring into the hot oil, the batter should start to bubble immediately. If it doesn’t, your oil is too low. Starting cooking your onion rings when the oil is too cold will result in oily, greasy onion rings. Stop and wait until the batter bubbles as soon as it hits the oil.

I found each ring need around 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Personally, I like to deep fry in a small pot which is a bit time inefficient but needs less oil and feels a bit less scary. In my small pot, I made a maximum of 4 onion rings at a time. If you use a larger pot, you will be able to get away with more. You will also need more oil, however.

There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to making multiple onion rings at a time. First, adding cool rings and batter to the oil will lower the oil temperature. If you intend to cook multiple rings at a time, make sure the oil is slightly hotter (190C-375F) to account for the drop in temperature that will come with each ring being added.

Secondly, don’t add multiple rings at exactly the same time. They will get stuck together if all the rings are added when the batter is still malleable. For best results, allow the first ring to cook for 10 or so seconds before adding the next one. This will prevent them sticking together.

Ideal consistency for your batter

In my testing, I found that different combinations required differing amounts of milk. The corn starch versions needed less milk than the potato starch versions, and the soy milk versions needed more than the cow milk versions.

Your ideal batter consistency drips off the spoon in thin ribbons, but isn’t so thin that it struggles to hold onto the onion ring. It should coat each ring quite generously, while still dripping off the ring in ribbons. I have found that thinner batters tend to be crispier while thicker ones tend to end up quite pasty, so getting the liquid content just right is somewhat of an art.

When adding the milk, you’ll notice that the batter may start as chalky or as having a solid lump of starch at the bottom of the bowl. This is to be expected given the starch content of the batter. Add the vinegar, then add more milk 4 teaspoons (20ml) at a time.

Continue adding milk and mixing until you reach the consistency described above. If you fry off a few rings and your batter has thickened, add more milk (or water, if you have run out) to return to the original consistency.

If you find your batter is too thin, add 10-20g more rice flour and stir to combine.

An aerial image of gluten free onion rings on a white plate atop a white marble table

More gluten free, egg free recipes without xanthan gum