Crispy Air Fryer Onion Strings
Make crispy delicious onions in your air fryer! These homemade french fried onions are a healthy alternative and perfect for topping salads, chili, dips, casseroles, or just snacking. The easy air-fried onions recipe is dairy-free, vegan, and super easy to make.
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Hi, I’m Brittany, and I don’t like onions…unless they’re fried onions, or in this case air-fried onions!
Yep, that’s right: Your favorite holiday topping can now be made (pretty) healthy with the help of our new favorite kitchen gadget.
Air-fried onions. Yea, you’re gonna like this one.
Do you have an air fryer yet?!?! We got ours as a gift from a good friend and have been looooving this cooking process!
We’ve made air fried tofu, taquitos, french fries, croutons, ravioli! We’ve even put vegan jerky, tofu wings, and pita chips to the test.
Basically, whatever you would like to eat deep-fried can just as easily be made in the air-fryer with all the deliciousness but muuuuch less oil…or no oil at all, whatever your fancy!
And now, we’re adding air-fried onions to that list.
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What are French Fried onions?
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, french fried onions are those crispy little wisps of deliciousness that typically top green bean casseroles and the like on your holiday table.
Now you know what I’m talking about, right? They’re the best.
But unfortunately, like most deep-fried things, they are incredibly alluring yet pretty heavy.
So, when T made a quick version in the air fryer a few months ago with all the taste but none of that heavy bloated feeling, I knew we had to share it here on the blog!
And the recipe we’re sharing with you guys today is pretty awesome: easy to make, delicious, and rather healthy compared to their oil-laden counterparts. Win-win-win!!
Why You’ll Love These Vegan Air Fryer Onions
- They’re crispy and have a great flavor but are way healthier than deep-fried onions.
- This onion recipe is an easy side dish for game day and the perfect topping for green bean casserole and chili!
- They’re a fantastic way to add crispy crunch and excess flavor to any dish!
Ingredients for Air-Fried Onions
You can find the full recipe with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below!
You’ll need 7 simple ingredients to make these air fryer sliced onions:
- Yellow onions – thin slices work best
- Unsweetened plain non-dairy milk (enough to just cover the onions)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Extra virgin olive oil – Avocado oil can also work!
- All-purpose flour
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
We kept the flavor combo pretty basic here, but, as always, feel free to get creative.
Here’s another great use for our Copycat Red Robin Seasoning, Vegan Ranch Seasoning, or Homemade Chili Seasoning!
Other seasoning ideas: chili powder, onion powder, lemon pepper, or garlic powder!
How to Make Crispy Onions
Air frying crispy onions is a fairly easy process!
The first step: Mix together the non-dairy milk, vinegar, and oil in a shallow pie dish and let sit white you slice the onion. Submerge the onions in the milk/vinegar/oil mixture.
Make sure they are covered in the liquid. If you need to add more non-dairy milk, do so. Let soak for at least 10 minutes. Feel free to soak the onions for up to 30 minutes.
Next, while the onions soak, grab a mixing bowl. To it, add the flour, sea salt, and black pepper. Whisk until combined.
Now, it’s time to coat those onions in the flour mixture! You’ll have a LOT of onion slices, so you may need to do this in batches. Remove the onions from the non-dairy milk. Toss your onions with the flour mixture to get a nice coating.
Then, lightly spray the air-fryer basket with oil. Then, spray your flour-coated onions with oil as well, tossing to make sure they all get oil on them. You’ll want to cook these in two batches, so add half the onions to the basket and place in the air fryer.
NOTE: We used an air fryer with a basket for this recipe. It has a basket that pulls out from the front of the air fryer. If you have a different kind of air fryer, you may need to adjust the method we outline below. Something to be aware of!
Finally, air fry onions at 280F for 20 minutes, stopping to shake the basket every 5 minutes until they’re crispy and golden brown and just pure heavenly goodness. Let the onions cool before eating.
Air Fryer Onion Variations
Blooming Onion Copycat: You can slice the onions into onion wedges or onion petals to do something similar to The Blooming Onion from Outback Steakhouse.
Onion Rings: You can also use this recipe as a framework for making home air fryer onion rings. In this case, you may want to add some panko bread crumbs or regular breadcrumbs to the breading mix as well.
Tobacco Onions (Air Fryer): Simply add some cayenne pepper to the flour mixture to achieve the classic dark color of tobacco onions, a staple topping for burgers, salads, and soups in Irish and English pubs.
How to Use This Air-Fried Onions Recipe
First and foremost: GREEN. BEAN. CASSEROLES. Healthier holidays never tasted so good! They’re also perfect for our vegan chicken noodle casserole, vegan tuna noodle casserole, and broccoli rice casserole!
SALADS! As far as I’m concerned, every salad needs to have that crunchy element. These air-fried onions are a great addition to salads and fit that bill beautifully. Personally, I adore them in our Vegan Caesar Salad.
Topping ALL the soups, stews, and chilis – like our TVP Vegan Chili or Hearty Mushroom Stew.
A hearty flavorful dip topped with these crunchy strips of HEAVEN = the way to my heart. The first two recipes that come to mind are our Vegan Beer Cheese Dip and Taco Layer Dip.
Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce like buffalo sauce or vegan ranch!
Of course, you can always eat them straight outta the air-fryer too. That’s perhaps my favorite way to eat these crispy vegan air-fried onions.
Let your creativity run wild; everything tastes better with these crispy swirls of yumminess on top!
How to Store Leftover Air Fryer Onions
Store leftover onions in an air-tight container on your counter for up to 5 days.
More Like This Easy Air Fryer Recipe:
- Air Fryer Pita Chips
- Easy Air Fryer Croutons
- Air Fried Tofu with Sweet Sriracha Sauce
- Air Fryer Vegan Jerky
If you make these air-fried onions, let us know how it goes and what you do with them!
We’re super pumped to hear your ideas.
You can leave a star rating and review in the comment section below! We love hearing from you, and this helps other people like you find our recipes.
Enjoy!
Crispy Air Fryer Onions
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 cups unsweetened plain non-dairy milk enough to just cover the onions
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix together the non-dairy milk, vinegar, and oil in a shallow pie dish and let sit white you slice the onion. Submerge the onions in the milk/vinegar/oil mixture. Make sure they are covered in the liquid. If you need to add more non-dairy milk, do so. Let soak for at least 10 minutes. Feel free to soak the onions for up to 30 minutes.
- While the onions soak, grab a mixing bowl. To it, add the flour, sea salt, and black pepper. Whisk until combined.
- Remove the onions from the non-dairy milk. Toss your onions with the flour mixture to get a nice coating.
- Lightly spray the air-fryer basket with oil. Then, spray your flour-coated onions with oil as well, tossing to make sure they all get oil on them. You’ll want to cook these in two batches, so add half the onions to the basket and place in the air fryer.
- Cook the onions at 280F for 20 minutes, stopping to shake the basket every 5 minutes. Remove the onions from the air fryer and let cool before eating. Use them to top all your holiday dishes like mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and basically your entire life!
Can I use an oven if I don’t have an air fryer?
Hi, Carly! We haven’t tested this recipe in an oven, but I’m sure if you adjusted the time / temperature a bit, it would work! I’d think you’d also want to flip them halfway through.
I made these according to the directions but it took less than half the time and they taste a little burnt. They are super crispy though.
Hi, Anna! Sorry to hear they’re tasting burnt. To amend it, I’d lower the cooking time and maybe stop to shake the basket more often, so you can keep an eye on them!
Could I use a gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour?
Yes, absolutely!
Ugh ok so like WoW!!!! 🤯 lol. This was a total disaster for me. I did everything according to the recipe down to measuring and leveling and measuring out teaspoons. But what I had when I opened my air fryer was a pretty wildly looking flour mess. I mean…..thank God everyone is in bed and this was just something I tried with one or two onions bc my hubby bought way too many veggies at the farmers market yesterday. I, just glad it wasn’t supper. So here is what I think the problem is. Idk when this recipe was put out….I need to check the date, but they are forever updating appliances as quickly as they are updating electronics it seems. So, I think it’s just a matter of the device people are using. I, am using the “power air fryer oven” that was an infomercial. It was advertised shortly after the “power grill “ …..I know I’m missing something there. But I first bought the grill. Was very impressed so I then bought the air fryer. But this particular air fryer does not have a “basket” as I seen you keep referring to. It has “racks” and layers of like 6 where I can slide the metal racks in and out of. It also has a rotisserie device in it and can do dehydration as well as the air frying etc. So when I opened up the air fryer after the recommended time, (and I also followed the recipe to the tee), what I had was a lot of very floury onions. They were not doughy or wet or soggy which was cool. But there was nothing appealing about them. I couldn’t, nor would I even try to, serve them to my dogs. But,,,,,,,I totally am NOT suggesting this was a crappy recipe. I seriously just think it is the device that was used. I know that with the proper device this would have turned out great. And that’s why I went ahead and tried to do it. So please don’t take offense to what I am saying, bc I totally think this would have been awesome. Again,,,,on the right machine. Sooooo…..I say all that to say this….,,I modified it and I tried it on another setting but still used ur advice on the seasonings. Well kinda. Lol. I added garlic powder and some Adobe. But Idk if they even came out ok bc they are still in the air fryer. So fingers crossed 🤞 and hoping to not waste no food. Be aware that not all air fryers are the same and they all don’t do the same Thing. Read the entire recipe BEFORE u start cutting up food. Bc God knows we don’t need to be wasting food. 🙏💯
Hi, Julie! Wow, that sounds like quite a kitchen adventure. I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe, but that is a great point about using different air fryers. I just added a note to the recipe card about this. Thanks for pointing it out!
Wow that Julie girl really knows what she’s talking about. 🤫👌🤨🤭😂👍💯👌✌️❤️
How long will the onions stay crispy? Can I save them for later/multiple meals? Thanks I’m looking forward to trying out this recipe!
Hi, Liv, we find they last about five days…if they don’t all get eaten by then. You can always also just pop them back in the air-fryer or oven to warm them and re-crisp a bit.
This is literally the easiest recipe ever, Julie🙄
I made this the other night and they were great, but I did spray the batch with olive oil. I’m sure they would be sucky and dry/floury without? Hence Julies rant? Simple fix. yay or nay?
Made these to go with an awesome white bean dip that used one of my bro’s home grown and smoked chipotle. Perfect seasoning! No basket fryer – I was lucky enough to have my oven replaced and purchased a Frigidaire double wall unit with built in air fryer (thank you home warranty – it has a bread proofing setting too!). Still getting used to it and I rather went to the side of over toasty! Notes have been made and 6 minutes is the timing for this model.
Thanks for letting us know, Linda. (And others with that same model.) Also, I don’t know which I’m more fascinated by: the oven with a bread proofing setting or homegrown, smoked chipotles!
How show leftovers be stored?
Just made these for a green bean casserole— absolutely incredible!! Thank you for coming up with and sharing this amazing recipe!! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, BB!! Thank you for taking the time to reach out and let us know! It’s really appreciated! Hope you have a great day!