Name: Crispy Sourdough Onion Rings
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 medium size white onions; 2 cups sourdough starter; 3 cups bread crumbs; 1 tbsp chili powder; 1 tsp cayenne powder; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper; Oil, for frying; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; 1/4 cup ketchup; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1/2 tbsp pickle brine; 1 tsp paprika; 1 tsp cayenne powder; 1 tsp garlic powder; parsley, a pinch; salt and pepper to taste

These amazingly crispy sourdough discard onion rings are just the treat when you’re craving the crunch of fast food!

Crispy sourdough onion rings sit on a wire baking rack, getting ready to be eaten.

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Despite my best efforts to eat as healthy as possible, I have always loved and craved fried food. There is nothing more delicious than crispy french fries or onion rings! But eating out or ordering in can get pricey, so whenever I get those cravings, I like to experiment and see if I can make my own version of those crunchy foods from scratch.

The other day, I was making some homemade chicken nuggets with a sourdough discard batter and I had the brilliant idea to follow the same process… but with onions instead.

Fried onion rings sit on a serving board with a small white ramekin of delicious fry sauce.

Whoever invented onion rings deserves more recognition than they currently get.

3 Ingredient Sourdough Onion Rings

You read that right! These amazing sourdough discard onion rings only need three ingredients to turn out fantastic. All you will need to make these onion rings are:

Sourdough Starter

Onions

Breadcrumbs

I also like to add some seasoning to my onion ring batter like salt, pepper, garlic and paprika, but these are completely optional.

You will also need cooking oil for frying.

Crispy sourdough onion rings sit on a wooden serving tray alongside a small ramekin of french fry sauce.

How to Make Sourdough Discard Onion Rings

Begin by adding 1/2″ of cooking oil to a cast iron skillet and begin heating for frying.

Chop the onions into round rings. Chop them to your preference of thickness.

A woman's hands chop a white onion on a cutting board into thick rings.

Add the sourdough starter to a mixing bowl. Then add in the seasoning if desired.

Dip the onions into the sourdough starter using a fork and allow them to become fully coated in the starter.

A woman's hand uses a fork to coat the onion ring in the sourdough starter batter before moving it to the bread crumb coating.

Next, transfer the onion slices to a small plate or shallow dish covered in breadcrumbs. Coat the onion with the breadcrumbs.

Make sure the onion ring is evenly coated on each side.

Then, transfer the onion ring to the hot oil and allow the ring to fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until the onion ring is golden and crispy.

Remove the onion rings from the oil and move them to a wire rack or cloth to dry off the excess oil.

Serve with your favourite dipping sauces.

The Best Dipping Sauce for Onion Rings

Have you ever heard of fry sauce?

Fry sauce is the absolute best thing to serve with onion rings. It is easy to make and really compliments the onion rings beautifully.

To make your own fry sauce, mix together mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and pickle brine. Then add in spices like cayenne, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper and a pinch of parsley.

Combine well and serve alongside your crispy onion rings.

Yield: 4 servings

Crispy Sourdough Onion Rings

These amazingly crispy sourdough discard onion rings are just the treat when you're craving the crunch of fast food!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 medium size white onions
2 cups sourdough starter
3 cups bread crumbs
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Oil, for frying

For the fry sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp pickle brine
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp garlic powder
parsley, a pinch
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place a medium sized skillet on the stove top and add 1/2" of oil into the bottom of the skillet. Begin heating over high heat.

Slice the onions into rings and set aside.

In a shallow bowl add the sourdough starter and season it with chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

In a second bowl, or plate, add the bread crumbs.

Dip the onion ring slices into the sourdough starter batter. Use a fork to make sure each side is equally covered with the batter.

Then, transfer the onion ring to the bread crumbs and coat each side with the crumbs.

Place the onion rings into the now hot oil and fry them for 3-4 minutes, flipping halfway to ensure each side is crispy.

The rings are done when each side is a beautiful golden brown.

Remove the onion rings from the oil and transfer them to a wire baking rack or cloth to dry off the excess oil.

Create the delicious fry sauce by adding all the ingredients into a small bowl and mixing together.

Serve the onion rings hot, alongside the fry sauce.

Notes

Create your own sourdough breadcrumbs by following my recipe for sourdough croutons. Add the croutons into a food processor to blend them into breadcrumbs.