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Home > Starters/Appetizers > Copycat French’s Fried Onions

Copycat French’s Fried Onions

Last updated August 13, 2021. Originally posted August 12, 2021 By Jyothi Rajesh 4 Comments

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homemade French's fried onions on plate with text

Forgo store bought fried onions, make your own buttermilk soaked, perfectly seasoned French fried onions copycat at home easily from scratch. Copycat French’s fried onions are great for burgers, salads, for casserole toppings or can be eaten as snack!

French onion deep fried
Jump to:
  • Make your own French fried onions strings at home
  • Ingredients you’ll need
  • How to make French fried onions
  • Tips for crunchy French fried onions
  • FAQS
  • 📋RECIPE: Copycat French’s Fried Onions

Make your own French fried onions strings at home

1. It’s crispy, crunchy and ridiculously delicious!

2. Why buy store bought French fried onions when you can make fried onion strips at home easily from scratch.

3. Elevate the taste and texture of any dish with crispy crunchy French’s fried onions.

4. You’ll need few basic ingredients which I bet you already have in pantry.

5. Make your own buttermilk too at home using only 2 ingredients in under 10 minutes.

6. Love onion rings? These fried onion strings are equally delicious!

7. That extra crispy, salty crunch as topping makes everything extra delicious from green bean casserole to burgers, use as salad toppers or sprinkle on soup, even munch as snack.

8. Make it few days ahead and store it away.

Ingredients you’ll need

You’ll need-

  • 1 ½ lb French onion (I used white onion)
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • Salt & white pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
  • Canola or vegetable or peanut oil for deep frying
all ingredients for French fried onions

French onion: French’s fried onions recipe is best made using French onion. I could not find French onion due to pandemic lockdown, so used white onion.

Flour: use all-purpose flour and for gluten-free options use gluten-free flour.

Buttermilk: Make your own homemade buttermilk with just 2 simple ingredients. You’ll only need 10 minutes or less to have buttermilk ready.

Seasoning: for extra flavorful French’s fried onion season flour with salt pepper and other seasoning. Cajun seasoning or cayenne pepper, smoked paprika can be used to season flour.

Oil: use high smoke point oil like canola oil, vegetable oil or peanut oil.

How to make French fried onions

Deep frying:

  • Use French onion for best results. If you can’t find French onions, use white onions like I did.
  • Peel and slice them super thin. Use knife to slice onion thin or use mandolin slicer. Note: no need to cut onion into half.
  • Separate onion slices.
  • Make homemade buttermilk with this recipe.
  • Soak thinly sliced onions in buttermilk for 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile in a shallow pan add all-purpose flour, salt and white pepper and Cajun seasoning. Mix it.
  • Dredge buttermilk soaked onion sliced in seasoned flour.
  • Rub onions in flour mix to coat evenly.
  • Heat oil in a shallow pan.
  • Fry onions in small batches until golden brown,
  • Remove browned onions onto a kitchen towel to extract excess oil.
  • Use it right away in your favorite dishes like green bean casserole, in burger, as salad toppers, on soups.
  • If storing for few days, allow it to cool completely and store in clean air tight container for few days.
onion deep fried

Air fry:

  1. Follow instructions as mentioned above until coating onions in flour mix.
  2. Spray air fryer rack with oil.
  3. Layer flour coated onion rings on the rack.
  4. Spray generous amount of cooking oil on top on onions.
  5. Air fry at 350F for about 8-12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Bake fried onions:

  • Follow instructions as mentioned above until coating onions in flour mix.
  • Spray baking sheet with oil.
  • Layer flour coated onion rings on the sheet.
  • Spray generous amount of cooking oil on top on onions.
  • Bake at 425F for about 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
close up of fried onion French style

Tips for crunchy French fried onions

  1. Trick to getting golden crispy crunchy onions is slicing onions super thin and keeping it even size so they crisp up evenly.
  2. Deep frying makes best fried onions. You can air fry or bake in oven, but deep frying is the way to go for best crispy crunchy onions.
  3. Soaking in buttermilk is crucial, don’t skip the step.
  4. Instead of buttermilk, soak onion in milk for 10 minutes. I highly recommend you to use buttermilk though.
  5. Seasoning flour with salt pepper and Cajun seasoning adds flavors to fried onions. You can use any seasoning of your choice. Instead of Cajun seasoning use cayenne pepper or smoked paprika.
  6. Drain as much buttermilk from onions as possible before coating in flour. That way there’s even coating.
thin sliced onions

FAQS

What kind of onions can I use?

Best to use French onion. If you can’t find French onion use white onion. Red onions won’t work.

How to make gluten-free fried onions?

Substitute all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour like Bob’s Red Mill flour.

Can I make this vegan?

Yes you can make plant based buttermilk with coconut milk or almond milk.

Can I make these ahead?

Yes you can. French’s fried onions can be made a few days ahead of time and stored.

How to store French’s fried onions?

Once ready, let it cool completely. Store in air tight container closed and store it on counter for 3 days. If you plan to store longer, fried onions will begin to loose it’s crunch.

Can I freeze fried onions?

No onions do not freeze well. It will loose it taste and crunchy texture if frozen and thawed.

How to use French’s fried onions?

Use fried onions as topping for green bean casserole
Use it in burgers
Use as salad toppers instead or along with croutons
Top it on soups for extra crunch
Grind and use it as crumb in place of regular bread crumbs
Munch it as a snack!

TRY THESE:

French onion chicken

French onion tart

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close up of fried onion French style
French onion deep fried
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📋RECIPE: Copycat French’s Fried Onions

Jyothi Rajesh
Forgo store bought fried onions, make your own buttermilk soaked, perfectly seasoned French’s fried onions copycat at home easily from scratch. Copycat French’s fried onions are great for burgers, salads, for casserole toppings or can be eaten as snack!
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings
Calories 217

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ lb French onion I used white onion
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • Salt & white pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
  • Canola or vegetable or peanut oil for deep frying

Instructions
 

Deep frying:

  • Use French onion for best results. If you can’t find French onions, use white onions like I did.
  • Peel and slice them super thin. Use knife to slice onion thin or use mandolin slicer. Note: no need to cut onion into half.
  • Separate onion slices.
  • Make your own homemade buttermilk with just 2 ingredients.
  • Soak thinly sliced onions in buttermilk for 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile in a shallow pan add all-purpose floue, salt and white pepper and Cajun seasoning. Mix it.
  • Dredge buttermilk soaked onion sliced in seasoned flour.
  • Rub onions in flour mix to coat evenly.
  • Heat oil in a shallow pan.
  • Fry onions in small batches until golden brown,
  • Remove browned onions onto a kitchen towel to extract excess oil.
  • Use it right away in your favorite dishes like green bean casserole, in burger, as salad toppers, on soups.
  • If storing for few days, allow it to cool completely and store in clean air tight container for few days.

Air fry:

  • Follow instructions as mentioned above until coating onions in flour mix.
  • Spray air fryer rack with oil.
  • Layer flour coated onion rings on the rack.
  • Spray generous amount of cooking oil on top on onions.
  • Air fry at 350F for about 8-12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Bake fried onions:

  • Follow instructions as mentioned above until coating onions in flour mix.
  • Spray baking sheet with oil.
  • Layer flour coated onion rings on the sheet.
  • Spray generous amount of cooking oil on top on onions.
  • Bake at 425F for about 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Video

Notes

  1. Trick to getting golden crispy crunchy onions is slicing onions super thin and keeping it even size so they crisp up evenly.
  2. Deep frying makes best fried onions. You can air fry or bake in oven, but deep frying is the way to go for best crispy crunchy onions.
  3. Soaking in buttermilk is crucial, don’t skip the step.
  4. Seasoning flour with salt pepper and Cajun seasoning adds flavors to fried onions. You can use any seasoning of your choice. Instead of Cajun seasoning use cayenne pepper or smoked paprika.
  5. Drain as much buttermilk from onions as possible before coating in flour. That way there’s even coating.
 
Nutrition estimates are for 1 serving as side dish. 
 
Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 217kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 5gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 365mgPotassium: 103mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 641IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 127mgIron: 1mg
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    Comments & Reviews

  1. Jo says

    November 16, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    Could I use my food saver to seal in a jar for longer storage?

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      November 22, 2022 at 8:00 am

      Yes you can use food saver to store it. I keep them for 3 days in air tight containers. For safety reasons, I would recommend you store in air tight container in refrigerator if planning to store longer. You can crisp the onion back in oven at 350F for 3 to 4 minutes, please keep an eye, fried onion can burn quickly

      Reply
  2. Jo says

    November 16, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    Could you store in a canning jar & yes your food saver to seal the jar for a longer storage for more time?

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      November 22, 2022 at 8:02 am

      I haven’t tested in canning jars. But my wild guess would be you can use canning jars. Please allow crispy fried onions to cool completely before storing it. You can crisp it back in oven when ready to serve.
      For food safety reasons, I recommend you store it in refrigerator if storing longer than 3 days.

      Reply

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Jyothi - Author of Curry Trail.

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My food philosophy is simple, fresh and full of flavors! I love ‘spicy’ food. In fact so much so that I can skip dessert for extra spicy savory food!

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