Fried onions are a hit or a miss. Some love munching on them, while others run away merely by their smell. Whether they are caramelized ones for burger parties or crispy ones for a savory curry, we all love our onions. But the time and energy it takes to do the deed are too much at times. Hoping to find an easy way out, you ask yourself, can I fry onions in an air fryer?
Yes, you can! Just set the air fryer to 300°F and leave the sliced onions for 12 minutes to get a caramelized texture. For a crispier texture, air fry for 17 to 20 minutes at the same temperature.
Onion frying in an air fryer is no different than how you do it in a pan. Remember that we are not talking about onion rings or other similar snacks. This is a humble, gluten-free recipe that we endorse. Of course, you can play with the ingredients at your own expense.
An air fryer can do loads of things, but can it also replace a deep fryer? Learn now.
How to fry onions in an air fryer
Ingredients
- Onion – preferably sweet
- Salt
- Cooking oil of your choice
Method
- Wash the onion and remove the stem and the bulb.
- Then slice it up and make sure that the slices are not too thin, or they’ll get burnt quickly. 1/8th of an inch is a suitable thickness for these slices.
- Once cut, toss the slices in a bowl and add salt and oil. You can choose other seasonings like black pepper and garlic powder. Also, adding some baking soda to the onions can speed up the cooking process even more (for caramelized onions).
- Place the onions in the air fryer basket without worrying about layering them. The slices will shrink and will eventually make space, so it’s alright to layer a bit!
- Set the air fryer at 300°F for 12 minutes to get caramelized onions.
- Keep the onions for another 5-10 minutes to get crispy fried onions.
When comparing an air fryer and a vacuum fryer, which option is better? We’ve got the answer.
Why air-frying onions is better
Why should you use an air fryer to do a thing you have already done a million times? The answer is simple; you save a lot of time and hassle!
- It takes time to fry all the onions evenly to the perfect crisp in a pan. Plus, chances are that you’ll also end up burning some of them. However, you only need 12 to 15 minutes to get those onions done in an air fryer, and evenly too!
- You don’t have to worry about the constant stirring as you do in the pot. The equal heat flow throughout an air fryer ensures that the onions are cooked properly and evenly.
- Since you don’t have to stand over the onions, you can get done with other chores while your onions are frying. This hands-free experience saves time and also improves your overall cooking process.
Want to learn how to make breaded okra using your air fryer? Follow our recipe!
Conclusion
Kitchen appliances are meant to make our lives easy. The trick is to know how and when to use one for a particular task. Frying onions in an air fryer may seem simple, but if you don’t know the right temperature or time, you won’t get anything yummy. We hope that our tips will help guide you to get the perfect crisp onions you desire!