15 Surprising Seasonings to Elevate Your Onion Rings

Onion rings are full of flavor on their own, but we dare you to add some seasonings to your next batch to make them even better. While you could go to your spice cabinet and just start experimenting with your favorite seasonings, we thought we’d mention some that we’ve already tried and would love to get you started.

Flavored onion rings start with an ordinary onion ring recipe. Then, you just start adding spices. However, the type of seasoning you use may determine whether it’s best to add it to dredging flour, the batter, the panko crumb mix, or even after baking or frying. Once you’ve looked through our list of unexpected seasonings for onion rings, you’re ready to jump out on your own and give them a try. Try one or try them all. With a little twist here and there, you’re likely to come up with your own signature onion ring that you’ll be making for decades to come.

Some of the most unexpected seasonings to add to your onion rings may already be in your cabinet waiting to be combined in new ways. Never underestimate the power of a handful of seasonings to transform ordinary onion rings into something next-level.

For sweet, savory, and spicy onion rings, the seasonings you want are onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and brown sugar. Onion rings are already oniony, but we like the idea of intensifying their flavor with onion powder and garlic powder. Smoked paprika adds to the savory note but also gives it a smoky flavor layer. Paprika doesn’t have any heat on its own, but a bit of cayenne pepper can give your tongue a spicy zing. However, the secret to this onion ring seasoning mix is to add just a pinch of brown sugar to the mix. A bit of salt and pepper couldn’t hurt either.

Keep in mind that brown sugar will start to burn around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of the Maillard Reaction, you need it at least that hot for browning since you’re only frying it for two to three minutes per side, but you want to avoid burning. So, keeping the temperature as close as possible to 350 degrees Fahrenheit while frying will achieve an excellent sweet, savory, smoky, and spicy onion ring flavor. Serve with a spicy and creamy dip for a perfect side dish or appetizer.

For spicy and smoky onion rings that don’t contain a sweet element, you can opt to make them with chipotle powder. Chipotle peppers rank between 5,000 and 10,000 SHU on the Scoville Scale, making them rank as “hot.” Chipotles are jalapeño peppers that get their distinctive smoky flavor from being dried and smoked to preserve them. So, no matter what kind of chipotle powder you use, it will be hot and smoky. A popular choice to use is Simply Organic Chipotle Powder.

Chipotle powder will crank up the heat and add a comfy smokiness to chipotle powder onion rings. However, there are a few other seasonings you can pair with it to make it even better. For example, garlic powder and onion powder add to the umami flavor profile. You could even go a step further by starting with a marinade containing all your seasonings and your favorite hot sauce (like Huy Fong Sriracha), which could further ramp up the heat and add to the overall flavor profile.

MSG (monosodium glutamate) is another unexpected seasoning that can take your onion rings to the next level. In fact, using MSG is one of the secrets to creating restaurant-quality onion rings at home, no matter what other spices you decide to use with it. If you’re looking for more umami for your onion rings, this is the seasoning that will provide it.

There are some misconceptions about MSG that may have had you avoiding this ingredient in home cooking, but it’s generally considered safe. The inventor of MSG created it by trying to figure out the molecular essence of what gives the most umami-riffic foods their flavor. He created the original with fermented seaweed, but most producers today generally make theirs from fermented starches and sugars like sugar cane. According to organizations like the FDA, it’s generally considered safe.

So, if you’ve been trying to improve your onion ring game at home, maybe it’s MSG that’s been missing all along. No matter which onion ring recipe you want to try, just try switching out some or all of the salt for MSG. The substitution rate is one part MSG to two parts salt. Our favorite MSG brand is Aćcent.

Dill pickle fans probably don’t need much convincing to try dill onion rings. Dill has made its way into the food world beyond pickles to such food like potato chips and even dill-pickle-brined fried chicken. So, it’s high time you’ve tried it on your onion rings.

Probably the easiest way to make dill onion rings is to soak them in leftover dill pickle brine from a jar of pickles. However, if you don’t have that on hand, you can create your own soaking brine with ingredients like white vinegar, sugar, water, dried or fresh dill, and salt. You can flavor the brine even further with ingredients like mustard seeds, garlic cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves if you’d like. The best way to infuse the onion rings with flavor is to pour boiling hot pickle juice over sliced onions and let them sit out to pickle for about half an hour.

To go all-out on your dill onion rings, you can season the batter with dill and other ingredients from your brine, like garlic powder and mustard powder. Adding onion powder isn’t a bad idea either. You can also dredge it in crumbled up dill potato chips (like Kettle Brand Dill Pickle Potato Chips) and dried dill before frying if you really want to go all out.

As you can see from the idea of using dill to season your onion rings, dried herbs can transform the flavor profile of onion rings in a big way. For more of an Italian-style twist on onion rings, try adding basil and oregano to the batter.

Granted, basil and oregano is just a starting point for your flavor profile. You could also add garlic to the basil and oregano if you’d prefer a garlicky twist. For a little heat, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes can satisfy your need for a more spicy kick. Another option to go in an Italian direction is to use your favorite Italian seasoning instead, since it likely already includes oregano and basil in the ingredient list. And don’t miss the opportunity to combine the basil and oregano onion ring idea with Parmesan, especially if you’re thinking about dipping these in marinara sauce.

If you’re interested in trying your onion rings with more Tex-Mex-inspired flavors, reach for some chili powder and cumin. You probably loved that combination first in chili, and some fast food places even serve chili on top of onion rings. So, why not just make your onion rings taste like chili from the get-go?

Chili powder and cumin are just the tip of the iceberg of what’s possible. We suggest looking at the seasonings you normally add to your chili to help inspire what else might go on your chili powder and cumin onion rings. For example, if you want to elevate the heat profile, add a bit of cayenne pepper. Or if you wanted to make it taste closer to Classic Cincinnati Chili, you might also add garlic powder, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, oregano, brown sugar, and even some unsweetened cocoa powder. And just like you might add beer to your pot of chili, you can add beer as the liquid for your onion ring batter as well.

We’d be remiss not to list a sour cream and onion onion ring for you. It’s a flavor that just makes sense, what with the love so many people have with sour cream and onion potato chips and other sour cream and onion-flavored snacks.

The batter for sour cream and onion onion rings should contain sour cream and onion dip mix, like Lipton Onion Recipe Soup & Dip Mix as well as sour cream. Plus, you can increase the oniony-ness with even more onion powder and garlic powder if you’re so inclined. The flour you dredge the onion rings in before frying needs some dip mix, onion powder, and garlic powder, too.

While you could dip your onion rings into ketchup as usual, you could also double up the sour cream and onion goodness with some sour cream and onion dip. Just beware that the onion breath this combo generates will likely be legendary.

Everything bagel seasoning isn’t just for bagels. Once it went from just being a bagel topping to being available by the jar, it became fair game for practically anything, including onion rings. As you can probably tell already by reading through our list, adding a seasoning that contains onions as an ingredient is one of the best things you can do for onion rings.

Not only will you want to whisk everything bagel seasoning into your onion ring batter, but you’ll also want to mix it into panko breadcrumbs to coat your onion rings with before frying them. You could also add Dijon mustard to the batter if you’d like.

Our favorite everything bagel seasoning is Einstein Bros. Bagels Everything Bagel Seasoning Blend, which contains white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onion flakes, dried garlic flakes, and salt. Since everything bagel seasoning tends to have a decent salt content, you might want to taste the everything bagel onion rings first before adding extra salt after frying.

For any ranch fan, buttermilk ranch onion rings are a must-try dish. And it goes beyond just dipping your regular onion rings in ranch dressing, although, we’d encourage you to dip your finished buttermilk ranch onion rings in ranch dressing, too. Is there really ever such a thing as too much ranch?

While you’re welcome to just add dry buttermilk ranch dip mix like Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Dip & Salad Dressing Mix to your onion ring batter, there’s another method that works, too, and provides multiple layers of ranchy goodness. Dip your onion rings first in a mixture of flour and cornstarch, mixed with ranch mix. Then, dip them in a mixture of buttermilk and ranch mix. And, finally, dredge them in a mixture of panko crumbs and ranch mix. To intensify the ranch-ness, you can add dried dill, dried parsley, and black pepper to the panko bread crumb mix, too. With some creamy buttermilk ranch dip, these buttermilk ranch onion rings will be a thing of legend.

Indian food lovers may have tried some of the fried and spiced Indian appetizers like onion pakoras and onion bhajis. So, it’s no big leap to imagine making curry onion rings as a sort of American and Indian fusion food. You could have them with an Indian-inspired meal or any time you’d normally make onion rings.

All you have to do to make curry onion rings is to add curry powder to ordinary onion ring batter as you make your onion rings. You could also add it to your panko crumb mixture if not using a recipe with batter. If you want to amp up the flavor even more, you can add ingredients like garlic powder and cayenne. There’s no reason you couldn’t borrow some flavors from a pakora or bhajia recipes, too, like ginger, chili powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and even pungent asafoetida. If you happen to have some chutney for dipping, all the better.

While we’re thinking of highly-spiced seasonings to add to onion rings, Cajun seasoning has to be on the list. Once you’ve tried onion rings with Cajun seasoning, you’ll wonder why you were ever making them plain.

You can either buy a Cajun seasoning like Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning or make your own Cajun seasoning with ingredients like paprika, garlic, pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and onion powder. Just note how salty the seasoning is before you dump extra in if you’re not operating directly from a recipe. It’s best to add the Cajun seasoning to the final flour or panko bread crumb layer rather than putting it into batter just so that you can regulate how much ends up on the onion ring if it’s a salt-included blend. Hot sauce in the batter and garlic powder in the panko crumb mixture can intensify the flavor and heat for Cajun onion rings. These are great with ranch or spicy mayo as a dipping sauce.

There’s another spicy seasoning from Japan that is an unexpected hit on onion rings: shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice). It provides an unexpected citrusy, umami, and spicy flavor profile that provides an interesting twist on common onion rings.

It’s probably easier to buy this seasoning rather than try to make it on your own since it contains ingredients like red chili powder, hemp seeds, yuzu peel powder, black and white sesame seeds, seaweed flakes (aonori), and Japanese pepper (sansho). One of the easiest ways to add togarashi to onion rings is just to sprinkle it right on top after frying. However, you’ll want the onion rings to already have some flavor of their own, from ingredients in its panko coating like cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Its craggy panko-coated surface holds onto the togarashi once you sprinkle it on top after frying. Then, you can serve it with a dipping sauce, like one made with mayo, wasabi, vinegar, and sugar. Some extra togarashi in the dip adds even more togarashi flavor to the experience.

If you’ve been looking for something else to do with that za’atar in your cupboard, adding it to homemade onion rings is a perfect option. There aren’t a lot of ingredients in za’atar — usually just sesame seeds, sumac, and herbs like thyme and oregano. However, it’s enough to change up the flavor of your onion rings to be more Middle-Eastern leaning with a bit of herbiness, nuttiness, and zing.

To avoid burning the sesame seeds and herbs, you might want to use a recipe for baked onion rings if making za’atar onion rings. Just add them to the panko bread crumb coating before baking, and the seasoning mix should brown instead of burn. If you decide to fry the onion rings instead, it’s probably best to wait until after they’re fresh, hot, and greasy straight out of the oil before you sprinkle za’atar over the top. A Mediterranean-style dipping sauce made from yogurt za’atar, and a squeeze of lemon juice is perfect for dipping.

Our final savory suggestion for seasoning your onion rings is barbecue seasoning. If you love barbecue-flavored potato chips and also have a penchant for onion rings, you’re probably going to love barbecue onion rings. In fact, we’re surprised they’re not more popular. Although, we’re guessing it’s because not too many people think of making them in the first place.

To make barbecue onion rings, you can either use a barbecue seasoning like McCormick Grill Mates Barbecue Seasoning or make your own barbecue seasoning from ingredients like paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. You can just add the seasoning to your dredging flour for your onion rings. However, for even more barbecue flavor, you might want to add actual barbecue sauce into the buttermilk (or other dairy product) that you’re using for the dredging process or batter. With that much barbecue flavor, these onion rings may not even need a dipping sauce.

While we’ve mentioned a few seasonings for your onion rings that pair well with sugar, the overall flavor profile of those have been a mix of sweet and savory. But there’s no reason you couldn’t go completely sweet, especially if you’re using a sweet variety of onions like Vidalia or Maui onions. Our dessert onion ring idea is inspired by cinnamon and sugar Mexican desserts like churros and sopapillas.

There are two ways you can go about making sugar and cinnamon onion rings. One involves starting with an unflavored batter (which is less likely to burn), while the other involves mixing cinnamon and sugar directly into the batter. A nice shortcut for the batter for these sweet onion rings is either Betty Crocker Bisquick or pancake batter. You can even fortify it with crushed cinnamon sugar cereal like Cinnamon Toast Crunch instead of panko bread crumbs like many ordinary onion ring recipes call for. While the onion rings are still hot and greasy straight from the fryer, you’ll want to coat them in a cinnamon and sugar (white or brown) mixture. You can even add crushed pecans to the cinnamon and sugar mix. If you’re looking for a dipping sauce, caramel sauce is a good option, as is honey (think sopapillas).