Flaky keto onion rings that are deep-fried and dipped in a sugar-free keto honey mustard sauce! These low carb onion rings can also be easily made dairy free! I'm sure they will become one of your favorite keto recipes.
Hi everyone! It's Mira again from My PCOS Kitchen. I'm here today to give you the BEST recipe for crispy keto onion rings! These bad boys are crispy, flaky, and deep-fried like the original! The best part is that the onion rings and the honey mustard sauce can both easily be made paleo-friendly!
The BEST Keto Onion Rings Recipe Ever
These low carb onion rings are to die for! Onion rings are one thing that I really missed eating on a low carb diet, but thankfully there is an amazing way to make them. Whey protein isolate is so versatile, it can be used to make so many deep-fried keto dishes.
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These onion rings can be accompanied by low carb burgers, sandwiches, chicken wings, salads, or ribs. They're a good tasting side dish that goes well with any keto meal. However, they can be pretty filling! Since these are made with whey protein, they tend to fill you up quite fast because of the protein so I suggest eating them as a side dish and not a main.
I don't know if you've ever dipped your onion rings in some sort of sauce like ketchup or mayonnaise, but my favorite dipping sauce for onion rings or chicken nuggets has always been honey mustard dipping sauce. Thankfully, I also developed a way to make a sugar free "honey" mustard sauce that doesn't actually require honey!
How to Make Low Carb Onion Rings
Luckily, making low carb onion rings is super simple and doesn't require that many ingredients. I use protein powder for the breading instead of crushed pork rinds, almond flour, coconut flour, or another flour mixture because the batter has a great texture once fried. It doesn't get soggy like some of those other options.
The first thing you'll want to do is preheat your deep-frying oil to 140C/285F in a deep skillet. Peel your onion and cut into large slices. Make sure you don't cut thin slices, or the onion might break apart in the oil and won't be very solid! Separate each slice of onion and carefully pop free each ring.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together. In a separate shallow bowl, mix the whey protein isolate with all of the spices.
Dip an onion ring in the egg mixture and make sure all sides are coated properly. Then, dip the onion ring in the protein powder and with a spoon, coat all sides of the onion. Flip the onion over and repeat. It's important that the onion ring be completely coated so that you have a perfectly battered onion ring.
I have not tested this in an air fryer but if you try please let me know how they turn out!
Once coated, add it to the hot oil and deep fry for 1-2 minutes, or until the batter is golden brown. You'll notice it crisps up in the hot oil.
Note: Onion rings made with egg white powder will be extremely crispy and flaky and the batter will tend to fall of the onions. Onion rings made with protein powder will be less crispy and flaky, but the batter will stick to the onion forever.
Repeat this step in more batches for the remaining onion rings. Make sure to only deep fry 4-5 rings at a time so that they can all cook evenly and not stick to one another.
Once your easy keto low carb onion rings have finished deep-frying, carefully transfer them over a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
What Can I Dip My Keto Onion Rings in?
I recommend making my keto "honey" mustard sauce. It's to die for and is quite similar to the original. Instead of honey, I use either Sukrin clear fiber syrup or Lakanto Maple Syrup with a little bit of stevia extract powder, whole grain mustard, and yellow mustard.
This keto honey mustard sauce really does require you to add the stevia in because the mustard can be quite sour and the syrup alone doesn't cut it. I recommend using the pure stevia extract powder from NOW. If you don't like stevia, you can use monk fruit powder in equal amount. Julian's Bakery has a delicious monk fruit powder that tastes great in any recipe and doesn't leave any bitter aftertaste.
You can also dip your onion rings in any of your favorite low carb recipes for dips such as this ranch dressing or low carb ketchup.
How to Make Keto "Honey" Mustard Sauce
In a large bowl, combine the yellow mustard, whole grain mustard, stevia powder, and Sukrin Clear Fiber Syrup. Mix together and the dipping sauce is ready!
For a paleo version, simply leave out the stevia and replace the Sukrin for raw honey.
What temperature should I deep fry these onion rings?
You don't want to deep fry them in oil that's too hot or else the batter will burn and the onion will still be raw inside. I find the perfect temperature is 140C/285F. Any hotter than that and the batter will burn.
What type of Onion should I use for keto onion rings?
You can use any type of onion that you have on hand. I like to use white onions or Japanese new onions because they're sweeter than the normal kind and cook pretty fast in hot oil. Spanish onions, vidalia onions, or yellow onions work just as well.
I also recommend choosing some pretty large onions so you can have some large onion rings.
What kind of deep-frying oil can I use?
The choice is yours, but I recommend using either avocado oil, lard, beef tallow, olive oil, or coconut oil. Those are all great healthy oils to deep fry in.
What kind of whey protein should I use?
I recommend using whey protein isolate because that kind has zero carbs. I usually use the one from NOW, but there are many zero carb and zero fillers brands out there.
If you can't eat whey, you can simply replace the whey protein isolate for egg white powder
Do these onion rings keep in the fridge?
Yes, but I don't recommend it. The batter will be pretty soggy on leftover onion rings the next day so it would be better if you ate all of them the same day.
What else can you deep fry with whey protein?
Whey protein isolate and egg white powder are pretty interchangeable in any recipe that requires the dish to be deep fried. You only have to remember to properly coat the ingredient with raw egg before dipping inside the protein powder. If the whey protein or egg white powder isn't coated in raw egg first, the powder will not stick and will not deep fry properly.
Final Tips and Recap
Before making these keto onion rings, make sure to read the following tips and substitute options to ensure that your recipe is perfect!
- Make sure to coat the raw onion rings in raw egg before coating them in the whey protein isolate powder.
- Make sure to deep fry the onion rings at 140C/285F as anything hotter than that will burn the batter and anything lower than that will not deep-fry!
- Make sure to add the seasonings to the protein powder or else your onion rings will be pretty bland in flavor.
- For the honey mustard dipping sauce, instead of Sukrin Clear Fiber Syrup, you can use Lakanto Maple syrup. I used 10 tablespoon of Lakanto and 12 tablespoon of Sukrin.
- Instead of whey protein isolate, you can use egg white powder for dairy-free and paleo onion rings.
- You can use any type of onions that you want.
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📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- Oil for deep frying lard, avocado oil, coconut oil, beef tallow
Onion Rings
- 1 large onion any kind of onion is fine
- ½ cup whey protein isolate or egg white powder for dairy free
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika powder
Sugar Free Honey Mustard Sauce
- 4 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 4 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- ¾ cup Sukrin Clear Fiber Syrup *1 see notes for substitutes
- ⅜ teaspoon stevia extract powder *1 see notes for substitute
Instructions
- For the honey mustard sauce, combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix to combine.
- Preheat the frying oil to 140C/280F. Anything higher than that, the batter will burn, and anything less than that is not hot enough.
- Peel the onion and slice into thick slices, about 1cm/0.4". Separate the onion slices into rings.
- In a bowl, crack the eggs open and whisk. In a separate bowl, add the whey protein with all of the spices and mix to combine.
- Dip an onion ring into the eggs and make sure all sides are wet. Then dip that same ring into the whey protein, and with a spoon or your hands, make sure the whole ring is coated in protein powder.
- Once coated, add it to the hot oil and fry for about a minute to 2 minutes, depending on the size of the onion. When ready, the batter will be golden brown.
- Repeat with the remaining rings.
- It's best served the same day while it's still hot and fresh.
Notes
- Make sure to coat the raw onion rings in raw egg before coating them in the whey protein isolate powder.
- Make sure to deep fry the onion rings at 140C/285F as anything hotter than that will burn the batter and anything lower than that will not deep-fry!
- Make sure to add the seasonings to the protein powder or else your onion rings will be pretty bland in flavour.
- Instead of whey protein isolate, you can use egg white powder for dairy free and paleo onion rings.
- You can use any type of onions that you want.
Nutrition
Love this recipe? Try a keto blooming onion and some keto fries next!
alyssa says
These were amazing on our burgers yesteerday!!
Jennifer Farley says
Love this low carb version! Doesn't make you miss fried onion rings at all!