Oh boy, are you in for a treat today! November is just around the corner, which means that my favorite food holiday of the year is on its way too… Thanksgiving! Seriously, is there anything better than gathering with your friends and family, stuffing your face full of good food, and watching football while sleeping off your turkey-induced coma? I think not! Of all the yummy Thanksgiving dishes, I have to say that green bean casserole is one of my very favorites! I’m sharing my version of the best green bean casserole over at The Recipe Critic today, and these Crispy Onion Strings are simply a MUST to top the casserole with! Skip the store-bought can of fried onions and go for this easy homemade version to add to casseroles, burgers, salads, and more! You may even find yourself eating them by themselves… dipped in ketchup… by the handful! Yep, they’re THAT good! So check out this recipe for the Crispy Onion Strings, then head over to Alyssa’s blog to get the recipe for the best green bean casserole you’ll ever eat!
I start with one large onion cut into quarters and very thinly sliced. If you have a mandoline, this is a great time to use it, but since I don’t trust my fingers next to one, I just stick to a sharp knife! I drop the sliced onions into a shallow baking dish and let them soak in buttermilk for about an hour. It makes very yummy, magical things happen to the onions!
While the onions are in their buttermilk bath, I mix together some flour, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Then starts the assembly line process: dredge onions in flour mixture, cook in hot oil until deliciously golden brown and crispy, sprinkle with salt while still hot, and try not to devour the entire plate. It’s just like cooking bacon… you can hardly get a few pieces finished before someone (cough, myself, cough) has eaten them already!
After you make a decently large mess of flour and oil in your kitchen (hey, I’m just being honest here!), you are left with a pile of perfectly crisp, golden brown, delicious little onion strings to enjoy! And trust me, you will enjoy them thoroughly! They are phenomenal stacked on top of a juicy burger and absolutely necessary when making my green bean casserole for Thanksgiving!
Crispy Onion Strings
Author: Liz Fourez
Recipe type: Appetizer
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- canola oil, for frying
- additional salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place buttermilk and onions in a shallow dish and let soak for 1 hour.
- Combine flour, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a bowl and set aside.
- Heat about 2 inches of oil in a high-sided pot to 375 degrees. Working in batches, dredge a handful of the buttermilk-soaked onions in the flour mixture, shake off any excess flour, and carefully drop into the hot oil. Cook onions until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove onions onto paper towels to drain and sprinkle with a pinch of salt while onions are still hot. Repeat with remaining onions.
NOTES
- Serve crispy onion strings on casseroles, burgers, salads, or by themselves with a dipping sauce.
- Adapted from a Pioneer Woman recipe.
- Adapted from a Pioneer Woman recipe.
For the BEST green bean casserole recipe made with fresh green beans and mushrooms, garlic, Parmesan, and these amazing crispy onion strings, CLICK HERE to head on over to The Recipe Critic!
I like onions and this is a great way to eat them.
Kisses
These onions strings sound terrific. Yum.
Okay, so I’m totally not an onion fan, but you’ve made these Crispy Onion Strings look good even to me! And that green bean casserole looks DIVINE…I love the addition of fresh onions and Parmesan. Yum!
This looks so delicious! Green bean casserole is my husband’s absolute favorite so I try to make it every couple of weeks, but I love your version with those crispy onion strings! It looks so good!
these looks really good. Be good on just about anything even a hamburger, in a salad the possibilities are endless. lol
Pinned it! I’ve got to try these…I could the whole thing but myself.
My mouth is watering just looking at these photos! YUM! Thanks for sharing 😉
Pinned this. Can’t wait to try them out! Thanks for sharing.
I’m making this recipe for your green bean cassarole for Thanksgiving this year. So excited, looks very tasty. One question though…how long do you think these onion strips will keep? Could I make them a day or even two before ? Frying onion strips the day of the cooking frenzy may prove difficult but will do it for the sake of taste if you think I should! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Hope! I think you’ll love this recipe! For the onion strings, they definitely taste best fresh, as most fried foods do. I completely understand though about not wanting the mess of frying with everything else going on that day, so I’d recommend frying them maybe a day ahead, letting them drain and cool completely, and storing them in an air-tight container. When you put them on top of the casserole to bake, they should crisp right up again. I haven’t tried that yet, so you’ll have to let me know how it works! And of course, you can always turn to the store-bought can of fried onions if you’re in a pinch. The fresh green bean casserole still tastes amazing either way!
Not an onion fan unless they’re cooked crispy n crunchy……gotta try your recipe! Looks yummy!
I’m right there with ya! Not a huge fan of raw onions, but when they’re wrapped in a delicious, crispy coating like this, count me in! Hope you enjoy the recipe, and thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I’ve used this batter for other veggies such as string beans, cauliflower, brocolli, etc. The best was chicken tenders. When I don’t have chicken tenders I simply cut the chickent breast into chunks. I don’t usually make this because as you say, it can be a bit messy. As I am the chief cook and bottle washer I try to refrain but it is excellent! My son requests this when he is inviting the “guys” over for a meal 🙂
Mmm… I’ll have to try this with chicken too! I bet it would be fantastic!
I will be making these tomorrow for a BBQ, and hope that I do not eat them all before they make their way to the burgers! Thank you for the recipe!
Haha, that’s the hard part! Not devouring them before they make it to the burgers! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
These sound amazing! I was wondering if they would still be ok if I didn’t add the buttermilk? I don’t have any on hand but I’ve got everything else and still wanted to make them but of they wouldn’t taste the same id rather wait on them.
I’m making these now and can’t wait to see how they turn out! Luckily we have a deep fryer built into our grill so my kitchen won’t get as messy 😉