How To Make Alexia Onion Rings In An Air Fryer
Onion rings are always better when you don’t have to make them from scratch.
Alexia Foods offers lightly salted onion rings, made using Spanish onions with Japanese-style breading.
This is the perfect snack for any occasion and you can cook them within minutes using an air fryer, which adds to the convenience of making these ready-to-cook onion rings.
How do you make Alexia onion rings in an air fryer? Making these delicious onion rings with an air fryer is easy. Just open a fresh pack, lightly spray the cooking basket with some oil and place the onions in. Cook for about 7-8 minutes at 400°F and you will have beautifully crispy onion rings.
To learn more about how to cook onion rings with the right air-fryer settings, read on below!
Why Air Frying Onion Rings Is Better
When you think of onion rings, the old method of deep frying will always come to mind first. But since that method requires preparation and cleanup, it’s always best to go with an air fryer if you have it handy.
Air frying is better than deep-frying as it saves time, is healthier, and achieves the same result using nothing but hot air. Air fryers are basically convection ovens that distribute heat using a fan.
Much like how an oven cooks food using a heating element and ambient air, air fryers do the same but they use a fan to blow air all around the cooking chamber.
In effect, this allows the hot air to travel to every crevasse of the cooking basket thereby mimicking the heat distribution of deep-frying.
Air fryers come with a lot of controls as well which allows you to cook food precisely.
They heat the food up as per your specifications, unlike deep frying where you would usually require a cooking thermometer to keep an eye on the food.
Air fryers take away the danger of spills and burns as well. it’s super safe and very convenient in almost every aspect.
Many people worry that an air fryer won’t be able to fry food properly and you might never get crispy onion rings using an air fryer.
This is very far from the truth. Not only can air fryers make crispy onion rings, but they can also do it in a much efficient and healthier way.
This also, partly, has to do with how onion rings are made. Ideally, to make onion rings, you take a whole onion and cut it into rings. Onions inherently have a lot of moisture in them, which they release while cooking, making them moist.
The breading on top of the onions is what has the most flavor. In the case of Alexia, this brand uses a light Japanese style of breading which allows for just the right amount of flavor and crunch.
Too much breading and your onion rings may remain soft and soggy.
Too little of it, however, can result in “bald spots” where the onion is directly exposed to the air. When an onion ring cooks, the breading loses its moisture and caramelizes, which gives it its signature golden brown color and crispiness.
The onion inside is coated with the breading so it won’t lose a lot of moisture but it will lose just enough to penetrate the outer layer of the onion and make it soft and juicy.
This combination of a crispy, breaded exterior and the juicy interior is one of the things that make onion rings so good.
And since air fryers provide such precise controls over the entire cooking process, you can have a perfect batch of onion rings every time.
The Proper Way To Cook Onion Rings
To make onion rings in an air fryer, lightly coat the cooking basket of your air fryer.
Please note that you can go without the cooking oil as well, as some cooking oil sprays contain substances that can damage the coating of the air fryer basket over time.
If your air fryer has a nonstick surface then you may not need to add any oil at all.
- Open up a fresh pack of Alexia Onion Rings (you don’t need to defrost) and place 4-5 onion rings in the basket. Ideally, try to space the onion rings in a way that they don’t overlap. This will allow them to cook evenly.
- Set the timer of the air fryer to 8 minutes and the temperature at 400°F. Secure the basket and turn on the air fryer.
- When you reach the 4-minute mark, take the basket out and flip the onion rings over. You can also change their position if you’d like. This is especially important if you are cooking a larger batch of onion rings.
- Once you have shuffled the onion rings, put them back in the air fryer and let them cook for the remaining time.
- When done, take out the basket and check for doneness. The onion rings must have a crispy exterior. You can check a few of them using tongs. Be careful, as they will be very hot!
If you feel that the onion rings should be a bit crispier and have a deeper color then just allow them to cook for 3 more minutes using the same settings. Once done, dish them out and serve them while they’re hot.
Things To Keep In Mind
Alexia onion rings cook fast and are also designed to be cooked in several different ways. You can bake them in a conventional oven, shallow fry and deep fry them.
However, the best way to make these onion rings is to cook them in an air fryer.
The air fryer will provide a much more satisfying crunch than any other method as it will allow the exterior of the onion rings to dehydrate and become crisp without soaking up any oil!
Unlike other methods, like deep frying, you won’t have to deal with loose crumbs or burnt onions in the pot as well. Also, when not air frying, you might have to defrost the onion rings after taking them out of the freezer.
If you add frozen onion rings to hot oil, it may violently splash everywhere due to the excess water on the rings. In the case of air fryers, it won’t matter as the excess water will likely either drip down or evaporate as the onion rings cook.
Alexia Onion Rings can also be cooked at higher temperatures for shorter cooking times.
If you are really in a hurry, then you may crank the air fryer up to its highest settings (about 420-450°F) and cook the onion rings for about 5-6 minutes.
Make sure you keep an eye on the onions after 3 minutes so that they don’t overcook or burn.
This method works best for all kinds of frozen items since, unlike regular ovens or pots, you don’t have to preheat air fryers to get them started.
Just throw in some onion rings and let it do its thing.
Conclusion
Alexia onion rings are one of the best snacks that you can cook using an air fryer. Because they are so convenient, they fit in perfectly with the value that air fryers provide.
These onion rings cook almost exactly like how they would if you were to deep fry them.
While they might not get that exact color that you may be used to in deep-fried food, they will surely retain the same texture, crunch, and flavor.
On top of that, air-fried food will be much healthier since it won’t have any added oil, especially if the air fryer has a non-stick cooking basket.
Next time you go out for groceries, make sure you pick a pack of Alexia onion rings and try them out for yourself in an air fryer. It might change the way you think about deep frying food!
Related Questions
Now that we’ve gone over how you can cook Alexia onion rings in your air fryer, let’s take a look at a few related questions on the subject!
Can you cook the entire pack of Alexia onion rings in one go?
Yes, if you have a large air fryer with a bigger frying basket, you can add all the onion rings at the same time.
Although the best way to cook these onion rings is by adding just a few at a time so that they cook fast without much input, you can also cook the whole pack in one go.
Make sure that you shuffle the onion rings halfway through the cooking process so that they cook evenly. If you feel that they require more time, then just cook them at 3-minute intervals until crispy and golden brown.
Can you air fry frozen onion rings?
Yes, in the case of an air fryer, you will not need to defrost the onion rings before putting them in the air fryer.
The air fryer will cook the onion rings using the same method and the excess water will either drop down on the drip pan or evaporate entirely.
Do Alexia onion rings require additional oil?
No, these onion rings can be baked or air-fried without needing any oil. If you have an air fryer with a non-stick cooking basket, then just directly add the onion rings and let them cook as needed.
If your air fryer doesn’t come with a non-stick cooking basket then just spray some light oil on the surface.
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