Store-bought fried onions are fine in a pinch, but y'all, nothing beats making them from scratch. Crispy, golden, and perfectly seasoned, these homemade fried onions will have you side-eyeing that little can from the store like it just insulted your grandma’s cooking.
First published November 2015. Last updated February 21, 2025 for editorial improvements and more tips and hacks. Air fryer version removed due to low-quality of the finished product.
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
Table of Contents
- 🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- 🎥 Watch and cook: step-by-step video tutorial
- they taste great and were easy to do
- 🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
- 🔪 Step-by-step guide: How to make copycat French's fried onions
- 🥫 Leftover love: how to store and reheat fried onions
- 💭 Insider tips: things to know
- 🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
- 👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
- 📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
- 🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose
- 📖 Recipe
- ✍🏻 A note from Marye...
- Copycat French's Onions
- 💬 Comments
These crispy fried onions are light, crunchy, and ridiculously addictive—basically, they’re what canned onions wish they could be. Toss ‘em on green bean casserole, sprinkle ‘em over burgers, or just eat them by the handful (no judgment). Unlike the store-bought kind, these aren’t half air and sadness—they’re all flavor, all crunch, and all homemade goodness. So go ahead, make a double batch—you’re gonna need it. 😉
🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- Crispy, Crunchy, & Homemade – These crispy fried onions are golden, flavorful, and way better than store-bought.
- A True Copycat – This recipe gives you the same crispy goodness as French’s Fried Onions, but fresher, tastier, and without the can.
- Ridiculously Versatile – Toss them on casseroles, burgers, salads, soups, or just eat ‘em straight from the plate (I won’t tell).
- No Weird Ingredients – Just onions, buttermilk, flour, and seasoning—simple, real-food magic.
- Easy to Make – No fancy techniques, no complicated steps—just slice, soak, coat, and fry.
Basically, if you love crispy, golden, perfectly seasoned fried onions, this recipe is about to change your life. 🧅✨🔥
🎥 Watch and cook: step-by-step video tutorial
If you’ve never made crispy fried onions from scratch, you are in for a treat! These golden, crunchy little bites of heaven put the store-bought kind to shame—fresh, flavorful, and so addictive you might just eat them straight off the paper towel.
I’ve put together a quick video to show you exactly how to get that perfect crispy crunch, so go ahead and press play. Just don’t blame me when you start putting these on everything! 🧅🔥✨If you're looking for more yummy ideas, dive into our full recipe collection on YouTube. You're gonna love it!
🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Step-by-step guide: How to make copycat French's fried onions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full size.
Slice white onions very thin and soak in buttermilk about 10 minutes.
Mix the flour and the seasoning.
Drain the onions dredge in the flour mixture.
Let sit for about 5 minutes before frying.
Heat oil to 375F. Fry a few at a time in hot oil. Remove when they are golden brown. They will crisp more as they cool.
🥫 Leftover love: how to store and reheat fried onions
Homemade French fried onions can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for a couple of days. Here's how -
- Cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Crisp back up (if needed) in a 375F oven for 5 minutes or so - watch carefully!
💭 Insider tips: things to know
- Deep frying in oil is the best way to make fried onions. Air fryer and oven methods are ok but not as good as frying.
- Peanut Oil is my favorite for frying as long as there are no allergies. It's got a high smoke point and fries clean and crispy. Other oils to use are: safflower, grape seed, or canola. Do not use peanut oil if there are allergies!
- Use a large mild onion like a 1015 onion.
- Let them soak in the buttermilk longer if the onions are very strong.
- Drain as much buttermilk as possible off the onions before dredging in the flour.
- If you don't have buttermilk you can use regular milk.
- Use these crispy fried onion strings on top of any casserole the way you would with Durkee or French's.
Marye's Tip o' the day
The trick for copycat French's fried onions is to slice the onions super thin and fry them until they are crispy but not burnt.
🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
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🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up
Tony Chachere's Seasoning is a spicy blend that I add to the flour -there's a link in the recipe or you might like to try my copycat Tony Chachere's seasoning.. You can substitute salt and pepper if you like.
zhuzh: verb. To make something more interesting or attractive
👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
They can! Just substitute GF flour for the all-purpose flour. It couldn't be easier! Be sure to double-check any seasonings you add for gluten.
You can store them in an airtight container in a cool pantry for a day or two if you've been sure to cook them thoroughly. You may need to crisp them back up for a few minutes in an air fryer or oven.
Yes. Just be sure to drain well and blot off as much oil as possible, let them cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Absolutely. Just use oat milk or other plant-based milk with a tablespoon of vinegar per cup.
⏲️ Marye's time saving hacks -
Make a big batch and freeze ‘em! Fry up your crispy fried onions, let them cool completely, then spread them on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, toss them in a resealable bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you need ‘em, just pop them in a hot oven or air fryer for a few minutes to crisp them right back up—zero extra frying needed!
📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
Crispy fried onions are also a great topping with any of these casseroles!
🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose
- Grind them into crumbs and use them to coat the chicken.
- Homemade French fried onions are fabulous on burgers and hot dogs!
- Eat for a snack.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Crispy French Fried Onions (Copycat French's Onions) from Scratch
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 ½ pounds onions, peeled and sliced paper thin
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups flour, all-purpose
- 3 tablespoons Creole Seasoning (Tony Chachere’s), or your favorite seasoning
- Peanut oil for frying, (I like this best, if there is an allergy any other oil with a high smoke point can be used.)
Instructions
- Heat the deep fryer up to 375F.
- Mix the flour and the Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning in a large bowl.
- Add the onions to the buttermilk in a separate bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Drain and then dredge in the flour.
- Shake off excess flour.
- Fry, a few at a time, until golden brown and crisp.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- The trick is to slice the onions super thin and fry them until they are crispy but not burnt. You don't want onion rings, you want them to be crispy all the way through so you have that classic crunch.
- Drain as much buttermilk as possible off the onions before dredging in the flour.
- If you don't have buttermilk you can use regular milk.
- Use these on top of any casserole the way you would with Durkee or French's.
- Grind them into crumbs and use them to coat chicken.
- Fabulous on burgers and hot dogs!
- Eat for a snack.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
✍🏻 A note from Marye...
I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.
A few years ago Thanksgiving came and I was madly throwing things together trying to get everything done. I realized at the very last minute that I did not have the crispy onions for the top of the green bean casserole.
Quelle horreur!
I did what any red-blooded American foodie would do... I had a meltdown.
Once that was out of the way I figured out how to make my own copycat French's onions. And I like them SO much better.
I will never go back to the store-bought French fried onions again. These are so good!
We love them on top of this crack chicken chili.
Don't lose this recipe!
Copycat French's Onions
Pin to your favorite Pinterest board to keep it handy.
Rita Joy says
Oh, my goodness, I loved french fried onions! Thanks for this recipe so I can make my own crispy fried onions just like Frenchs!
Cynthia says
I can't believe how much better these crispy fried onions taste than the ones I was buying!
Brittany says
My entire family loves french fried onions but I've never attempted to make them before. I should have done it long ago, they're so much better!
Julie Angelena says
I started putting these on my salads along with my croutons & now i can't stop! I was spending too much on the store-bought kind - so happy that I found your recipe, Marye! Thanks!
Julie 😇
☮💜🎶🕊
Doris says
The recipe you have posted for the onions is superb! The Cajun spice really makes them extra flavorful..In my opinion, I think egg wash makes the flour adhere better as I have made them both ways using buttermilk. If I could just stop eating them!!!
Frank - I like Abuja says
I like onions, but my girlfriend doesn't like it)) And I cooked it my self and It was very tasty. I ate with tomato sauce))
Thank you
Dana says
Has anyone tried this with an air fryer?
Marye says
Hi Dana - I actually have that scheduled for later today. 🙂 I should have something up this weekend.
Glenda says
Does anyone know if I can substitute whole milk instead of buttermilk?
Marye Audet says
yes. it will be slightly different but not a lot.
Elena says
OMG these are amazing! My husband is a glutard, so I substituted GF flour, and they came out SO much better than any other recipe I've tried. THANK YOU!
Laura says
Thanks for the great recipe! I wanted to make these but I hate wasting all of the oil it takes to use my deep frier unless I'm going to deep fry several things at once or make a really large batch. I tried pan frying in about an inch of oil. I tested with a cooking thermometer to get the temperature right and they worked out great! Thought my experience might be helpful to share for others who don't want to waste oil or who don't have a deep frier.
PS: Does anyone know how long these will keep in an air tight container before they go stale or soggy?
Martha says
Made these and they are delicious and easy, thanks for the recipe. You can also make your condensed cream of mushroom soup for that green bean casserole. It has taken me about 18 months but I have gon away from all canned and processed foods, you can make everything from scratch, if you can't figure it out someone has, that's how I found this recipe. Google copycat recipes.
Marye Audet says
🙂 thanks!
Jennifer @NourishedSimply says
We fight over the onion when we have greenbean casserole. Since I'm the chef I usually eat a few extra out of the French's container. Love that you can make homemade.
Marye Audet says
🙂 It's even better than the canned.
Kimberly says
Can I use something other than a knife which gives me a hard time. I want them thin not thick
Marye Audet says
You can use anything that slices thinly.
Lauren Tori says
Pampered chef makes an awesome mandolin slicer.
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats says
The green bean casserole wouldn't be the same without these! I love that yours are homemade!
Marye Audet says
Thanks!
Maria says
This is the BEST part of green bean casserole! Love it!
Marye Audet says
🙂 thanks Maria!
Marye Audet says
That's basically what you are doing here except that you fry them enough that they don't go bad or get soggy.
Sabrina says
I love copycat recipes! These look great!
Marye Audet says
Thanks Sabrina!
Erin says
I have never thought to make these myself! Silly! I bet I could make these GF really easily. Thanks for sharing!
Marye Audet says
Erin, I think you could easily make them gf. 🙂
Kristen says
I adore "make your own" recipes. Anything you can make at home, instead of buying something with crazy ingredients, is worth knowing.
Marye Audet says
definitely. I think I am going to work on this type of thing in 2016... I am intrigued but the knowledge that I can copy stuff I normally buy.
Kathy Hester says
I've always loved these, but never thought to make them at home.
Marye Audet says
I know. I keep wondering why it took me 30 years to figure it out? LOL!
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking says
LOVE those crisp little onions and these look like the perfect homemade version!
Marye Audet says
They really are. I love them.