How to Make Copycat Sonic Onion Rings

Onion rings are one of those snacks that go with any summer food, whether you’re at a backyard barbecue or spending a day at the lake. You can pair them with burgers, hot dogs, wings—even other appetizer-style foods like mozzarella sticks or french fries. If you’ve made baked onion rings or fried onion rings, though, you probably haven’t used vanilla ice cream, right? It might sound weird, but that’s the trick to creating the flavor behind Sonic onion rings.

It turns out that vanilla ice cream isn’t the only unusual ingredient in these delicious onion rings, either. The drive-in restaurant also uses cornmeal in their crispy coating. And if you’ve ever made a cornmeal recipe, you know just how tasty this ingredient can be. If you have these two ingredients on hand, let’s get started!

Sonic Onion Rings Copycat Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 large Spanish or yellow onion
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream, melted
• 2 cups cornmeal
• Oil for deep-fat frying
• Seasoned salt, optional

Directions

Step 1: Prep the onion

Cut the onion into 1/4-in. slices, and separate into rings. Soak the rings in cold water for 30 minutes. Once done soaking, drain the onions and pat them dry with paper towels. Set aside. Heat oil to 375°F in an electric skillet or a deep fryer.

Step 2: Make a coating station

Line up three shallow bowls side-by-side. In the first one, place flour. In the second one, place melted ice cream. In the third one, place cornmeal. One by one, coat the onion rings with flour, then dip in the ice cream, and then coat with the cornmeal. Press the onions into the cornmeal to make sure it adheres to the ice cream.

Step 3: Fry

Fry the coated onion rings, a few at a time, until golden brown. This will take about 30 seconds on each side. Drain on papers towels, and sprinkle with seasoned salt, if desired.

Tips for Making Copycat Sonic Onion Rings

TMB Studio

What do you serve with Sonic onion rings?

There are so many good restaurant copycat recipes, but if we’re sticking with the Sonic theme, this copycat bacon cheeseburger is perfect for pairing with crispy onion rings. If you’re just needing a snack, these sweet onion rings would go well with french fry dipping sauces. And, of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t say you could serve these onion rings with homemade milkshakes for the ideal summer snack. Really, pair them with any one of these Sonic copycat recipes.

How else can you make onion rings?

For starters, you can use different types of onions if yellow onions aren’t your preference. Since Sonic onion rings are on the sweeter side due to the ice cream, they might not be for everyone. If you’re looking for a more savory and classic taste, try burger joint onion rings or even the copycat Burger King onion rings.