I tried supermarket onion rings – the £3 winner had delightfully crispy batter
DICED, sliced, fried and even battered - onion rings can make a delicious addition to any meal.
The first known recipe for onion rings appears in a British cookbook written by a chef named John Mollard called The Art of Cookery, Made Easy and Refined. It was published in England in 1802.
Surprisingly, Mollard's early onion rings weren’t all that different from the fried snack we enjoy today.
He dipped them in batter, fried them in lard and served them with a side of mustard-spiked melted butter.
Most of us wouldn't make our own nowadays, especially when you can buy them for around £2 in a supermarket.
But which are tastiest and best value? Lynsey Hope finds out:
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Waitrose Beer Battered Onion Rings (350g)
- £2.85 (81.5p per 100g)
Delicious beer battered rings made with natural whole onion and Dorset ale.
The batter was crisp and had quite a strong beer flavour - stronger than all the others in this test.
I loved the fresh onion and they were the perfect size. Pricey compared to other brands, but otherwise, no complaints.
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- Taste: 8/10
- Value: 7/10
- Overall score: 8/10
Morrisons Battered Onion Rings (500g)
- £1.69 (33.8p per 100g)
Very pale looking, these didn't look very appealing. You can cook in the oven in 12 to 15 minutes or shallow fry, which was quicker.
But they still didn't turn as golden as you'd expect. Quite oily, with a bitter taste.
They left me with a strange aftertaste. Great price, but I wouldn't rush back to Morrisons for these.
- Taste: 3/10
- Value: 3/10
- Overall score: 3/10
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Beer Battered Onion Rings (375g)
- £3 (80p per 100g)
Amazing. Real onion pieces in a delightfully crispy batter. Chunky with a lovely crisp bite.
The biggest ingredient is onion, at 40%, as it should be and they didn't have as many nasties in the ingredients as some of the others.
They had black onion seeds on them which elevated the taste and the appearance.
My only complaint is that the bag wasn't bigger. They are pricey and didn't last long.
- Taste: 9/10
- Value: 7/10
- Overall score: 9/10
Iceland Battered Whole Onion Rings (400g)
- £2 (50p per 100g)
Air fry in 12 minutes or pop them in the oven for 14-16 minutes. Either way, they tasted great.
These were more onion-y than most with onion making up a whopping 57% of the ingredients.
This meant the batter was light and airy compared to some of the other supermarket offerings. The perfect size.
Plenty of five star reviews online and I can see why. Delicious - and my winner.
- Taste: 10/10
- Value: 9/10
- Overall score: 10/10
Aldi Four Seasons Onion Rings (750g)
- £2.39 (31.8p per 100g)
Loved the big family size bag and these are a great price - the cheapest per 100g we could find.
They had a lovely crisp bite, were not too batter heavy and lots of onion inside.
They took a little longer to crisp up than the recommended cooking time on the packet. For the price, these are a solid choice.
- Taste: 8/10
- Value: 9/10
- Overall score: 8/10
Lidl Harvest Basket Beer Battered Onion Rings (400g)
- £1.99 (49.7p per 100g)
Loved the subtle flavour of beer from Lidl's onion rings.
They were a bit of a mixed bag with a real variety of sizes in the bag and some took longer to cook than others.
But the taste was good and they were one of the best value for money. Lovely to have with a burger or steak meal.
- Taste: 7/10
- Value: 8/10
- Overall score: 7/10
Tesco Beer Battered Onion Rings (300g)
- £1.65 (55p per 100g)
Crisp and delicious and a splendid addition to any meal.
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I liked the beer batter, they were very tasty and didn’t have the fake, synthetic taste that some of the cheaper brands had. More-ish.
- Taste: 7/10
- Value: 6/10
- Overall score: 7/10
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