Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

Home » From Fast Food to Fine Dining: Copycat Restaurant Recipes for Every Taste! » Original Sonic Onion Ring Recipe

by Stephanie Manley, Last Updated 45 Comments

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Sonic Onion rings are made fresh every single day. I worked at Sonic as a teenager and had to help make the Sonic onion rings EVERY DAY…the secret is using vanilla ice milk mix, but using melted vanilla ice cream works just as well.

Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (1)


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Sonic onion rings are made fresh every single day – these are definitely not prepackaged onion rings. I worked at Sonic as a teenager and had to help make the Sonic onion rings every day.

Sonic had bags and bags of onions in the back room. The secret ingredient is vanilla ice milk mix, but using melted vanilla ice cream works just as well. Making onion rings for Sonic was one of the more memorable and pleasant experiences of my young life.

Table of Contents

The Sonic Drive-In Story

What eventually became Sonic was opened in 1953 in Shawnee, Oklahoma under the name Top Hat. In the beginning, Top Hat customers parked their automobiles anywhere on the gravel parking lot and walked up to place their orders. However, Top Hat’s founder, Troy Smith, saw a drive-in that used speakers for ordering.

This gave him the idea of controlling the parking so his customers could order from curbside speakers without ever leaving their cars. Carhops would deliver the food to customers sitting comfortably in their vehicles.

This technology led to the slogan Service at the Speed of Sound, which translated into one word: Sonic. So, in 1959 the name was changed from Top Hat to Sonic Drive-In. Read more about Sonic.

Sonic’s Menu

Sonic has lived up to its sonic name by surging forward while specializing in fresh, made-to-order meals. Nowhere else can you order from a drive-in menu featuring toaster sandwiches (sandwiches served on thick slices of Texas toast), quarter-pound foot-long coneys (hot dogs topped with chili and cheese), and onion rings that are sliced, breaded, and made fresh every day in every Sonic drive-in.

And the Sonic way includes topping off your meal with a hand-mixed shake made with real ice cream in a variety of flavors or a drink featuring Sonic’s beloved craveable ice.

Make Sonic Onion Rings at Home

You can make this wonderful fast-food favorite at home. You don’t even have to be too exact in measuring everything out. However, making these onion rings can be messy.

Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you need:

  • Spanish onions
  • Water
  • All-purpose flour
  • Vanilla ice cream, melted
  • Cornmeal
  • Vegetable oilfor frying
Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (2)

How to Make Sonic Onion Rings

  1. Peel and cut onions into slices that are between 3/8 and 1/2-inch thick.
  2. Remove the small center of the onions, you can chop those into diced onions for later use. See how to freeze onions.
  3. Separate onions into rings and place them into a large bowl of water.
  4. Place three containers in a row.
  5. Place flour in the first container, melted ice cream in the second, and cornmeal in the third.
  6. Heat oil to 350 degrees.
  7. Prepare onion rings by shaking off the water and then dip into the flour. Shake off excess flour.
  8. Dip floured onion rings into the melted ice cream and then into the cornmeal. Gently shake off excess cornmeal.
  9. Place onion rings on acookie sheetto dry for a few minutes before frying.
  10. Fry onion rings until golden brown.

Recipe Notes

I suggest trying to use one hand for dry ingredients and the other for dipping the onion rings into the melted ice cream. It will go easier this way. These are messy, but they taste so good and you will never buy store-bought onion rings again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Sonic onion rings taste sweet?

It is because they are made with sweet onions and breaded with vanilla ice milk mix (or melted vanilla ice cream).

Are Sonic onion rings gluten free?

No, flour is one of the ingredients of the breading.

Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (3)

Looking for more Sonic copycat recipes? Try these!

  • Sonic Breakfast Burrito
  • Sonic Frito Burrito
  • Sonic Chili Cheese Tots
  • Coconut Cream Milkshake
  • Strawberry Lemonade Sonic
  • Strawberry Limeade Sonic
  • Cherry Limeade Sonic
  • Root Beer Shake
  • Ocean Water

Popular Fast Food Sides

  • Popeye’s Cajun Rice
  • KFC Fries
  • Culver’s Fried Cheese Curds

Be sure to check out more of my easy side dish recipes and the best fast food copycat recipes.

Original Sonic Onion Rings

Make your own copycat Sonic Onion rings at home.

5 from 12 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Onion Rings, Sonic Recipes

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 829kcal

Author: Stephanie Manley

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds Spanish onions sliced, and rings separated
  • 24 ounces water
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 12 ounces vanilla ice cream melted
  • 8 ounces cornmeal
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Peel onions. Slice onions into slices that are between 3/8 and 1/2-inch. Remove the small center of the onions, you can chop those into diced onions. Separate onions into rings, and place the rings into a large bowl of water.

  • Place three containers in a row. In the first container, place the flour, in the second container, place the melted ice cream, and in the third container place the cornmeal.

  • Preheat oil to 350 degrees.

  • Prepare onion rings by shaking off the water, dip onion into the flour, shake off excess flour. Dip into the melted ice cream, and then dip into the cornmeal. Gently shake off excess cornmeal. Place the onion ring on a cookie sheet to dry for a few minutes before frying.

  • Fry onion rings until golden brown.

Notes

Sifting the flour and cornmeal once in a while keeps lumps out and makes it easier to coat the rings When placing on cookie sheets to save room, lean on top of each other to allow the entire ring to dry.

Nutrition

Calories: 829kcal | Carbohydrates: 130g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 89mg | Potassium: 749mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 360IU | Vitamin C: 17.3mg | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 5.1mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dorothy

    Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (5)
    I made these and they were great. I used the ground ritz crackers instead of corneal. Definitely recommend making these.

    Reply

  2. Steve B

    Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (6)
    I made those onion rings and we used Nabisco Cracker meal to bread them with. Sadly, it’s no longer made since Nabisco was bought but the cracker meal added to the flavor, We never used cornmeal.

    Reply

  3. TJ

    Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (7)
    I worked at a Sonic in NM for ten years. We used the flour, ice cream mix, cornmeal method the whole time for battering. We soaked the onions in ice water for a day and the next day removed the thin skin from the onion. This is a critical step for ultimate onion rings. After we battered we dried in walk in fridge for a day. However, I tried this with gluten free flour at home and it cracked the batter badly.

    Reply

  4. Noah

    As early as the 90’s, Sonic didn’t use condensed milk or ice cream mix. There were two different breadings and a batter mix.

    Reply

    • Texas

      Sonic also uses ground rits crackers instead of cornmeal. Made them at Sonic for many years.

      Reply

  5. Charles Case

    I helped start the sonic industries. At age 13, Back in 1960 I started working at the sonic in Stillwater Oklahoma as a carhop making 40 cents an hour. The busness had shortly eariler been transformed from Top Hat to Sonic Drive In, Service with the speed of sound. The owners were Charley Pappy, Troy smith and Gene Longworth, Gene was the manager of the busness in Stillwater. The first new built Sonic was built in Shawnee Oklahoma.
    I worked unger Gene and worked my way up to manager as the years rolled by. Gene was a very good person to work under. Other coworkers were David Castleberry, warner Riley, Loretta Toles. We prepared daily the onion rings, french fries, sliced the lettece and tomatos. Made our own tarter sauce and a liquid smoke sauce. We opened each morning at ten oclock, and closed at midnight. The work was long and hard. We only closed one dat a year and that was Christmas Day. We did close early on Christmas Eve.
    I worked steady at the Sonic until I left to go to the Army
    The menu was a simple minu to prepare, unlike what it is today. The original batter was made with a condensed milk called milnot and not ice cream mix as eariler stated.
    Also they do not fill the busnesses ketchup as we did earlier.
    I went back to work at the Sonic after the military but left shortly after due to wages.
    The Sonic Drive In will always have a special spot in my heart and remember my first pay check of nine dollars. I thought I was rich, that I had earned every penny with no help.
    Charley.

    Reply

    • Stephanie

      First off, let me thank you for your service! We are free because of people like you.

      It sounds like you had long hard hours, but it sounds like you really enjoyed working with your co-workers. Good co-workers can make or break a job. It sounds like the onion ring recipe has changed a little bit over the years.

      Thank you again for sharing your history with us!

      Reply

    • Leisa Wilson

      Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (8)
      Thank you for the history of Sonic, I live near Woodard Oklahoma and in my opinion it’s the best Sonic!

      Reply

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Sonic Onion Rings - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What kind of onion does Sonic use in their onion rings? ›

Vanilla ice cream is the secret

Other ingredients in the recipe include Spanish onions, flour, cornmeal, oil, and water. According to a commentator on the blog, the original Sonic onion rings did not have ice cream mixed into the recipe.

Why are Sonics onion rings so sweet? ›

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 copycat Burger King onion rings.

Is there vanilla in Sonic onion rings? ›

I worked at Sonic as a teenager and had to help make the Sonic onion rings every day. Sonic had bags and bags of onions in the back room. The secret ingredient is vanilla ice milk mix, but using melted vanilla ice cream works just as well.

Are Sonic onion rings made in store? ›

According to Sonic's official website, their onion rings are made by hand, sliced, and cooked fresh daily on the premises — so you can always expect that nice, crispy texture and golden color with every order.

Why do you soak onions for onion rings? ›

Soaking the onions helps dilute their sulfur content, taking away that pungent, raw bite and leaving you with a pleasant, milder onion that still has some snap to it. Cuisine At Home also recommends maintaining ultimate crispiness by double-dipping the onions in buttermilk and seasoned flour.

Why did McDonald's stop onion rings? ›

Haracz also explained that if McDonald's even introduced onion rings as a limited-time offer, fewer people may order its French fries — which are “over the top profitable” for the chain. “[With onion rings] they would be selling a much less efficient, much less profitable item for them,” he said.

Are onion rings less healthy than fries? ›

The most commonly available substitute for French fries, onion rings are an equally poor nutritional choice. An average side in the chain restaurants we reviewed was nearly identical in nutritional value to a side of fries: 400 calories, 22 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat and 726 milligrams of sodium.

Are fried onion rings bad? ›

Fried foods

Topping our list are foods that are fried, which means they're cooked in oils full of saturated fat. French fries, onion rings, and the like contain difficult-to-digest fats and can lead to problems with diarrhea and bloating. Fried foods also can encourage harmful gut bacteria.

Why do onion rings get soggy? ›

Too much batter.

Instead of staying light and crisp, an onion ring with too much batter will retain too much internal moisture, and as soon as it comes out of the oil, the batter starts getting soggy.

Does Sonic have secret menu? ›

Sonic is usually happy to do customizations—just ask! Either try to ask for an off-menu item by name, or modify regular items with add-ins, flavorings, etc. When you modify existing orders to get a "secret menu" item, expect to pay a little more. Costs vary, but a flavoring add-on usually adds $0.69.

What animal is vanilla from Sonic? ›

Vanilla the Rabbit is a fictional minor character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. She is a mobian rabbit and the respected mother of Cream the Rabbit. Vanilla lives in a small cottage with her daughter, their Chao, and Gemerl, in Mobotropolis on Westside Island.

Can you get onion rings instead of fries at Sonic? ›

Sandwiches & Sides

Onion Rings can be substituted for Fries/Tots for an additional 40¢. Mayonnaise or Mustard with Dill Pickle, Onion, Lettuce, and Tomato. Made to order with your choice of French Fries, Tater Tots, or Onion Rings and a drink.

Where does Sonic get his rings? ›

Rings are small, round, golden objects that turn into large portals when thrown. The portals are capable of transport to any location that the user can imagine within the universe. Sonic was given a bag of rings from Longclaw when he was being chased by the Echidna Tribe.

Why does Sonic collect rings instead of coins? ›

Sonic collects rings because sega responded to how popular mario was by copying the coin collecting mechanic and chose rings instead to not make it too obvious. Pretty sure its because the rings canonically have a special power inside them, which is why they tend to float or spin at least.

What are Mcdonald's onion rings made of? ›

ONION RINGS: Onion, Wheat Flour, Water, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower), Starch (Wheat, Corn, Tapioca), Salt, Dextrose, Yeast, Raising agents (E450, E500), Thickeners (E407, E412).

Do Sonic tots have onions? ›

Ingredients. Idaho Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Contains One Or More Of The Following: Canola, Palm, Soybean, Sunflower), Salt, Corn Flour, Dehydrated Potato, Dextrose, Disodium Dihydrogen Pyrophosphate (to Promote Color Retention), Natural Flavors, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder.

What kind of onions does McDonald's use? ›

McDonald's preps its onions by using dehydrated onion pieces that are rehydrated in-store, which means they have already been cut and slowly cooked in a dehydrator.

Are Sonics onion rings vegan? ›

Unless you're bothered by potential cross-contamination (which would rule out practically everything else on this list), then the onion rings can be considered vegan! Onion rings usually contain eggs, so this is a rarity as far as vegan fast-food options go.

Are spring onions pearl onions? ›

Pearl onions are not a specific variety but are small round onions harvested when 25 mm (1 inch) or less in diameter. They are usually white and pickled and used as a garnish and in co*cktails. Spring onions are small white onions that are picked

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