06/22/2026
NATIONAL ONION RINGS DAY
National Onion Rings Day lands on June 22 to recognize the batter-dipped, deep-fried bite of deliciousness that runs rings around other appetizers.
Onions have been around for some time. We use them to add flavor to food as part of a recipe and some of us like a slice of onion on our burgers. National onion ring day gives us the opportunity celebrate the onion dipped in a crunchy batter. Many agree onion rings taste best hot from the fryer. Whether you dip them in a sauce or not is up to you. There are plenty to choose from these days, too. Sweet, spicy, salt and vinegar, and everything in between.The first onion ring recipe seems to have appeared in John Mollard’s 1802 cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined. The recipe was called Fried Onions with Parmesan Cheese and suggested cutting onions into 1/2 inch rings, dipping them into a batter made of flour, cream, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese then deep-frying them in boiling lard. The recipe also recommended serving them with a sauce made of melted butter and mustard.
Another recipe for French Fried Onions appeared in the Middletown, NY Daily Times on January 13, 1910. This recipe apparently was prepared similar to John Mollard's recipe, except it seems to have indicated the fried onions were more commonly refer to today as fried onion strings. However, in the early 1920s, the Pig Stand restaurant chain (Texas), claims to be the inventor of onion rings. By the 1960s, the A&W restaurant gained official credit with popularizing the onion rings in fast food restaurants.
