Air Fryer Sautéed Onions make the perfect addition to burgers, steaks, hot dogs, and more! These delicious onions are tender, golden brown, and slightly crispy. Keep reading to find out how to make the best sautéed onions in the air fryer.
I love roasting vegetables in the air fryer. Just like my air fryer roasted garlic, these onions can be used for a variety of recipes. Use them for sandwiches, dips, or as a side dish. You can find more ideas on how to use sautéed onions in the post below.

Recipe Video:
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- These air fried onions are so easy to make for a quick side dish or topping. They are tender and start to caramelize the longer you cook them.
- Use these sautéed onions to upgrade your burgers, loaded baked potatoes, and wraps. These onions taste amazing on my Air Fryer French Dip Wraps or on top of my Air Fryer Sour Cream and Onion Potatoes.
- Looking to make grilled onions, but don’t have a grill? Then this recipe is for you. These onions are perfect as a bbq side dish or for the holidays.
Q&A:
You can use white, yellow, or red onions for this recipe. I typically use yellow or white onions because that’s what I keep on hand.
Sautéed onions are cooked for a shorter time. They are tender, but still hold their shape. Caramelized onions are cooked for a longer period of time over lower heat until they break down and become extremely soft, brown, and sweet.
How To Cut Onions:
For this recipe, I sliced the onion into ¼ inch whole onion ring slices. Start by cutting off the ends. Next, remove the paper and outer layer of the onion. Lastly, slice the onion into ¼th inch thick whole onion rings. Leave the onion rings whole, do not separate.
How To Use Air Fryer Sautéed Onions?
You can use these onions on top of pork chops, chicken, or loaded baked potatoes. They taste amazing on sandwich and wraps, like my air fryer French Dip Wraps. Here are some other ways to use sautéed onions:
- On hot dog
- On hamburgers
- As a side dish to steak
- On tacos
- Sandwiches
- Wraps
- In soups
- Grilled cheese
- Use it to make dips
Equipment Needed:
- Air Fryer
Ingredients:
- Onion - I used yellow onion. You can use yellow, white, sweet, or red onion for this recipe.
- Olive Oil - I prefer to use olive oil, but other cooking oils would work as well.
- Salt and Pepper - Season to your taste.
Air Fryer Instructions:
1. Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and set the timer for 15 minutes.
2. Slice the onion into ¼ inch thick whole onion rings.
3. Brush a generous amount of olive oil to each onion slice on both sides and season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the onions to the air fryer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Be sure to flip them halfway through.
5. Once done, give the onions a good stir. Remove them from the air fryer, let cool, then enjoy!
Recipe Variations And Substitutions:
- Types on onions to use: Yellow, White, Sweet, or Red onions can be used for this recipe.
- Butter - Melted butter can be used along with the olive oil to coat the onion slices.
Storage and Reheating Instructions:
- Store cooked onions in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat onions in the air fryer at 365 degrees for 2 minutes until warm or microwave for 30 seconds until warm.
Pro Tips:
- If your onions are browning too quickly, reduce the heat.
- Remove the outer layer of the onion skin if you prefer a less crispy onion as that layer tends to cook faster.
- Slice onions into even slices to ensure even cooking.
- For more caramelization, reduce the heat by 10 degrees and cook for an additional 5 minutes at a time until the onions reach your desired doneness.
- The air fryer I used was the Instant Vortex Plus 6 quart. Since all air fryers are different, you will need to adjust the cook time based on the air fryer you are using.
Easy Air Fryer Sautéed Onions
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 whole yellow onion outer edges cut off and peeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and set the timer for 15 minutes.
- Slice the onion into ¼ inch thick whole onion rings.
- Brush a generous amount of olive oil to each onion slice on both sides and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the onions to the air fryer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Be sure to flip them halfway through.
- Once done, give the onions a good stir. Remove them from the air fryer, let cool, then enjoy!
Notes
- Store cooked onions in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat onions in the air fryer at 365 degrees for 2 minutes until warm or microwave for 30 seconds until warm.
- If your onions are browning too quickly, reduce the heat.
- Remove the outer layer of the onion skin if you prefer a less crispy onion as that layer tends to cook faster.
- Slice onions into even slices to ensure even cooking.
- For more caramelization, reduce the heat by 10 degrees and cook for an additional 5 minutes at a time until the onions reach your desired doneness.
- The air fryer I used was the Instant Vortex Plus 6 quart. Since all air fryers are different, you will need to adjust the cook time based on the air fryer you are using.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate. For accurate nutritional information you should refer to the nutritional labels on the packages of the specific ingredients that you used.
Michael
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS... KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
Ivory
You're welcome and thanks! I appreciate it.
Pat
Thank you for all of your recipes. I am now using my air fryer more often.
Ivory
You're welcome! Happy to hear you are enjoying my recipes and using your air fryer more.