French fried onions substitutes
French fried onions substitutes — 7 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called crispy fried onions, French's fried onions, canned fried onions, crispy onions
Use Crispy fried shallots
1 cup for every 1 cup French fried onions
Use crispy fried shallots, 1 cup for each cup of french fried onions. They are the same thing made from a smaller allium: crisp, salty, sweet and ready to use from the tub. They are a little thinner and more delicate, so add them for the last 5 minutes of baking. If the cupboard has neither, toast 1 cup panko in 2 tablespoons butter with ½ teaspoon onion powder for the crunch and a hint of the flavor.
- Verdict —
- Works
- The tweak —
- Scatter them on for the last 5 minutes of baking; they are thinner than canned fried onions and darken quickly.
- Best for —
- green bean casserole topping
Updated 8 Oct 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what are the French fried onions doing?
Pick your caseDo you need the crunch on top, the onion flavor inside, or both?
Fried shallots or homemade fried onions give both crunch and onion. From the cupboard, buttered panko with onion powder or crushed butter crackers give the crunch. Add any of them in the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking.
Notes on crispy fried shallots, homemade fried onions, panko + butter + onion powder or crushed butter crackers
1 cup per 1 cup
This part softens in the sauce anyway, so crunch does not matter. Stir in sauteed onion, about ½ cup for each cup of fried onions, and season the sauce with a little extra salt.
Notes on sauteed or caramelized onions
½ cup per 1 cup
Canned french fried onions are coated in wheat flour. Use crushed plain potato chips or toasted sliced almonds on top, or fried shallots from a brand that lists no flour.
Notes on crushed potato chips, toasted sliced almonds or crispy fried shallots
1 cup per 1 cup
Fried shallots are the direct replacement. Homemade fried onions are worth the effort when the garnish is the main feature, as on a steak or a burger.
Notes on crispy fried shallots, homemade fried onions or crushed potato chips
1 cup per 1 cup
French fried onions bring crunch, salt, fried richness and sweet onion flavor in one handful. In green bean casserole they are used twice: part is stirred into the filling, where the pieces soften and season the sauce, and the rest goes on top near the end to stay crisp. As a garnish on burgers, salads or soups they are there almost entirely for the crunch. Few substitutes cover both the onion and the crunch, so the right pick depends on which one the dish is missing.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 cup French fried onions| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup French fried onions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crispy fried shallotsgreen bean casserole topping | 1 cupWorks | Works |
| 2 | Homemade fried onionsgreen bean casserole topping | 1 cupWorks | Works |
| 3 | Panko + butter + onion powdergreen bean casserole topping | 1 cup panko + 2 tbsp butter + ½ tsp onion powderTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Crushed butter crackersgreen bean casserole topping | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Crushed potato chipsgluten-free casserole topping | 1 cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Toasted sliced almondsgluten-free green bean casserole | ½ cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 7 | Sauteed or caramelized onionsthe onions stirred into green bean casserole | ½ cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Raw or dried onion | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Crispy fried shallots
very close, a little sweeter
Sliced shallots fried until brittle, sold in tubs and jars in Asian groceries and many supermarkets. In a casserole they are hard to tell from the canned onions.
- Best for
- green bean casserole topping, burgers, hot dogs and sandwiches, salads and soups, mashed potatoes
- Texture
- thinner and more delicate crunch
- Prep
- Scatter them on for the last 5 minutes of baking; they are thinner than canned fried onions and darken quickly.
- Suits
- vegan
Slightly sweeter and finer, with less of the floury coating. Some brands are fried with wheat flour and some are only shallots, oil and salt, so read the label if gluten matters. Taste one before using a tub that has been open a while; the oil goes stale.
Homemade fried onions
fresher and sweeter
The real thing made fresh: thin onion slices dredged in seasoned flour and fried. Better flavor than the can, more work and a pot of oil.
- Best for
- green bean casserole topping, burgers and steaks, any use where they are the main garnish
- Texture
- crisp, slightly less uniform
- Prep
- Slice onions 1/8 inch thick, soak 10 minutes in milk or buttermilk, toss in flour seasoned with salt, and fry in small batches in 350°F oil for 2 to 4 minutes until golden; drain on paper towels and salt at once.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- wheat, dairy
Onions shrink by more than half as they fry. Two large onions is a starting amount for the 1 1/3 cups a standard casserole uses; fry more than you think you need. They soften within a few hours, so make them the same day and add them at the end of baking.
Panko + butter + onion powder
buttery, mild onion
The pantry topping. Buttered, toasted panko gives a crisp golden crust, and onion powder stands in for some of the flavor.
- Best for
- green bean casserole topping, other baked casseroles, mac and cheese, baked chicken coating
- Texture
- fine, even crunch
- Prep
- Melt the butter in a skillet, stir in the panko, onion powder and a pinch of salt, and toast over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes until golden, then sprinkle over the casserole for the last 5 to 10 minutes.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- wheat, dairy
It is a crumb topping, not onion strips: sandy crunch, no sweetness and only a background onion flavor. It does nothing for the half of the onions a green bean casserole stirs into the filling; use sauteed onion there. Regular dry bread crumbs work and are finer and denser.
Crushed butter crackers
buttery and salty, no onion
Coarsely crushed Ritz-style crackers are rich and salty and brown well on top of a casserole.
- Best for
- green bean casserole topping, squash and broccoli casseroles, baked fish or chicken
- Texture
- crisp, crumbly
- Prep
- Crush to pea-sized pieces, toss with 1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter per cup, and add for the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- wheat, dairy
No onion flavor at all unless you add ½ teaspoon onion powder per cup. Crushed too fine, the crumbs soak up sauce and turn pasty, so keep the pieces coarse. Saltines work and are plainer.
Crushed potato chips
salty potato, not onion
Already fried, salty and crisp, and free of wheat in most plain varieties. Sour cream and onion chips bring some onion flavor with them.
- Best for
- gluten-free casserole topping, tuna and chicken casseroles, burgers and sandwiches
- Texture
- crisp and brittle
- Prep
- Crush lightly by hand and add in the last 5 minutes; reduce the salt in the casserole filling slightly.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free
Saltier and greasier than fried onions, and the flavor is potato. Thick kettle-style chips hold their crunch on a wet casserole longer than thin ones. Check the bag of any flavored chip for wheat or dairy.
Toasted sliced almonds
nutty, no onion
Green beans with almonds is a classic pairing of its own. Almonds give a clean, firm crunch that stays crisp on a hot casserole.
- Best for
- gluten-free green bean casserole, salads, vegetable sides
- Texture
- firm crunch
- Prep
- Toast in a dry skillet over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until golden, then scatter over the dish just before serving.
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free
- Contains
- nuts
No onion flavor and no salt, and a harder crunch, so half the volume is enough. Pair with sauteed onion in the filling to keep the onion in the dish. Not for anyone with a tree nut allergy.
Sauteed or caramelized onions
sweet onion, no fried flavor
Onions cooked soft and golden in butter or oil give the sweet onion flavor and none of the crunch. They replace the fried onions that get stirred into a dish, not the ones on top.
- Best for
- the onions stirred into green bean casserole, burgers and steaks, mashed potatoes and dips
- Texture
- soft, no crunch
- Prep
- Cook 1 large sliced onion in 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until soft and golden; that makes roughly ½ to ¾ cup.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian, gluten-free
- Contains
- dairy
Soft and moist, so on top of a casserole they add flavor and no texture. Use them inside the filling and put something crisp on top. Half the volume is a starting amount, since cooked onion is denser than the airy fried strips.
Raw or dried onion
Sliced raw onion or dried minced onion sprinkled on top is the obvious idea and does not work as a topping.
- Best for
- nothing on this page
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
Raw onion steams on top of a casserole and comes out limp and sharp. Dried minced onion scorches in the oven and turns bitter, or soaks up sauce and goes chewy. Neither is ever crisp. Fry the onion, or use a crumb topping and put cooked onion inside the dish.
Don’t swap it here
2 cases- Any crisp topping added at the start of a long bake.Bake the casserole until hot and bubbling, then add the topping and bake 5 to 10 minutes more.
- SafetyServing someone with celiac disease or a wheat allergy, with a substitute chosen by guesswork.Use plain potato chips or toasted almonds, and read the label on anything packaged.
Questions
5 questionsWhat can I substitute for french fried onions in green bean casserole?
Crispy fried shallots, cup for cup, are the closest. From the pantry, toast 1 cup panko in 2 tablespoons butter with ½ teaspoon onion powder, or use 1 cup coarsely crushed butter crackers tossed with a tablespoon or two of melted butter. Stir sauteed onion into the filling to replace the fried onions that normally go inside, and add the topping for the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking.
Can I make french fried onions at home?
Yes. Slice onions 1/8 inch thick, soak them in milk or buttermilk for 10 minutes, toss in salted flour and fry in 350°F oil for 2 to 4 minutes until golden. They shrink a great deal, so start with about two large onions for one casserole, and use them the same day.
Are crispy fried shallots the same as french fried onions?
Nearly. Both are thinly sliced alliums fried until crisp. Fried shallots are a little sweeter and thinner and often have little or no flour coating. They can replace french fried onions at the same amount in any recipe.
Is there a gluten-free substitute for french fried onions?
Crushed plain potato chips, cup for cup, or toasted sliced almonds at half the amount. Some fried shallots are made without flour; check the ingredient list. Canned french fried onions themselves are made with wheat flour unless the label says gluten-free.
Can I use bread crumbs instead of french fried onions?
Yes, for the topping. Toss 1 cup panko or dry bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons melted butter and ½ teaspoon onion powder, and toast before using. You get the crunch and a mild onion note, without the sweetness of fried onion.
Tips for substituting French fried onions
5 tips- The classic green bean casserole uses 1 1/3 cups of french fried onions, which is one 2.8-ounce can: half stirred into the filling and half on top. Size your substitute to that.
- Timing matters more than the choice of topping. Bake the casserole at 350°F for 25 minutes, stir, add the topping and bake 5 more minutes.
- Pre-toast crumb toppings. Panko browned in butter in a skillet for 3 to 5 minutes is crisp and golden before it reaches the oven and stays that way.
- To carry onion flavor in a crumb topping, add ½ teaspoon onion powder per cup of crumbs along with the butter.
- Stale canned or tubbed fried onions can be revived: spread them on a baking sheet and heat at 350°F for 3 to 5 minutes, then cool. If they smell like old oil, throw them out.