If french fries and onion rings ever got together and had a love child, I think it would be something like this…a light and crispy on the outside + creamy and luscious on the inside potato ring! Two things I can’t stress enough is: 1) the importance of having the potatoes completely coated; no holes please, or the mashed potatoes will pour out of the holes once they hit the oil and you’ll be left with nothing but a mess. 2) the importance of the rings being frozen solid before entering the oil…it just helps with the frying, that’s all.
We made a simple and delicious buttermilk ranch dipping sauce bc let’s face it, ranch is pretty much good with anything, amirite? It only seemed natural to pair these savory, fried treats with a quick and easy homemade ranch sauce. Enjoy!
xx Jenny
Here are some more yummy potato recipes you might also enjoy!
Potato Rings with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dipping Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 3 large russet potatoes, cleaned peeled and chopped into large pieces
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick), softened
- ½ cup caramelized yellow onions, chopped
- 3 tablespoons chives, thinly sliced
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup rice flour
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 quarts vegetable oil
buttermilk ranch sauce
- ½ cup light mayonnaise
- ¼ cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, minced
- 1 tablespoon chives, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon dill, minced
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with water.
- Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, 20-25 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes into a colander and pour back into the pot.
- Pour the cream and butter over the potatoes and mash with a potato masher until smooth (Add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed).
- Fold in the caramelized onions and chives until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper and stir.
- Spread the mixture onto a sheet pan, about ½ inch thick and place in the refrigerator until the mixture has cooled down and hardened, 4-6 hours.
- While the potato mixture cools place both flours, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika into a shallow dish and stir together until fully combined. Set aside.
- When the potato mixture has cooled, remove from the refrigerator and using 1-1 ½ inch circle cutters, cut out as many circles as possible (usually makes about 32-40).
- Using a ½ inch circle cutter, cut out a ½ inch circle from every 1-1½ circle, creating a small donut shape.
- Dip the potato rings into the flour mixture followed by the egg mixture and finally again in the flour mixture (make sure the rings are completely coated).
- Place the coated rings onto a clean sheet pan, lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer and allow the rings to freeze completely, 4-6 hours.
- Once the potato rings are frozen, preheat the oil, in a large pot, to 375°F.
- While the oil heats up, place the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper.
- When the oil is hot, carefully drop a few of the rings into the oil and fry for 4-6 minutes or until golden brown.
- Drain onto a large plate lined with paper towels and season with salt with pepper.
- Repeat with the remaining potato rings and serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
tag @SpoonForkBacon and #SpoonForkBacon on Instagram
Oh dear – just when I thought I had given up frying for good… ;-) These just sound so delish! I will probably make a batch and just keep them in the freezer and cook up a few at a time as needed (not a sports fan and not many opportunities for party fare)
I can also see trying variations some of the other commenters have suggested. If I invent something awesome I’ll be sure and let you know ;-)
I would imagine a root veg. mash (combination of carrots , russet potatoes and parsnips)would be great for this great recipe for the fall , Thanksgiving and football parties!
What do you think? Would the parsnips be a problem like turnips are-watery?
Thanks for the recipe.
Yummmmy!!!!!!! definetly i will make this today..
is there any substitute for the flour in this recipe? for the folks who are gluten intolerant. want to make these!!! and pardon if the question has been asked before.
This totally just made my mouth water. Dang it! I’m definitely going to have to make these as I’m sure my kids will love them. I’m sure you could make lots of variations too (like putting corn or other veggies in with the potatoes- God knows my kids don’t like vegetables!). This could be the perfect fix for all those left over mashed potatoes I’ll probably end up with after Thanksgiving like I do every year!
I have an 18 year old son with autism who is very interested in learning how to cook. Our last project was garlic mashed potatoes and fried pork loin. So I think this maybe next!! It seems like there are many steps but not extremely difficult ones. He is a picky eater and he/we could make these potato doughnuts and freeze them for him to cook later. They seem to be very easy to change shapes ( ball, squares etc) ,flavors (cheeses, spices,bacon) and even toppings and/or dipping sauces ( buttermilk ranch, pizza sauce, gravy) One of his favorite foods is chilli, cheese fries and I think this maybe a new twist on his old favorite!!! I found your site by chance but will bookmark it and be back again (and again and again . . .)
Thanks!!!!!
when it says cream… what kind? Im jus teaching myself how to cook and what to cook so im confused
amazing :)
Arby’s makes something like this… only triangle wedge-shaped, and I think they put cheese in the mixture, too. Really good. If people don’t want to fuss making the ring shape, they can just divide the refrigerated potato mixture into rectangles about the size of 3×5 cards, and then cut them in half diagonally. After you complete the dipping/freezing/frying process, you’ll have triangles that have deliciously crispy corners and a tender center. You can also make little logs (fish-stick size), whatever is manageable for you. Do rings, wedges, sticks, balls… whatever, then enjoy the finished product. Thanks for the recipe!
These sound great….
I think I would try just making small balls..(pop’s if you will) instead of going through the fuss of cutting a doughnut and then a hole. I guess they would just be holes!
What do you think? Maybe less work for me? hehe…I’m going to try this after the next grocery store trip!
My mouth is watery :D
Yeah, I don’t have a deep fryer.But these look scrumptious! Is there a way to bake these? Any other method?
OK, I tried these and they were totally soft. They wouldn’t stay together, I ended up making killer mash potatoes out of it. They were so soft I couldn’t get them to stay together long enough to dip them. What could I change for next time?
this look great
Just seen your recipe will be trying this also I think I’ll freeze a few for latter date!
omg these sound so good. will definitely have to try them soon!
Love this idea! I think I’d dip mine in blue cheese but the ranch sounds delicious too!
That looks great and a good idea for a snack!
Any chance that baking these little delicious-looking things might work?? I don’t have equipment for frying… and I would rather not get it for the sake of eating healthy :)
I actually advise people NOT to bake these, the results end up a bit funky and messy. Sorry about that!
Brillliant… Tried them with an additional blue cheese dip… Great stuff!!
Gonna try these tomorrow night but will probably substitute the ranch for sour cream. We put it on almost everything!!!
These look great! Thanks for sharing.
Sounds great i don’t like onions, so i think I’ll replace it with some bacon and cheddar in! thanks my next party will be a hit!!!
Sounds great. Looks yummy!!! But does anyone else realize this takes between 8-12 hrs to create? Not really sure it’s worth it.
8-12 hours might seem painstaking, but most of the time is waiting for them to freeze and yes…they are 100% worth it!! :)
these are good but time consuming. i do not cut them into rings, just squares.