5 Customer Complaints About Burger King's Onion Rings

Burger King is known for more than Whoppers. The popular international fast-food chain also draws crowds for its crispy chicken fries, chicken sandwiches, and tasty desserts. But one of the most controversial menu items at BK has to be the onion rings. While some people love how breaded and uniform they look and taste, others despise their lack of whole onions, soggy texture, and boatloads of oil and salt.

Of all the common customer complaints about Burger King, the quality of the onion rings has to be on top. While most people simply don't appreciate the ingredients used to make these crispy sides, others take issue with details down to how long they sat in the fryer, how much seasoning was used, and even their shape and length. Sure, these may seem like minuscule issues, but to BK fans who adore the onion rings, it's a serious matter.

Not sure what all the negative buzz is about? Here's a list of five common complaints about Burger King's onion rings. You may have seen some on online forums over the years, but others are lesser-known and come from recent complaints and trips through the drive-thru. Let us know if you agree with them.

A common complaint among BK customers is that the onion rings have more breading than onion. "I always call 'em bread rings," one Redditor said. "Rather crispy bread rings than soggy srunchies," another Redditor chimed in. One person even said, "Why do people even eat these things, it's nothing but batter." Sure, some people may prefer more breading on things like fries or fried chicken, but it seems like there's barely any onion in these rings. So, what's the point?

If you want a little less batter and larger rings, you might have to venture to Canada. Apparently, Canadian Burger King locations have changed their recipes to incorporate real onion rings and a batter that appears lighter and less thick. Maybe this is something the U.S. locations will incorporate in the future. In the meantime, if you're not a batter lover, you might want to skip BK's onion rings for this sole reason.

Many people think Burger King's onion rings don't taste like onion. But as a matter of fact, they don't even have onions! Whole onions, anyway. Instead, it's speculated that American BKs use a dehydrated onion paste, which doesn't taste anything like the real vegetable. "They're not even actual slices of onion. They're like those dehydrated onion bits on a Big Mac tossed into a batter, then shaped and fried," one Redditor said. Another Redditor agreed, "The minced onion jam is nasty."

So, if Burger King's onion rings aren't the real deal — what's actually inside? After a quick study of the ingredients list, they indeed have dehydrated chopped onions, along with onion powder, dehydrated minced onions, and onion flavoring. It's certainly easier to skip the peeling, chopping, and frying and use pre-made spices and mixes instead. For the sake of convenience and consistency, is likely why BK uses this method rather than real slices of onion.

One of the biggest gripes we've seen online? That these rings come out soggy and soaked in oil. "The only real complaint is that they're never crispy; they are usually soggy," one Redditor said. "The last few times they've been lukewarm and soggy. All clumped together," another chimed in. This is likely due to how long they spend outside the fryer. "The rings are ok-ish right out of the fryer, but they lose quality obscenely fast. They hold onto a lot of oil. And when the oil isn't super fresh, it makes them a soggy, dirty, gritty mess really fast," another Redditor posted.

You might be able to avoid this frying faux-pas by requesting a new batch of onion rings when you order, or by calling ahead to ask when the last batch of onion rings was fried. But otherwise, you're playing a game of onion ring roulette when you swing by the drive-thru. If you're lucky, they're fresh out of the fryer. If not, they've been sitting under a heat lamp for several minutes before making their way into your bag.

Something being "too salty" is not typically a concern at fast-food restaurants. That's kind of the entire point — everything is salty. But some people have said that Burger King's onion rings cross the line into overly salted territory. "Every time I get them they are either soggy, or overcooked. Oh, and too salty," one Redditor posted. Another Redditor posted a photo of one of their onion rings with visible salt clumps on top.

This issue apparently extends to the chain's fries, too. "We usually get the too much salt complaint at the BK I work at," one Redditor said. Another added, "I find that they usually oversalt them because there's not much else there. The flavor and taste went away when they changed the oils to be healthier." Of course, you could probably dust some of the salt off yourself, but if it's mixed into the batter? There's not much you can do.

Last but not least, Burger King customers have noticed that, sometimes, the onion rings are stale and hard. We can't say for sure why this is the case, but our suspicions lie with the fryer. Specifically, how long they're left outside of the fryer. It's a similar issue to the sogginess complaint — they're left out too long after cooking — but result in completely separate textures.

One Facebook reviewer said this about their encounter with the onion rings on a recent BK trip in Midland, Ontario: "Went to Burger King again...ordered a med onion ring. Almost $5 for this! They were stale, hard, and barely had any [onion rings]. This is not the first time this has happened, but it is the last time we'll be ordering onion rings from here. NOT worth the money." You're better off getting the mozzarella fries — the best Burger King side of all the ones we tried and ranked.