We love dining at Miller and Carter restaurants, one of our favourite things on the menu is the onion loaf. We'll show you how to make onion loaf at home, the ideal side dish for steak and chips, perfect for date night or Valentineโs day.
Mini loaves of fried onions, battered and shaped into small bricks, cooked to perfection deep fried in hot oil until golden brown.

They only take 15 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking time, so they'll be ready in just 30 minutes.
We also have a recipe for beer-battered onion rings that you may like!
How to make Onion Loaf?
See the slideshow video below to make a Miller and Carter style onion loaf.
What is Onion Loaf?
Onion loaf comes served in Miller and Carter's Steakhouse restaurants in the UK, as part of their steak experience.
Of course, they have a well-kept secret recipe to make this delicious steak side dish of fried onions shaped into a small loaf.
You will also find something similar served in America at Tony Romaโs or Hackneyโs Restaurants.
Onions are chopped, fried and battered before being shaped into a small loaf shape, then deep-fried until crispy.
Ingredients
The ingredients needed to make this steak side dish are as follows
Onions
One large onion is enough to serve two people; for best results use a sweet Spanish onion. Chop the onion into rough chunks.
Oil
Fry the chopped onion in oil for about 6 minutes to soften the onion. Add some flour once softened to dry the onions out before battering.
You will need more oil for deep-fat frying, we use rapeseed oil (known as canola oil in the US), but you can use sunflower oil or beef dripping instead.
Batter
Mix the following ingredients together to make a batter for the onion loaf.
- Milk
- White Sugar
- Flour
- Garlic Salt
- Black Pepper
Add the onions to create a sticky mix.
Transfer onto a floured plate and shape into two mini loaves.
Deep Fat Fryer
For best results, use a deep fat fryer set to 180ยฐC / 350ยฐF. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, this should take about 5 minutes.
Deep Pan Fry
If you donโt own a deep fat fryer, use a deep pan. Pour enough oil into your pan to submerge the onion loaf into and set over medium-high heat until it reaches 180ยฐC / 350ยฐF
If you don't have a thermometer, stick a wooden spoon into the oilโif bubbles form around it, you're ready to go.
Cook one loaf at a time for a crispy coating. Place carefully in hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, ours took 5 minutes.
Check cooked through and place on kitchen paper towel to remove excess oil.
Serving Suggestions
Serve onion loaf with steak and chips, like Miller and Carter Steakhouse restaurants. As seen here, we have cooked ours with rump steak, air fryer chips and peppercorn sauce.
We also have advice for cooking cote de boeuf or tomahawk steak, perfect for two people sharing!
It is also great served on the side with sausage and mash, chicken wings or our spicy chicken burger.
You can serve it as an alternative to onion rings for a starter with a bbq dipping sauce.
๐ Step by Step Recipe
Onion Loaf
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Rapeseed oil
- 1 Large Onion
- 2 tablespoon Flour (to coat onion)
Batter
- 3 tablespoon Milk
- 1 tablespoon White Sugar
- 3 tablespoon Flour (for batter)
- ยผ teaspoon garlic salt
- Black Pepper
- 4 tablespoon Flour (to shape onion loaf)
- Rapeseed Oil for deep fat frying
Instructions
- Cut onion into chunks1 Large Onion
- Fry onions in olive oil for 6 minutes1 tablespoon Rapeseed oil
- Meanwhile, make the batter by mixing together milk, flour, sugar, garlic salt and pepperAdd oil to a deep pan or deep fat fryer bring oil temperature to 180ยฐC / 350ยฐF3 tablespoon Milk, 1 tablespoon White Sugar, 3 tablespoon Flour (for batter), ยผ teaspoon garlic salt, Black Pepper, Rapeseed Oil for deep fat frying
- When the onion has softened, turn the heat off and stir in the flour.2 tablespoon Flour (to coat onion)
- Add the floured onions in with the batter and stir through until well coated and stuck together.
- Split the mixture in half, and place on to plate with more flour4 tablespoon Flour (to shape onion loaf)
- Shape into 2 small loaves and coat with flour.
- It is best to cook one at a time.Check the temperature of the oil is between 180ยฐC / 350ยฐF use a slotted spoon to place the onion loaf in.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, turning halfway.
- It will be golden and crispy when finished. Place on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
- Perfect served with steak and chips.
Video
Nutrition
We hope you enjoyed this onion loaf recipe as much as we do!
Can onion loaf be oven baked instead?
We have tried oven-baking these instead, and they are not the same. They don't get crispy, so you end up with a soggy and limp loaf, and it takes a lot longer to cook, too!
Steve Tampin says
The perfect accompaniment for the perfect steak, I always order an extra side of them because they're irresistibly delicious.
Luke and Kay says
Thank you for your review Steve, we're delighted to hear that our onion loaf recipe is the perfect accompaniment for your steak. ๐
Paula says
Cant wait to make this, I am GF! M&C version is Gluten free so i am going to use GF flour to make it. ๐ Thankyou for your recipe ๐
Kay says
Thank you for trying our recipe, Paula! I'm glad you're excited to make it and that your version will be gluten-free. Please let us know how it turns out. ๐
Lorri says
I regularly eat at MnC so was excited for this recipe, but why add egg? I am allergic to eggs so I know for a fact they don't use egg as its not listed in their allergens guide. I also eat it, this wld not be possible obviously if they put egg I'm theirs. So disappointed.
Kay says
Hi Lori,
Not sure why you are disappointed as there is no EGG in this onion loaf recipe? I'm not sure why you think there is? I double-checked the whole page, and there is no mention of an egg?
To be clear, this isn't Miller and Carter's recipe; they keep it secret!. This is our take on the recipe.
Jeremy Peralter says
There's no egg in it, you moron.
Helen Miller says
Great recipe, easy to make and like the Miller and Carter version, I would just add some seasoning to the flour before coating the loaves but thatโs personal choice.
Kay says
Thank you so much, Helen, for that great comment ๐
Great to hear you think our onion loaf recipe is just like miller carter version; the seasoning sounds good will have to give that a try in the future ๐
sara lafountain says
So delicious and easy to make! Enjoyed these onion loafs with a salmon dinner and the kids ate them all up. Smelled amazing too, five stars!
Sabrina says
This was so good! Iโd never tried it before and now itโs my new favourite side dish for steak, my husband was crazy for it!
Jeri says
Oh my, this looks FANTASTIC! Here in Canada, we don't have Miller and Carter restaurants, OR onion loaf. I can't wait to make this, it looks even better than onion rings!
Luke says
Thanks for the great comment Jeri, it's appreciated ๐
We love onion loaf; we find it so much better than onion rings, especially with a good steak, it's lush ๐
Let us know your thoughts when you make it?
Andrรฉa Janssen says
I've never had an onion loaf before, but it looks so great. And the detailed instruction comes in so handy. Thank you for sharing it, I'm going to put it on my to do list!
Luke says
Thanks, Andrea ๐
I hope you enjoy our onion loaf recipe; let us know your thoughts?
Lilly says
OMG, this onion loaf is a complete game changer!! I love the flavors, especially paired with my ribeye steak! Thanks for the recipe!
Luke says
Our pleasure Lilly and thank you for the rating ๐
So pleased you like our onion loaf recipe, always perfect with steak ๐
Kristina says
This looks and sounds so good. I've never had anything similiar to an onion loaf. Do you think it would turn out if I air fried it rather than pan or deep frying?
Luke says
Thank you, Kristina, for the comment ๐
We haven't tried this recipe in the air fryer yet but will give it ago and let you know how it comes out ๐
If you try before us, let us know your thoughts; enjoy!!
Liz says
I have never had an onion loaf before, but after reading this post, I am all about it! I am a huge onion fan! This looks and sounds delicious!
Luke says
Thank you so much Liz ๐
Hope you enjoy our onion loaf recipe, this is always great with steak its a great side dish ๐
Enjoy!!