This is my go-to for the crispiest golden beer batter. I use it for crispy fried fish, onion rings, fried pickles, fried jalapeños – the list is endless.
It’s easy to prep and can be made a couple of hours ahead too.
Super quick and easy to mix up, plus you can make it ahead and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
With this, you can fry anything your heart desires! In our local area, they sell battered chips, AND battered Mars bars (Nope. Not for me, thanks.)!
I am partial to making the pub classics at home: fish and chips, onion rings, and fried pickles are AMAZING!
📋 Ingredients
Self-Raising Flour – If you haven’t got self-raising flour, replace it with the same amount of plain (all-purpose) flour PLUS 1 tsp of baking powder (you’ll also still need to add the additional ½ tsp baking powder to the batter).
Beer – (see below)
How to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- First, mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Then pour in the COLD beer/liquid element and mix until the mixture is smooth.
- The beer batter is ready to use.
What beer to use for beer batter – plus swaps
We use a light IPA for our batter. It gives a nice light batter with a tasty, savoury flavour. Don’t worry, you can’t taste the flavour of the beer.
If you use a darker beer or bitter, you may taste the maltiness of the beer a little in the batter.
You can swap out the beer for lager (we like Devon Rock, Coors lite and Madri).
The more carbonated the beer/lager, the lighter your batter will be.
If you want an alcohol-free alternative, you can use a 0% alcohol beer/lager, such as Peroni 0%, or sparkling water or soda water.
Pro Tip
Make sure that whatever liquid element you are using for the batter is cold for the crispiest, lightest batter.
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Pin It🍽️ What to use it for
- The most common way to use this is to make Chip Shop-Style Fish.
- Onion Rings are an addictive pub classic!
- Fried Pickles or Crispy Jalapeños are delicious little fried snacks!
🍲 Love a crispy coating? Try these recipes
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Beer Batter Recipe
Ingredients
- 120 g (1 cup) self-raising flour (see swaps)
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 240 ml (1 cup) refrigerated pale ale (it MUST be cold) see swaps
Instructions
- Place the flour, cornflour and baking powder in a large bowl and stir together to combine.120 g (1 cup) self-raising flour (see swaps), 2 tbsp cornflour, ½ tsp baking powder
- Stir in the pale ale until no lumps remain.240 ml (1 cup) refrigerated pale ale (it MUST be cold)
- Place the batter in the refrigerator until ready to use (the batter can be made ahead and refrigerated for 2-3 hours if you like).
Notes
Can I make it ahead?
Yes, you can make it ahead. Just cover and refrigerate for 2 – 3 hours.Swaps:
If you haven’t got self-raising flour, replace it with the same amount of plain (all-purpose flour PLUS 1 tsp of baking powder (you’ll also still need to add the additional ½ tsp baking powder to the batter). If you don’t want to use pale ale, you can use lager, or for a non-alcohol version, replace the pale ale with soda water (remember it needs to be COLD).How to scale up and down this recipe:
You can halve this recipe to serve 2 or double it to serve 8, as long as you stick to the same ingredient ratios.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Used this recipe for crispy onion rings last night, and with the advice about making sure the beer was cold, these were the crispiest onion rings I’ve ever made. Thank you.