This restaurant-style blooming onion is sliced into petals, double dipped in an egg mixture then seasonings, and fried to a crispy golden brown. It’s one of the tastiest party appetizers for football parties or gatherings!
Why this recipe works
Making your own homemade blooming onion is easier than it looks. You’ll first slice the onion into petals, toss it in a milk and egg mixture, followed by a coating of flour and seasonings then deep fry it to crunchy-yet-tender perfection.
You’ve likely heard of blooming onion from Outback Steakhouse or the likes of your favorite chain restaurants. This fried appetizer is a cool little twist on onion rings and is fun to pull apart and dunk in sauce.
RELATED: you might also like this recipe – French Fry Sauce
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
ONION – I highly recommend Vidalia onions for this recipe. They’re sweet and tender when fried. However, if you can’t find Vidalia, opt for another variety of sweet onion like Walla Walla or Maui. Grab a large one!
How to Make a Blooming Onion
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Fill a 5.5 quart dutch oven half way with vegetable or other frying oil. Preheat to 375F.
- Trim the top of the onion by about 1 inch. Remove the outer layer of the onion. Flip upside down and make four cuts, leaving the center in tact, across from each other as a compass.
- Make two additional cut between each of the primary cuts. Be sure to keep the center base of the onion in tact.
- Flip the onion back over and use fingers to help fan out the petals.
- In a large bowl combine the milk and eggs.
- In another large bowl combine the dry ingredients with a whisk.
- Dip the onion in the egg mixture, followed by the dry ingredients. Repeat. Be sure to fan the petals of the onion during the process to get as much coverage as possible with the batter.
- Use a spider strainer to lower the onion into the frying oil. Fry for 10 minutes.
- Remove and drain excess grease from onion on a paper towel. Serve with dipping sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
You can pair this blooming onion with ranch, garlic aioli, BBQ, southwest ranch, ketchup, honey mustard, chipotle sauce, fry sauce, and Sweet Baby Ray’s Special Sauce which tastes similar to the blooming onion dipping sauce from Outback Steakhouse.
You should plan on serving your blooming onion after it has cooled off a bit. It does not keep super well, as many fried foods don’t, but you could try storing it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. I would recommend reheating it in the air fryer to crisp it back up.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the blooming onion as a party appetizer or make it just because, there doesn’t need to be an occasion to indulge in this tasty app! You should serve it warm and fresh, it does not keep very well as it tends to get soggy the longer it sits.
More Appetizer Recipes
- Beer Cheese Dip
- Pinwheel Sandwiches
- Grape Jelly Meatballs
- Air Fryer Fried Pickles
- Air Fryer Jalapeno Fries
- Onion Rings
- Fried Green Tomatoes
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Blooming Onion
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 Vidalia onion large
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- ½ Tbsp chili powder
- ½ Tbsp pepper
- frying oil as needed. like vegetable or canola
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- You can pair this blooming onion with ranch, garlic aioli, BBQ, southwest ranch, ketchup, honey mustard, chipotle sauce, fry sauce, and Sweet Baby Ray’s Special Sauce which tastes similar to the blooming onion dipping sauce from Outback Steakhouse.
- Be sure to coat the onion in between each petal with the dry ingredients.
Instructions
- Fill a 5-5.5 quart dutch oven half way with vegetable or other frying oil. Preheat to 375F.
- Trim the top of the onion by about 1 inch. Remove the outer layer of the onion. Flip upside down and make four cuts, leaving the center in tact, across from each other as a compass.
- Make two additional cut between each of the primary cuts. Be sure to keep the center base of the onion in tact.
- Flip the onion back over and use fingers to help fan out the petals.
- In a large bowl combine the milk and eggs.
- In another large bowl combine the dry ingredients with a whisk.
- Dip the onion in the egg mixture, followed by the dry ingredients. Repeat. Be sure to fan the petals of the onion during the process to get as much coverage as possible with the batter.
- Use a spider strainer to lower the onion into the frying oil. Fry for 10 minutes.
- Remove and drain excess grease from onion on a paper towel. Serve with dipping sauce.
Nutrition
Amanda Davis
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Mose says
I always let mine soak in salt water for at least an hour. This opens up the onion removes a lot of natural oils, allowing a better egg wash and more flour mixture to stick to the onion!