This Air Fryer Blooming Onion is a copycat recipe of the popular restaurant appetizer, but because it’s cooked in the air fryer, it’s healthier and quicker! It’s the perfect appetizer for game days and parties!
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If you’ve been to Outback Steakhouse (or a similar restauraunt), you KNOW what a blooming onion is. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat – it’s the most delicious take on onion rings and always comes with a zesty, creamy dipping sauce.
This recipe takes the blooming onion of our childhood and gives it a healthier, quicker, do-it-at-home-friendly makeover. Our take on a blooming onion utilizes the ever popular air fryer (if you don’t have one, don’t worry, we’ve got oven modifications below) to get that nice crisp without the hassle of deep frying.
Looking for more party-worthy appetizers? We’ve got you. This buffalo chicken dip is unbelievably delicious, these BBQ meatballs can be served grab-and-go style with toothpicks and make for the yummiest, classic game day recipe, and these dry rub chicken wings take the popular chicken appetizer to a whole new level.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No deep frying needed – if you’re anything like me, you try to steer clear of deep frying for a couple of reasons. It makes QUITE the mess, for one, and secondly, there are just healthier ways to get a good crisp on our foods. This recipe utilizes the air fryer rather than a deep fryer, and to be honest, I don’t think you’ll miss the original version.
- It’s delicious – if you’ve ever had a blooming onion at a restaurant before, you totally understand the hype here. There’s just something super delicious about a softened onion coated in a crispy flour breading and dipped in a creamy, zesty sauce.
Blooming Onion Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need a handful of ingredients for the wet batter, a handful for the dry batter, and a handful (maybe less than a handful) for the dipping sauce. Everything on the list is super easy to find at your local grocery store. See ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Yellow onion – when it comes to your onion pick here, the BIGGER the better – we used a 1 pound onion for this recipe. If you can, stick to a Vidalia onion or another variation of a sweet yellow onion. If you don’t see those at your local grocery store, a large white onion will work too.
- Buttermilk – the buttermilk in this recipe is used to soften the onion, take the bitterness out of its flavor, and as the base of the wet batter.
- Hot sauce – we used Frank’s RedHot Original sauce here, but feel free to use any hot sauce that you love.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Make it gluten free – simply opt for a gluten free all purpose flour blend in place of regular all purpose flour to make this recipe gluten free (that’s what we did!).
- Omit the spice – this recipe really isn’t spicy, but if you are someone who likes to stay on the safe side when it comes to spice, feel free to omit the cayenne pepper in this recipe.
How to Make an Air Fryer Blooming Onion
While the cutting process may seem tedious, I promise it isn’t hard. Follow along below for a full visual how-to.
Step 1: To prepare the onion, cut off the stem side. Then, using a small, sharp pairing knife, cut the very center of the onion out (about a half inch in diameter). Then, turn the onion upside down, trim any long roots (but don’t remove the root ball, this will hold the onion together), and then make about 8 slices down the length of the onion.
Step 2: Flip the onion over, and gently separate the “petals” with your fingers.
Step 3: Place the onion(s) in a small bowl and pour the buttermilk over the top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Step 4: Remove the onion and let it drain while you prepare the wet and dry batter. To the buttermilk, add the egg and hot sauce, and whisk to combine. Add the flour, salt, garlic powder, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper to another similarly sized bowl, and whisk to combine.
Step 5: Dip the onion in the wet powder, making sure it coats as many of the “petals” as possible. Then place it in the bowl of the dry batter and do your best to coat the surface of every petal with the dry mixture.
Step 6: Place the blooming onion in the air fryer and spray with avocado oil. Air fry at 350°F for 20 minutes, spray it again and rotate if necessary, then continue to air fry for 15 more minutes.
Step 7: While the blooming onion is in the air fryer, mix together the sauce
Recipe Tip
- Grab a big onion – we used a 1 pound onion for this recipe and it fit perfectly in our Ninja air fryer. If you have a larger air fryer (or smaller onions) feel free to make more than one blooming onion at a time – just be sure there is about an inch of space around each onion.
- Don’t skip the spray oil – spraying the blooming onion before its first spell in the air fryer and again after 20 minutes really helps to nail down the crisp that we all know and love.
- Coat every petal – when battering your onion, be sure to really get in there (gently) and coat each onion petal with both the wet and dry batter.
How to Serve
Serve your blooming onion alongside our blooming onion dipping sauce (recipe included in the recipe card!) at the next party or game day gathering you go to.
How to Store and Reheat
To be really honest, blooming onions are best enjoyed right out of the air fryer. If you happen to have leftovers, though, feel free to store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
To reheat, simply pop the blooming onion back in the air fryer for 5-6 minutes at 350°F. Do know that a reheated blooming onion will not be nearly as crispy as a fresh one, so if you’re making this for a party or gathering, we don’t recommend storing and reheating ahead of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can! If you’re making this recipe in the oven instead of the air fryer, we recommend putting a rack on your baking sheet, setting the blooming onion on that (to keep it from getting soggy on the bottom), and then baking at 375°F for a total of 40 minutes.
There are all sorts of variations when it comes to blooming onion sauce, but a couple of things that they all have in common is the creamy consistency and hint of spice. Our recipe features a creamy mayo and sour cream base along with spices like dill, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.
When it comes to cutting down calories from deep fried food, air fryers do the job really well. Air fryer recipes typically contain about 70% less calories than their deep fried counterparts.
More Favorite Appetizer Recipes
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Air Fryer Blooming Onion Recipe
Ingredients
For the Blooming Onion
- 1 large (about 1 pound) yellow onion*, Vidalia, sweet yellow, or white
- 16 ounces buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons Frank's RedHot Original, or another hot sauce of choice
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Spray avocado oil
For the Dipping Sauce
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dried drill
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Using a small, sharp pairing knife, cut the very center of the onion out (about ½-inch in diameter).
- Turn the onion upside down, trim and long roots (but don't remove the root ball, this will hold the onion together), and then make about 8 slices down the length of the onion.
- Flip over, and gently separate the "petals" with your fingers. Place in a small bowl and pour the buttermilk over the top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to overnight.
- Remove the onion and let it drain while you prepare the wet and dry batters. In the buttermilk, add the eg and hot sauce, and whisk to combine.
- Place the flour, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in another bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Dip the onion in the wet batter, making sure it coats as many of the "petals" as possible. Then place it in the bowl of the dry batter and do your best to coat every petal surface with the dry batter.
- Place in the air fryer and spray with the avocado oil. Cook at 350°F for 20 minutes, spray again and rotate if necessary, then cook for the remaining 15 minutes.
- While the onion cooks, add the dipping sauce ingredients to a bowl and mix together until smooth.
- Serve the blooming onion with the dipping sauce and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Make it gluten free – simply opt for a gluten free all purpose flour blend in place of regular all purpose flour to make this recipe gluten free (that’s what we did!).
- Omit the spice – this recipe really isn’t spicy, but if you are someone who likes to stay on the safe side when it comes to spice, feel free to omit the cayenne pepper in this recipe.
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- Don’t skip the spray oil – spraying the blooming onion before its first spell in the air fryer and again after 20 minutes really helps to nail down the crisp that we all know and love.
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- Coat every petal – when battering your onion, be sure to really get in there (gently) and coat each onion petal with both the wet and dry batter.
Nutrition
This looks great! But how can I make it dairy free? What can I substitute for the buttermilk?