These easy Blooming Onions are double-coated with a flavorful breading and deep-fried to golden perfection. They are much better than Outbacks and so easy to make at home.
Be sure to try the tasty dipping sauce. Try them with yum yum sauce, boom boom sauce, or comeback sauce for a change of pace.
Now, you can make your own Blooming Onion right in the confines of your kitchen at your convenience. If you like onion rings or onion straws, you will surely love these crispy onions. Make the dipping sauce up to two days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Mayonnaise: I like Duke’s
- Sour cream: full-fat is best for flavor
- Horseradish: the creamy kind
- Ketchup: you can use sugar-free or organic.
- Seasonings: paprika, garlic powder, ground cayenne pepper, ground cumin, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Eggs: large ones, please
- Milk: whole or 2%
- Onions: sweet yellow or Vidalia onions. Both are great for sweetness and texture.
- Vegetable oil: canola oil or sunflower oil
How To Make A Blooming Onion
This is the summary version; see the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and the instructions.
Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, ketchup, paprika, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Chill this while you prepare the onions.
Start by cutting the onions. Cut a small, flat spot on the non-root end of the onion. Remove any dried or damaged peels. Place the onion flat side down on a cutting board (root side up).
Cut the onion into quarter sections using a sharp knife, staying about 1/2 inch from the root, as you want the onion to stay connected. Cut each of those quarter sections into three or four equal sections. Turn the onion root side down and gently fan out those sections.
Set up your breading stations and bread the onions. First, coat the onions with the flour mixture, dunk them in the egg mixture, and then back in the flour mixture.
Heat the oil to 350-375 degrees and carefully place the onion root side up in the hot oil. Fry for about 7-10 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Remove the onion to paper towels to drain.
Preparation Tips
- If available, use sweet Vidalia Onions.
- Try to maintain a consistent fry temperature of 375 degrees. Use a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Dutch ovens are good heavy pans for frying. Because of their thickness, they maintain and hold heat well.
- If you have a deep fryer that is big enough, use it.
- Make the sauce up to two days before and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Serve these fried onions promptly while they are warm and crisp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Preheat an air fryer to 350 degrees. Place the breaded onion in the air fryer, root side down, and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
The best way to reheat them is in the air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees and reheat for about 6 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover the onions with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden brown.
More Appetizers
Blooming Onion Recipe
Ingredients
Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons creamy horseradish
- 1 ½ tablespoons ketchup
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Blooming Onions
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 medium sweet onions
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, ketchup, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.
- Whisk egg and milk in a bowl wide and deep enough to dunk the onion.
- Mix flour, paprika, cumin, dried oregano, thyme, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl wide enough to fit the onion.
- Cut a small, flat pot on the non-root end of the onion. Remove any dried or damaged peels. Place the onion flat side down on a cutting board (root side up).
- Using a sharp knife, cut the onion into quarter sections, staying about 1/2 inch from the root, as you want the onion to stay connected. Cut each of those quarter sections into three or four equal sections. Turn the onion root side down and gently fan out those sections.
- Using your hands, coat the onion with the flour mixture, carefully spreading and separating it to ensure it all gets breaded. Dunk the onion into the egg mixture. Then, back into the flour mixture using your hands to coat the onion.
- Heat oil in a heavy pan to 375 degrees. You will need just enough oil to cover the onion. Fry the onions root side up for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
- Serve promptly with the dipping sauce.
Video
Notes
- If available, use sweet Vidalia Onions.
- Try to maintain a consistent fry temperature of 375 degrees. Use a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Dutch ovens are good heavy pans for frying. Because of their thickness, they maintain and hold heat well.
- If you have a deep fryer that is big enough, use it.
- The sauce can be made up to two days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- These fried onions are best served promptly while they are warm and crisp.
Nutrition
Are you on the hunt for more delicious recipes? Follow Small Town Woman on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
These blooming onions look absolutely amazing – might have to whip up some for the whole family!
Emily Liao
This was so much easier to make than I though! So crispy and delicious.
Rika
What a great recipe! I can’t wait to make it for the weekend! Can’t get enough of it!
Chrissy
Could you make these in an air fryer instead of deep frying them?
Beth Pierce
Yes you can. They will not be as crispy as deep frying but a lot healthier for you!!
Stephanie
Yum, yum, yum! This was amazing! Such a great recipe.
April
I love love LOVE blooming onions, but I’ve always been afraid to try making them myself…..which is probably a good thing, because I would want to eat them nonstop, lol.
You make it look easy though, so I think I’ll give it a try this weekend! I’m excited!
Erin
This is so good! It has always been a favorite and so glad I can make it at home now.
Exotic Fruit
Could you please clarify something?
Is there an egg in the buttermilk mixture?
There is no egg in the list of ingredients in the recipe, however,
in the “make ahead” instructions, you mention an egg mixture.
Also, if made ahead, are they fried from the frozen state?
Thank you.
Beth Pierce
Are you referring to my Baby Blooming Onions Recipe? There is an egg listed in the ingredients and it is whisked in with milk.
LM
A restaurant near me used to make pepper rings too – think I’ll try this on both.
Beth Pierce
Sounds delicious!!
Phillip
as Patti suggests soak the cut onion in warm(?) water to aid the petal spread (don’t know what happened when I went to find out who suggested the water soak) OK, 8 sections instead of 12 but super easy to do. (I like super easy.)
Phillip
I totally destroyed a keyboard with drool over this one! A moment of serendipity, I needed some onion to throw into a recipe and there in the sink was one of those apple sectioner/corer gadgets. Humm, says I. Thump. Did not quite cut all the way through the onion but there was a mini-blooming onion right before my eyes! Wow! How can I put this discovery to use? Well, right here in THIS recipe! I would take care to not cut the onion all the way through and I would
Heike Werlinger
Can you make those in an air-fryer. I just bought one and was hoping I could try these.
bpierce
I am sorry I can not answer that. I have never used an air fryer. Never even heard of them until now!! 🙂
Lane
Yes you can..I made a large one, delicious, never thought to make small ones. Almost didn’t want to do it again just to much. Now I will. I had no recipe for it. Just try about 5 min open up, if not done just put it back in. Easy. Was so crispy.
Lynn
Yes you can
Faust
yes, you can! Just preheat air fryer to 400 degrees. 😀 cook for about 10 min
Marjorie Jugan
i am going t trythis for the super bowl we always have appys to eat. i will deep fry this in my deep fryer too.
bpierce
Sounds like a plan. Happy cooking!
Patti
Soak the onions in water to get them to spread easily
bpierce
Thanks for the heads up. We always appreciate helpful food tips.
Sarah Bowser
Do you soak them before you cut them or after?
Gigi
Before love, for 2hours up to fully overnight, even. It helps.:)
Bev
I love these. Thank you so much for reminding us that we don’t always t\have to make the large ones only.
bpierce
Me too! I need to eat things in small portions. LOL!
Pamela Rexius
Going to try this but I am also going to use the same dipping proceedure to prep the larger garlic cloves on a toohpick and fry those also. When cloves are cooked they get sweet and creamy as well as fresh chicken nuggets on toothpicks and fry. Serve at game day. Have variety of dips and honey for the nuggets.
Beth Pierce
Those are all wonderful ideas Pamela! Thanks for sharing those with us!
Jackie Hamm
I love this.
bpierce
Thanks for the compliment! It makes me very happy!