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
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https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Dave
There’s a typo in the section on preparing the onion and I totally misunderstood. “Cut a small flat spot on the none root end of the onion.” I think you mean non-root and my brain skipped over “none”. Fortunately, I caught on in time.
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the heads up! I will correct it.
Winston Byrd
You should tell your readers that the onion needs to weigh Over 1 pound. How the stores know. You call them medium. I’d say 1 pound is Large, but that’s just me…
Beth Pierce
Thanks for heads up!
Linda
Why do they need to weigh 1 lb? Will they not sink in order to fry evenly? I have a bag of small Vidalia onions I was going to use but now I am not so sure…..they only weigh 4-6 ounces each according to my food scale.
Beth Pierce
You can use smaller onions. They will not fan out as much as the bigger ones but they will still be good. I don’t know why Winston said that.
LINDA L FULSCHER
Can you bake these?
Beth Pierce
No sorry! They just will not be near as good
Nicholas
Can I use a Fry Daddy?
Beth Pierce
Yes you sure can!
Quincella Mitchell
So yummy! I searched and read several blooming onion recipes. I decided to try this one. Happy that I did. The coating on the onion and the sauce were to tasty. I was a little concerned about the amount of cumin so I only used 2 teaspoons instead of the tablespoon. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly. It’s a keeper. Will definitely make again!
Joy
Thanks! Excellent sauce and great step by step user friendly instructions. Taste just like it was prepared at the Resturant that’s famous for blooming onions😋 I did much better frying the second onion. It’s a bit tricky getting the entire onion crisp from top to inner bottom.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Joy! So glad that you liked it and happy that you were persistent in the getting the onion crispy.
Jacqie Freund
Thank you for the detailed and simple to follow instructions! Well written and so good!
Dannii
I have always wanted to try one of these. They look delicious, so I am definitely going to give it a try.
Angela
Oh my goodness! This is so delicious. The perfect appetizer ever and I love that I can make it at home. YUM!
Marie-Charlotte Chatelain
I will make that amazing dipping sauce to go with some portabello fries! It sounds so perfect! I cannot have onions as they make my belly really upset but the sauce is a must!
Dannii
I have always wanted to try this, as it looks super impressive. I can’t wait to try.