Air Fryer Blooming Onion

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Air Fryer Blooming Onion. How to make a delicious fail safe and easy blooming onion in an air fryer.

If you have ever wanted to make a delicious air fryer blooming onion and are anxious that it is going to go wrong, then let me introduce to my fool proof version of an air fryer blooming onion.

Incredibly easy to prep and make and perfect for adding to your favourite air fryer appetizers list.

Air Fryer Blooming Onion
Air Fryer Blooming Onion

Air Fryer Blooming Onion

Living in Portugal and having never heard of Outback Steakhouse, I was intrigued when my cousin first mentioned cooking blooming onion in the air fryer to me a few years ago.

She was sent a free air fryer on my behalf and was in the middle of reviewing it. She had never owned an air fryer before this point and tried an air fryer blooming onion and air fryer fried chicken.

She reported back that both was absolute failures and that she was giving the air fryer away.

Because I was on the other side of the ocean to her, I couldn’t tell if the air fryer was faulty, if she didn’t get air fryer cooking or if she had just followed a bad recipe.

After all, I do see so many people complaining about poor air fryer recipes and thanking me for making air fryer cooking so easy.

But in the back of my mind even after a few years since my cousin got to try one out, I was intrigued by a blooming onion. I wanted to know what it was and how good it was in the air fryer.

So that became my mission and with the help of Dominic (its nice to have a chef by your side) we set to work, creating a simple recipe that our readers could follow for air fryer blooming onion.

I love this blooming onion recipe and if you want to recreate a blooming onion like outback steakhouse at home, then this is it!

Can You Air Fry A Blooming Onion?

Absolutely! An air fryer blooming onion is the perfect use of an air fryer. Whether you refer to it as an air fryer blooming onion or an air fryer onion blossom it is quick and easy to cook in the air fryer.

Prep for an air fryer blooming onion is FAST and its one of those air fryer recipes when the texture and taste reminds you of deep fried food and you can’t believe that this is a healthier option.

Air Fryer Blooming Onion Healthy

I am sure there are some people reading our blooming onion air fryer recipe and being happy that it is less calories than deep fried. But I know others will be wanting to make it even healthier.

If that is YOU and you want to turn it into something super healthy or you follow Paleo and want a Paleo blooming onion then I recommend this EASY change:

Swapping our supermarket bought regular breadcrumbs for paleo breadcrumbs or making breadcrumbs from our bread maker gluten free bread rolls. That is all you need to do.

Of course, we recommend adding cheese to our air fryer blooming onion too and you can just ignore this step.

The recipe for your blooming onion already uses a healthy flour, so its relatively easy to make super healthy.

Air Fryer Blooming Onion Panko

Would you like a panko version of the air fryer blooming onion? If so, instead of the traditional breadcrumbs use panko breadcrumbs instead.

Here in the Milner house we normally use our bread leftovers for breadcrumbs. We always have a bag of breadcrumbs in the freezer and then grab some as we need them.

But in todays air fryer blooming onion I was out of breadcrumbs and my blender had just broke, so I used some supermarket breadcrumbs, which would be very similar to making a blooming onion from panko.   

Air Fryer Blooming Onion Batter

When making an air fryer blooming onion it is all about the batter. If your blooming onion batter is good, then your air fryer blooming onion will be tasty and crispy too.

With a regular batter, like what we use in our air fryer onion rings, it is about egg that is beaten and has seasonings added to it.

But when you make a blooming onion it is the same as the filling of an air fryer quiche which is egg and milk mixed.

Add to this that the breadcrumbs are heavily seasoned, and you have the perfect batter.

What Ingredients & Gadgets Go Into Air Fryer Blooming Onion?

There are 6 main ingredients that go into air fryer blooming onion:

I would recommend before making your air fryer blooming onion that you have a good air fryer or an air fryer with a non-stick basket.

That is because there are so many cheap brands of air fryers, that are just not very good and air fryers that are not non-stick.

Though if you follow a gluten free diet you can use Paleo bread and make it into breadcrumbs.

I also recommend some silver foil, as you will need to wrap up your onion blossom prior to cooking so that it can stiffen up with its batter prior to cooking.

More Blooming Onion Questions

  • What is a Blooming Onion? It is a large whole onion that is cut to resemble the shape of a blooming flower. It is deep fried and a tasty batter and served as an appetizer.
  • How Unhealthy is The Outback Steakhouse Blooming Onion? If you went to Outback and ordered a blooming onion, you would be looking at almost 2000 calories and over 150 grams of fat. I am sure you can understand now, why so many people air fry them!
  • How Many Onions Are In A Blooming Onion? Just one large whole onion. Though you could chop up a whole onion and make lots of cute little air fryer blooming onions.
101 air fryer recipes bundle

How Do You Cut An Onion Into A Blooming Onion?

air fryer blooming onion flower

Peel your whole white onion and with a sharp knife and cut the tip off one side of the onion. This is important as it will keep the onion balanced and easier to cut and prepare. Plus, it will stop it falling over when you are eating it.

Leave the root of the onion on and place the onion with the root side up and cut side down.

Then make 4 similar cuts a quarter apart around the onion, making sure you leave a space of approximately 2cms from the root.

You don’t want to go any closer to the root than this as it will cause the onion to fall apart and you won’t be able to make an onion blossom.

Then do the same again but making 3 cuts in between the 4 cuts, until you have several cuts around the onion.

Once you have done this you can pull out the onion layers to make onion petals like a flower.

Now it is like any other food that you want to batter, and you just need to add your batter to the onion.

The chopping of the onion into a blooming onion is the hard part, so once you have done this you can give yourself a pat on the back!

How Long To Air Fry Blooming Onion?

The cooking time for air fryer blooming onion is JUST 20 minutes. As well as this you need to consider the time that the blooming onion is in the freezer prior to cooking.

I recommend for the freezer between 30 minutes and an hour so that the batter can thoroughly stick to the whole onion.

Blooming Onion Air Fryer Temp?

The best temperature for an air fryer blooming onion is starting it off on high and finishing it on medium. Start with a 10-minute-high heat blast which will help crisp the batter onto the whole onion.

Then finish it off with the same time again at a medium temperature. This will make sure the onion itself is cooked and will make it perfect for eating.

Reheating Blooming Onion In The Air Fryer

Place your already cooked blooming onion back in the air fryer. Lightly spray with extra virgin olive oil as this will help your blooming onion crisp up again.

Air fry your blooming onion in the air fryer basket for 5 minutes at 180c/360f. You don’t have to cook it at a higher temperature than this because your blooming onion is already cooked, and you are simply reheating it.

Making Blooming Onion In Air Fryer

Air Fryer Blooming Onion step by step
  1. Cut your onion into a blooming onion. See our instructions above for how to do this if you have not done it before.
  2. Place your eggs and milk in one bowl and mix with a fork until the eggs are beaten. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. In a second bowl place your oat flour along with garlic powder and your first lot of paprika and mix.
  4. In a third bowl add breadcrumbs with the rest of the seasonings. Mix well.
  5. Submerge the whole onion into the oat flour bowl, into the egg mixture and finally into the breadcrumbs until it has received a good coating of each.
  6. Place the onion inside silver foil and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, but not longer than an hour.
  7. After it has been in the freezer remove and discard the silver foil.
  8. Place it in the air fryer and give it a spray with extra virgin olive oil. Especially on the areas that lack breadcrumbs where any has fallen off as it will help with the crisping process.
  9. Cook in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 200c/400f followed by a further 10 minutes at 180c/360f.
  10. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.

What To Serve With Your Air Fryer Blooming Onion?

Here at Recipe This we want to eat our blooming onion with other amazing air fryer appetizers. Then we can make a night of it and enjoy some delicious finger food while enjoying some family time.

Here are a few suggestions of what to serve with your blooming onion:

  • Air Fryer Onion Rings – Here at Recipe This we love to make homemade onion rings in the air fryer. Very similar to a blooming onion so easy to prep both at the same time.
  • Air Fryer Cheesy Pull Apart Bread – A favourite in the Milner house, but something we always say we should eat more of. It makes a fantastic centre piece on your dining table and perfect for entertaining.
  • Air Fryer Homemade Mozzarella Sticks – Even though we love quick frozen mozzarella sticks in the air fryer, it is a wonderful fun alternative making your own.
  • Air Fryer Hamburgers – I love burgers when I am having a fast food night in the air fryer. These hamburgers are easy to prep, and you can cook them in any air fryer.
Air Fryer Blooming Onion

Air Fryer Blooming Onion

Air Fryer Blooming Onion. How to make a delicious fail safe and easy blooming onion in an air fryer.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Air Fryer
Servings: 2
Calories: 874kcal

Ingredients

Kitchen Gadgets:

Air Fryer Onion Rings Recipe Ingredients:

Instructions

  • Cut your onion into a blooming onion. See our instructions above for how to do this if you have not done it before.
  • Place your eggs and milk in one bowl and mix with a fork until the eggs are beaten. Season with salt and pepper.
  • In a second bowl place your oat flour along with garlic powder and your first lot of paprika and mix.
  • In a third bowl add breadcrumbs with the rest of the seasonings. Mix well.
  • Submerge the whole onion into the oat flour bowl, into the egg mixture and finally into the breadcrumbs until it has received a good coating of each.
  • Place the onion inside silver foil and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, but not longer than an hour.
  • After it has been in the freezer remove and discard the silver foil.
  • Place it in the air fryer and give it a spray with extra virgin olive oil. Especially on the areas that lack breadcrumbs where any has fallen off as it will help with the crisping process.
  • Cook in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 200c/400f followed by a further 10 minutes at 180c/360f.
  • Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.

Notes

If you would like a parmesan crust, add grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs.
Using the extra virgin olive oil to spray the blooming onion will help make it nice and crispy.

Nutrition

Calories: 874kcal | Carbohydrates: 101g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 187mg | Sodium: 2164mg | Potassium: 737mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 4256IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 648mg | Iron: 9mg
Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Air Fryer Blooming Onion recipe

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Recipe This

Hi! I am Sam and along with my chef hubby Dom we love sharing with you easy everyday recipes using kitchen gadgets. We are also the authors of The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook, an amazing air fryer cookbook filled with 140+ everyday air fryer recipes. Beyond the air fryer we also love the instant pot, slow cooker, soup maker, ninja foodi, pie marker and several other kitchen gadgets. CLICKING HERE →

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