If you're ready for an awesome, addicting snack these Air Fryer Blooming Onion Petals are it! This tasty take on a blooming onion is perfect for snacking on at parties and game day.
This air fried onion petals recipe comes from many attempts at making a restaurant quality blooming onion in the air fryer. It just ain't happening. No matter what anyone tells you. Making a blooming onion in the air fryer and expecting it to turn out like the one served to you at Outback Steakhouse is like wishing someone would throw a million dollars on your doorstep. It ain't happening!
I am not one to quickly say that some foods aren't meant for an air fryer. So far, a bloomin onion is the only recipe that has repeatedly been an utter failure. So save yourself the trouble (you'll thank me later) and keep the bloomin' onion for the deep fryer and make air fried onion petals instead!
The onion is already sliced and ready to dip. Coating cut onion pieces in a flavorful cornmeal, flour, and buttermilk batter gets the breading to stick to the entire "petal" and a generous spraying of oil before air frying creates a deep golden brown crispy onion. I make them just the way I do my fried pickles and air fried okra, and they are the best!
Air fryer onion petals are so flavorful and addicting that you won't be able to resist eating them all!
Ingredients
This recipe has 2 parts: the onion petals and the dipping sauce.
For the onion and breading:
- Sweet onions: sweet onions are going to give you the best flavor, so avoid yellow or red onions. Vidalia onions are my favorite type of sweet onion!
- Eggs
- Milk + white vinegar: or buttermilk
- All-purpose flour
- Cornmeal
- Cayenne pepper
- Paprika
- Thyme
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Salt
For the dipping sauce:
- Mayonnaise
- Sour cream
- Worcestershire sauce
- Ketchup
- Paprika
- Cayenne pepper
- Salt
- Black pepper
Or use a store bought dip like ranch if you'd prefer not to make the dipping sauce.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Peel and cut the sweet onions into medium-sized wedges, trying to keep the wedges similar in size for even cooking.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Stir well. In another medium sized mixing bowl, combine the milk, white vinegar, and eggs. Mix until blended and smooth.
- Working in batches, coat the onion wedges in the flour and cornmeal mixture. Transfer coated wedges to the milk and egg batter. Stir to thoroughly coat each wedge in the batter. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the wedges back to the cornmeal and flour mixture, shaking off excess liquid. Stir well to coat thoroughly.
- Spray the air fryer basket generously with cooking oil. Transfer the onion wedges to the basket, arranging them in one layer and not touching. Spray generously with cooking oil so each wedge is completely covered in oil.
- Set the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 C) for 12 minutes. Flip the wedges halfway through and spray again with cooking oil. Continue air frying until a deep golden brown, adding more time if needed. Use tongs to carefully remove onion petals from the air fryer to a serving plate.
- While the onion petals are air frying, make the dipping sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small serving bowl and refrigerate until onion petals are ready to serve.
Tips For Getting Perfectly Crisp Onion Petals
- Using a combination of cornmeal and flour is key to getting a flavorful, crispy, fully covered onion wedge! If you only use flour it will not have enough of a "fried" texture to feel like you're eating a real bloomin onion.
- Use enough oil to fully coat the onions after adding to the air fryer basket. The oil is necessary to not just create a deep golden brown color, but to turn the batter crispy just as if it were deep fried.
- Make sure not to stack the wedges and keep them from touching as best you can. This lets them crisp up on all sides evenly.
- Using a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the liquid batter helps you to easily shake off excess batter right through the holes in the spoon.
How Do I Store Air Fried Onion Petals?
If you have any left to store (you probably won't), keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. They can also be frozen in freezer safe storage bags for up to 2 months.
How Can I Reheat Onion Petals?
To regain some crispiness, reheat the fried onions in the air fryer for a few minutes. They can also be reheated directly from frozen or thawed out prior.
Air Fryer Onion Petals
If you're ready for an awesome, addicting snack these Air Fryer Onion Petals are it! This tasty take on an air fried bloomin' onion is perfect for snacking on at parties and game day.
- air fryer
- slotted spoon
- mixing bowls
For Onion Batter
- 2 large sweet onions
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¾ teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 eggs
Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Peel and cut the sweet onions into medium-sized wedges, keeping the wedges similar in size for even cooking. Pull apart the wedges that have more than one onion layer so each wedge becomes a single piece of onion.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the milk, white vinegar, and eggs. Mix until blended and smooth. In another medium sized bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Stir well. *Use ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper for milder breading and ½ teaspoon for a spiced breading.
Working in batches, coat the onion pieces in the flour and cornmeal mixture. Transfer to the milk and egg batter, stirring to thoroughly coat them. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the onion back to the cornmeal and flour mixture, shaking off excess liquid. Stir well to coat thoroughly in the breading.
Spray the air fryer basket generously with cooking oil. Transfer the breaded onions to the basket, arranging them in one layer and not touching. Spray generously with cooking oil so each onion is completely covered in oil.
Set the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204°C) for 12 minutes. Flip the onions halfway through and spray again with cooking oil. Continue air frying until a deep golden brown, increasing the time in 2 minute increments if not done at 12 minutes. Use tongs to carefully remove onion petals from the air fryer to a serving plate.
While the onion petals are air frying, make the dipping sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small serving bowl and refrigerate until onion petals are ready to serve.
Storing: if you have any left to store (you probably won't), keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. They can also be frozen in freezer safe storage bags for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen or after thawing in the air fryer to regain some crispiness.
Pey says
For the sauce, I added a little more ketchup and some horseradish sauce and it tasted just like Outback’s blooming onion sauce! I made the sauce in advance and let it sit in the fridge overnight so the flavors would combine - so good!
Gary M. Roesler says
Recipe calls for milk/egg batter - "Transfer wedges to the milk and egg batter, stirring to thoroughly coat them" but does not give ingredients needed for this batter. Not wanting to wing it, can you please provide full directions?
Gary
Kristina says
Gary- my apologies, the amount of egg and milk are in the ingredient list now. Enjoy them!