Air Fryer Blooming Onion Recipe
Air Fryer Blooming Onion Recipe or a Sweet Vidalia Onion Blossom is a quick and easy recipe using a whole onion to create the best crunchy, crispy breaded appetizer. Dip the onion petals in a zesty dipping sauce.
Servings 4
Calories 219kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet onion I used Vidalia
- 1 -1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour I used about 1 cup of flour, you may need more or less depending on the size of your onion.
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup milk I used 2%.
- cooking oil
Blooming Onion Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 teaspoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon horseradish
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut off the pointy stem of the onion leaving the root end intact. Peel the onion and place it cut side down. The root end of the onion should be facing up.
- Starting 1/2 an inch from the root end, cut downward to make 4 evenly spaced cuts. In each section, make 3 additional cuts. There should be 16 cuts in the onion. This recipe includes a video that shows exactly how to cut the onion.
- Turn the onion over and fluff out the "petals."
- Place the flour in a bowl with the garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the milk and eggs to a separate bowl and stir.
- Place the onion in the flour mixture and dredge completely. Use a spoon to get into every area of the onion.
- Next dip the onion in the milk and egg batter. Use a spoon or cooking brush to ensure it is fully coated.
- Return the onion to the flour mixture again and cover completely.
- Wrap the onion in foil and freeze for 45 minutes.
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil or use air fryer parchment paper. Unwrap the onion and spray it with cooking oil. Focus on the spots with white flour. Spray them with oil and also remove any excess wet batter from the onion.
- Cook for 10 minutes on 400 degrees.
- Open the air fryer and spray any white areas with cooking oil. Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until crisp.
Blooming Onion Dipping Sauce
- Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Stir and mix well.
Video
Notes
After placing the onion in the freezer, be sure to remove any excess liquid breading.
It's important to fluff out the petals of the onion really wide and spray the onion completely so that it crisps up. If your onion isn't widened, it will be hard to get the inner areas to crisp up.
If you cut the onion too close to the root, it will fall apart.
To make the best dipping sauce to your liking, decide if you like it to have more of a horseradish taste, more ketchup taste, or do you want something that is more mild, and a light combo of the two?
The dipping sauce recipe doesn't have a bold horseradish taste, so if that's what you're going for, use 2 tablespoons of horseradish, as opposed to 1.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g