Blooming Onion in the Air Fryer

The Best Bloomin Onion in the Air Fryer

Have you tried Outback Steakhouse’s bloomin onion before? If you are a fan of fried onions, just wait until you try this bloomin onion in the air fryer. Not only is it incredibly healthier than what you would get at Outback, but it tastes just as a good too! You are going to love this recipe!

Follow along with me in this video to make this recipe, or continue below for the written instructions!

What You Need to Make a Healthier Bloomin Onion in the Air Fryer

For this recipe, you need three different parts. The onion, the breading mixture, and the dipping sauce. I will explain the dipping sauce in different section below.

As for the onion, you want to choose a large sized sweet onion. Do a sweet onion instead of your standard yellow onion… it will taste so much better!

Choose any size of onion that you want. However, you may need to adjust the cooking time and the amounts of the breading mixture.

For the breading mixture, you need:

• 1 to 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• And about 1 cup of panko crumbs for the final breading step

Then for your liquid you’ll need:

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

How to Make Fry an Onion in the Air Fryer

The first step is to prep your onion! Cut off the top portion of the onion. Carefully peel back the outer skin of the onion and trim off the roots, if needed.

Place the flat cut side of the onion downward… your root side (bottom side) should be up. The simply cut straight through from top to bottom working around the center of the onion. I found it easier to make four quarter cuts, then I cut 3-4 times in each quarter section. You will likely end with approximately 16-20 sections. The thinner they are, the faster they will cook.

Open your onion carefully to separate the petals. One way to help with this process is to soak the onion in ice cold water. I like to do this while I make my dredge and set up the stations.

Make up the dredge using the flour and spices. Then in another bowl, make up your soak… I use buttermilk, but you could use regular milk if you don’t have any. Whisk it with two eggs and then add about 1/4 cup of the dry mix to the milk mixture and whisk it until smooth.

The last part of the station is your 1 cup of panko crumbs. I like to spread this out on a plate and then mist some avocado oil over the top and stir it around… it will help with the crunchiness factor!

When your stations are ready, pull the onion out of the ice water mixture and let it drain on a paper towel for a minute. Then it’s time to drop it into the flour mixture.

Use your hands or a spoon (I like to wear gloves for this part), pour the flour all over the onions, working to get the flour in between all the petals.

Then drop it into the milk mixture and ensure you get the buttermilk down in all the cracks and crevices. The place the onion back into the flour bowl (most of the flour will be gone at this point) and pour the panko crumb mixture over the top of the onion and work those crumbs around all the petals.

How to Air Fry a Bloomin Onion

Once your onion is prepped and ready, you can line the air fryer basket with a piece of parchment paper OR, make a foil sling to make it super easy to pull your bloomin onion out of the basket when it’s done.

Place the onion inside the air fryer basket and spray with oil. I am currently loving this healthy oil sprayer. Not only is it healthier and better for my body, it’s better for the air fryer basket too!

Then carefully cover the top of the onion with some foil. I tuck two of the sides down under the onion, and leave the other sides open for air flow. This ensures the top of your onions won’t burn!

Air Fry at 370°F/187°C for 15 minutes. Then take off the foil and give it another 3-5 minutes of cooking time. Since all air fryer models are different AND onion sizes are different, you may need to add more time to get your onions cooked to your liking (by the way, this is my FAVORITE Air Fryer!)

Once the onion is cooked,  lift it out of the air fryer (easy to do with the foil sling…. see my video for a demonstration) and serve warm with some amazing dipping sauce! I have a wonderful recipe for you below!

Creamy Dipping Sauce with Bloomin Onion

You will fall in love with this creamy and delicious dipping sauce. While the onion is cooking you can quickly whip together this sauce. For the sauce, you will need:

• 2 tablespoon sour cream
• 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon creamy horseradish
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

In a small bowl, add all the ingredients together. Using a whisk, spoon, or fork, mix together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

I love how easy and simple this sauce is. It is such a powerful flavor that tastes so good with the air fryer blooming onion. Feel free to experiment with other of your favorite fried onion dipping sauces! Let me know in the comments below what your favorite sauce is!

Final Thoughts

This recipe is so easy and fun! It is perfect for parties, whether it’s a football party, family get-together, or celebrating a special event in someone’s life (like graduation or an anniversary), this bloomin onion will be a hit for all the fried onion lovers out there! Share with us how this recipe went for you, and what you loved about it in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by. Check out more of our air fryer party recipes that will be a hit!

• How to Make Popcorn in the Air Fryer
• Easiest Air Fryer Fried Oreos
• Simple Air Fryer Apple Chips
• Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp with Piña Colada Dipping Sauce

I want to help you use your air fryer, check out these guides so you don’t make the same mistakes that I have!

• How to Cook Any Recipe in the Air Fryer
• How to Use an Air Fryer: Everything You Need to Know
• The Best and Worst Air Fryer Accessories
• How to Clean Your Air Fryer

Blooming Onion in the Air Fryer

Tastier and healthier blooming onion in the air fryer with a creamy dipping sauce that everyone will love!

4.20 / 5 ( 10 Reviews )

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes minutes

Serves: 4

Adjust Servings: 4

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Air Fryer

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet onion

Onion Breading

• 1 to 1 ½ cups flour depending on the size of your onion
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup panko crumbs

Liquid Dredge

• 2 eggs
• ¾ - 1 cup buttermilk

Dipping Sauce

• 2 tablespoon sour cream
• 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon creamy horseradish
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• ½ teaspoon sriracha sauce
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon paprika

Instructions

Prepare the onion:

• Cut off the top portion of the onion and peel back the outer skin.
• Flip the onion over and trim off the roots, if needed.
• With the bottom side up, cut straight through from top to bottom working around the center of the onion. You should end with approximately 16-20 sections.
• Soak onion in ice water while you make up the mixtures.

For the onion breading:

• Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
• In another medium bowl combine the eggs and milk until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the flour mixture to the milk mixture and whisk until smooth.
• On a large plate, place 1 cup panko crumbs and lightly spray with oil of your choice.
• Remove onion from the ice water and let it drain for a minute.
• Coat the onion in the flour mixture making sure to get flour in between onion petals.
• Then soak the onion in the milk mixture, again opening petals to ensure milk gets the flour mixture dry.
• Then place onion back into flour bowl and pour panko crumb mixture over the top of the onion, working to get crumbs between each onion petal.

Cook in the air fryer:

• Make a foil sling by folding some foil into a somewhat narrow strip and making two handles at the end of the foil.
• Place the onion inside the air fryer basket, on top of the foil sling and spray with oil.
• Cover with foil, securing two sides under the onion and leaving the other two sides open for air flow.
• Air Fry at 370°F/187°C for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and then cook for 3-5 minutes more, depending on the size of your onion and your air fryer wattage. The final result should be nice and toasty with just some light charring on the ends of your onion.
• Lift the foil sling handles and place onion on your serving platter and enjoy with dipping sauce.

For the dipping sauce:

• Mix all ingredients for the dipping sauce.
• Refrigerate until ready to enjoy.

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 14g | Sodium: 1242mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 15g