Published Date: September 30, 2022
Category: Air Fryer Appetizers
Crispy, crunchy and full of deliciousness, this Air Fryer Bloomin Onion is the perfect healthy swap to your favorite appetizer when you’re dining out. The best part? It is actually easier to make than you’d think.
Table of Contents
🛒 INGREDIENTS
- Sweet onion
- Flour
- Cornstarch
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Milk
- Panko crumbs
- Chili powder
- Olive oil
*see recipe card for detailed amounts
HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER BLOOMIN ONION
- Use a sharp knife to cut a half inch off the top of the onion. Then peel off all of the papery skin.
- Place the cut side of the onion onto your cutting board so that it is stable. (The root should be facing up.)
- Leave some space by the root as you make a cut all the way down from the root side of the onion down to the cutting board. Do not cut into the root. Begin your cuts just outside of the root.
- Turn the onion ¼ turn and cut through again from near the root down to the cutting board. Turn the onion ¼ turn again and repeat. Turn again ¼ and repeat. You should have 4 evenly spaced cuts from the root side of the onion, all the way down to the cutting board. Again, do not cut into the root, leave it intact.
- Now you will make 4 evenly spaced cuts between each of your 4 cuts. This will give you 16 equal size sections of onion, all attached at the root.
- Flip the onion over (so the root is again at the bottom). Set the onion, root side down, into a large bowl. Allow it to rest this way for 10 minutes, so that the sections spread out a little.
- While the onion is sitting, prepare the batter and panko crumbs.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of flour, ¼ cup cornstarch, 1 Tablespoon paprika, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in 1 cup of milk. Set this aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of panko crumbs and 1 teaspoon seasoning salt. Set this aside.
- Then use your fingers to gently separate and open up the pieces of the onion.
- Pour the batter over the onion. Use a spoon to try to get the batter into all of the spaces and coat the onion completely. Lift the onion with a large slotted spoon (use 2 if you need to) and allow the extra batter to drip off.
- Spoon the panko crumb mixture over the onion, trying to get into every crevice.
- Spray the air fryer basket generously with oil. Set the onion in the air fryer basket, root side down,cut side up.
- Spray the onion with cooking oil.
- Cook the onion for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Spray it again with the oil and cook for another 10 minutes. If you would like it to be darker, continue cooking at 5 minute intervals.
- Use a heavy spatula to remove the bloomin onion from the air fryer.
HELPFUL NOTES:
If you are making more than one, make sure you air fry them only one at a time instead of crowding them all together in the air fryer basket. This will ensure that it is all nice and crispy.
STORAGE AND REHEATING INSTRUCTIONS:
This is best eaten fresh. You may store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, well wrapped, for up to 4 days.
FAQS & SUBSTITUTIONS/VARIATIONS:
One good way to make the bloomin onion more crispy is to give it an extra layer of the breading. You can also enhance the crunchiness by using rice flour instead of cornstarch.
You actually can! While panko breadcrumbs are the preferred choice since they have a much better texture and crunch factor, you can opt for regular breadcrumbs as well.
Your crispy air fryer bloomin onion tastes perfect when served with a nice dipping sauce on the side. You can choose the classics- ranch, ketchup and mustard or experiment with other flavors too.
Try Some of My Other Favorite Air Fryer Recipes
EQUIPMENT
- 1 Air Fryer
- 1 Large Mixing Bowls
- 1 Sharp Knife
- 1 Tin Foil
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pcs Sweet OnionÂ
- 1 cup Flour
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup Panko Crumbs
- 1 tsp Seasoning SaltÂ
- 1 cup Olive oil , (or canola oil), placed into a spray bottle
INSTRUCTIONS
- Use a sharp knife to cut a half inch off the top of the onion. Then peel off all of the papery skin.
- Place the cut side of the onion onto your cutting board so that it is stable. (The root should be facing up.)
- Leave some space by the root as you make a cut all the way down from the root side of the onion down to the cutting board. Do not cut into the root. Begin your cuts just outside of the root.
- Turn the onion ¼ turn and cut through again from near the root down to the cutting board. Turn the onion ¼ turn again and repeat. Turn again ¼ and repeat. You should have 4 evenly spaced cuts from the root side of the onion, all the way down to the cutting board. Again, do not cut into the root, leave it intact.Â
- Now you will make 4 evenly spaced cuts between each of your 4 cuts. This will give you 16 equal size sections of onion, all attached at the root.Â
- Flip the onion over (so the root is again at the bottom). Set the onion, root side down, into a large bowl. Allow it to rest this way for 10 minutes, so that the sections spread out a little.
- While the onion is sitting, prepare the batter and panko crumbs.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of flour, ¼ cup cornstarch, 1 Tablespoon paprika, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in 1 cup of milk. Set this aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of panko crumbs and 1 teaspoon seasoning salt. Set this aside.
- Then use your fingers to gently separate and open up the pieces of the onion.Â
- Pour the batter over the onion. Use a spoon to try to get the batter into all of the spaces and coat the onion completely. Lift the onion with a large slotted spoon (use 2 if you need to) and allow the extra batter to drip off.
- Spoon the panko crumb mixture over the onion, trying to get into every crevice.
- Spray the air fryer basket generously with oil. Set the onion in the air fryer basket, root side down,cut side up.
- Spray the onion with cooking oil.
- Cook the onion for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Spray it again with the oil and cook for another 10 minutes. If you would like it to be darker, continue cooking at 5 minute intervals.
- Use a heavy spatula to remove the bloomin onion from the air fryer.
NOTES
- This is best eaten fresh. You may store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, well wrapped, for up to 4 days.
- I can’t find a sweet onion – what could I use instead? You could use a yellow onion as a substitute if you must.
- Is this blooming onion spicy? It is just a little spicy. If you are concerned, you could leave out the chili powder. And if you prefer spicy, add more, or you could also add a touch of cayenne pepper.
- How should I reheat the leftovers? Put your leftover bloomin onion into the air fryer, root side down. Spray it generously with the oil and heat it at 350 for 5 minutes.  Â
I have an air fryer in my oven, will this work or do I need an actual air fryer?
Author
It should work just fine BUT oven air fryers typically take longer to cook than countertop air fryers because their is more space that needs to be heated so you should cook it based on the recipe time, then check the onion and cook longer until your desired crispiness!
Can I substitute water instead of milk (vegan guests)
Author
You can but the batter might be a bit thinner. You could try adding a bit of corn starch to the water first, mixing it in, then adding the slurry instead of milk!
This is my second time making this recipe. (In the air fryer as im typing this. Lol) And it is delicious. But I also made copy cat outback blooming sauce to go with it. I have been wanting to make one of these for years now. Thank you for the recipe!!
Make it! It’s delicious!
Author
Yay! I’m so glad it turned out well for you! And that copy cat sauce sounds amazing, great idea!
Would you be willing to share your dipping sauce recipe? Thanks!