Bite-Sized Blooming Onions
We are skipping our annual deep fry party this year just because we don’t have a great free weekend to do it thanks to a massive yard project!
I love the party though so I might try to squeeze it into the fall… I’ve had these little guys floating around in my brain for a while now and thought I would try them at the deep fry party this year. Since it got postponed I figured I would just try them for the blog.
These bite-sized blooming onions turned out being one of those lucky recipes where I kept thinking a step would go wrong, but they all worked! It’s amazing when that happens. It means these were a huge success on the first try!
Sure, I’ll admit that they are a bit of work, but I actually liked them more than the full-sized version. Each bite has a crispier crust and there’s no fighting for pieces of the onion. There’s also no weird wilted leftovers on a plate! The work is worth it, people. Bite-sized is better.
Bite-Sized Blooming Onions
These are the perfect smaller version of the larger popular appetizer! Easy to eat and perfect for a party!
Ingredients
Onion Dip:
Helpful Equipment
Directions
1) Prep onions by slicing off the root end. Slice off as little as possible. Carefully peel onions. Use a sharp knife to cut the onion into eighths, vertically, being careful not to cut all the way through the onion so it stays together. I think it’s best to leave what was the tip end intact.
2) After you slice each onion, press on it gently to separate the sections. Toss all the prepped onions in the buttermilk and egg mixture. Let them sit for at least 5-10 minutes to soak. You could also prep the onions in advance and let them marinate overnight.
3) Stir together flour with paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne. Remove onions from buttermilk mixture and dust heavily with flour mixture. Be sure to get it in all the cracks of the onions so they “bloom” a bit as they fry. Move coated onions to a clean plate.
4) Heat frying oil to 350 degrees F. Fry bite-sized onions for about 4 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove onions and let drain for a minute. Serve while hot with dipping sauce!
Bite-Sized Blooming Onions
Prepping the Onions
The first part of this is making sure you buy the right onions! You can’t use frozen onions or pearl onions. They are a bit too small. You need these cipollini onions. You can usually find them by the pound in most supermarkets near the onions!
What you need
Normally, when you make a large blooming onion you want to leave the root on to keep the whole thing together. I was torn here because I wanted the onions to stay together but also wanted to be able to eat it in one bite and not have to worry about the root. I decided to try cutting off the root and see how it goes.
It turns out you can do this! Trim off just enough to get rid of the dirty root, but keep as much as possible intact. Instead, leave the tip end intact! Then just peel the onion with a sharp paring knife or you fingers.
Peeled
Next, slice into the onion to make sections (like in the full sized version). If you slice into what used to be the root section, the tip section will keep the onion together. This wouldn’t work with a full-sized onion, but works fine with the little ones. Just be careful not to cut all the way through. A sharp knife helps!
Careful!
Real talk: This is a pretty annoying prep. I put on some tunes though and worked through two pounds of onions in about 15 minutes. They go fast once you get the hang of it.
Once each onion is cut into sections, press on them a bit to separate the sections.
Nice.
Flour and Fry
Make sure you spice up your flour mix!
The mix.
Also you can make the dipping sauce in advance. It’s a simple version and feel free to make it your own! Taste and adjust. You know the deal.
Quick dip
When your onions are prepped, add them to a mixture of egg and buttermilk. This will take some of the bite out of the onions and also make sure lots of flour can stick to them. You could prep these in advance and let them sit in this mixture overnight if that’s easier.
Soak it up.
I did a test onion just to make sure this whole process would work. It turned out better than expected. Perfectly fried with tiny sections even!
Test run!
Now it’s time to scale up! You can dip the drained onions in the flour, but take time to work flour into each onion so there is some in the cracks. That’s what will help the onions “bloom” while it fries. If you just coat the outside of the onion you’ll have something edible, but not as cool.
Get in there with the breading.
Once you have all your onions prepped and floured, heat your frying oil to 350 degrees F. and drop them in! About 4 minutes should do the trick.
Fried perfection
How cool are these?!
A little bit of work, for sure, but who doesn’t love the idea of bite-sized blooming onions?!
32 comments on “Bite-Sized Blooming Onions”
I cannot wait to try these. Sound so yummy
Worth every second, these are awesome!
Holy cow, these are stinking adorable. And they look totally irresistible. Can’t wait to try them!!
These are totally bomb! I hate frying food at home, but I will do it just for these onions. :)
What a fantastic idea!!! I love it & these will be served at my next party! Won’t have to be concerned with double dipping with these little jewels set in there own little cups with dipping sauce. Thanks for the GREAT idea.
Can this be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven prior to party time?
Hey Kay, to be honest they are best right out of the flyer obviously. You could make them in advance though and reheat them in a low oven (250 degrees F.) until they are warm!
Do you think you coujd air fry these instead of deep frying? I know the commercials for air fryers say you can make a regular blooming onion in an air fryer.
Hey Noreen, I can’t say I’ve tried that, but if you can do a normal blooming onion, these should work fine! Good luck!
Any alternative way of frying other than a deep fryer? I don’t own one :/
Hey Brandee, you don’t need one. You can just heat a quart of oil in a large pot until it’s 350 (use a thermometer!) and then dunk them in. I fried stuff like that all the time before I got my deep fryer. Just keep a close eye on it. :) Good luck!
What fryer do you use?
What?? All that work and you don’t even get a great dipping sauce recipe! Eh, me thinks not.
Sorry, my bad…found the dipping sauce recipe!
Cannot find this type of onion, would a baby bold onion work? Or do you have another suggestion. Can’t wait to make them, them look fantastic
Love the images and can’t wait to try these for myself and family!
These look awesome, can wait to try. I would like to hear more and see pics of the “fry parties” it sounds like fun and something I would love to do.
Can these be baked at a higher temp dor those trying to not fry ?
I’ve never tried baking them TW. I think they need the direct high heat from the fryer though. I worry they would just get mussy in the oven. :(
Can you use an air fryer to do this??
Never tried it! I’ve always just used a traditional fryer for them… if you give it a shot, report back. :) Thanks and good luck!
They are easy and quick to make. I will definitely try this recipe. Can I use corn flour instead of all-purpose flour?
Heya! Haven’t tried it but I think it would work fine! Good luck!
Wow! that looks delicious. Can’t wait to try the recipe. Just a quick question, what if the onion is kept in the mixture for around 4 hours and not overnight?
Should work fine! Good luck!
These look Fantastic! I can not wait to make them!
I always try to have appetizers to each meal that I cook. And I also love to order them in restaurants and cafes. However, I always aim for onions – just like these! I love this recipe because it reminds me of my favorite appetizer I used to have many many years ago. Thank you!
Nope..couldn’t find the right onions,,,even after a trip to a green grocery and Whole Foods and a trip to Trader Joe’s.. Did someone say seasonal? PS, you are not gonna find it. And you shouldn’t. We c
Even though we made mini blooming onions with not exactly seasonally produced we were so so satisfied. . They were GREAT,
Is there a way to make them in the Air Fryer?
Cooking is an art. Thank you for your great recipes. It’ s so good.
Could you use Panko crumbs instead of flour? That would make the really crispy I would think.
Oh my! Love this! My hub’s garden produced early small WallaWalla Sweets. I made one small change (no offense, I tweek everything), rolled cut onions in flour mixture before rolling in egg, and final flour mixture. Fried in air fryer, spraying rack and tops of onions…turned about five minutes in and sprayed again, kept in air fryer until golden brown all over. WILL repeat again and again. Thanks Nick, this is a five star KEEPER!