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Baked Blooming Onion

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Baked Blooming Onion | gimmesomeoven.com

One of my favorite memories with my grandma back in the day was going to dinner at Chili’s. My mom would order a salad, my sister would order chicken fingers, and my grandma and my dad and I would all order the baby back ribs, which inevitably brought on a rendition of everyone singing the famous jingle (with bar-be-que sauce!).

But before we dove into our messy main courses, every now and then we would treat ourselves to their famous “awesome blossom”. Or as other restaurants call it, a blooming onion. I found out later that this deep-fried onion topped the charts at the time for the most unhealthy thing you could order at the restaurant, but boy was it good!!! We all loved dipping those onion petals in that heavenly sauce — so much so, that we were often completely full before our entrees arrived! Oh, to have the metabolism of a kid. :)

I admit I haven’t had a blooming onion in at least a decade. But when I recently posted a lightened up version of another restaurant favorite, it reminded me of the famous awesome blossom. And I got to thinking what it would take to lighten it up! Sure enough, my favorite way to “oven-fry” other dishes worked like a charm with this dish, and my baked blooming onion was born! Just coat an onion with a heck of a lot of seasoned panko, bake it in the oven, and you’re good to go!

It is definitely different than the deep-fried effect. But the panko made this blooming onion crispy, flavorful, and made for a really fun appetizer to share with friends. And I guarantee that everyone will be so impressed with how you got the onion to “bloom”! Definitely a timeless treat, made all the better when it’s not loaded with a gazillion calories. Enjoy!

Baked Blooming Onion | gimmesomeoven.com

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Baked Blooming Onion

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 3.4 from 5 reviews
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 1 blooming onion 1x

Description

A healthier and baked version of the classic blooming onion.


Ingredients

Scale

For The Blooming Onion:

  • 1 large Vidalia onion (or any yellow onion)
  • 2/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 Tbsp. Cajun or blackening seasoning (**see alternate seasonings below**)
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 eggs
  • optional sides: ketchup, spicy dipping sauce (see below), ranch dip, honey mustard

!For The Spicy Dipping Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (or mayo)
  • 2 Tbsp. ketchup
  • 2 tsp. horseradish sauce
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/8 tsp. oregano

Instructions

To Make The Blooming Onion:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. On a cutting board, use a knife to cut off the top (not the root) 1/4-inch of the onion until a few of the inside layers are exposed. Peel the outermost layer of the onion down to the root, but leave the root intact.
  3. Lay the onion on the cutting board so that the flat side (that you just cut) is facing downward. Then use a knife to section the onion into 16ths, beginning with your knife 1/8-inch away from the root and cutting straight down. Once all cuts are complete, turn the onion over and set on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Then use your fingers to gently spread apart the petals. If any of your cuts did not go all the way through, you can use a paring knife to be sure that the entire onion is cut into 16ths.
  4. (Update: I have had readers give the tip that if you soak your sliced onion in cold water overnight, it will open up naturally on its own.)
  5. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the Panko, Cajun seasoning and salt until combined.
  6. In a separate (additional) bowl, whisk the eggs until combined.
  7. Beginning with the lowest (bottom) layers of the onion, brush the top of each petal with the egg mixture until coated, then immediately sprinkle with the Panko mixture. Repeat until all petals are coated. (The panko won’t totally “stick” when the egg is wet, but just press it on with your fingers.) It is kind of tedious, but worth it!
  8. Carefully form a tent with aluminum foil over the baking sheet until the onion is completely enclosed. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove tent and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the onion is soft and the tips are lightly crisped.
  9. Remove and serve with desired sauces.

To Make The Spicy Dipping Sauce:

  1. Whisk all ingredients together until combined. Serve immediately or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 week.

Notes

**Instead of the Cajun seasoning, you could substitute in Italian seasonings or whatever you love best.  Just taste a pinch of the dry seasoning before applying it to the onion to see if it needs to be seasoned with salt and pepper.

Baked Blooming Onion | gimmesomeoven.com

Baked Blooming Onion | gimmesomeoven.com

Baked Blooming Onion | gimmesomeoven.com

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109 comments on “Baked Blooming Onion”

  1. I have such a similar memory with my grandma, but set at the Outback! We’d go all in with shrimp on the barbie, a super buttery sweet potato (still love), and the over-the-top bloomin onion. Love how you brought it home, but in a much healthier way.

    • I can’t believe this!! I just put the ingredients into a recipe calculator and all the ingredients, including the dip, if you use non fat greek yogurt, is only 511 calories. That is for a LARGE onion!!! I can’t wait to try this later today!! Thank you SO much!!!

  2. Gorgeous and I seriously want to chow down on that right now! I tried to make one years ago and it was the biggest disaster ever – fairly comical too.

  3. What a genius idea!! And I love the spicy yogurt topping!!!!!

  4. Hey,
    do you turn the onion back over to put the breadcrumb mixture on? or do you back it with the root up? Just curious? Looks great. Can’t wait to try it.

  5. I’ve never heard of a blooming onion before but goodness me it sounds delicious!

  6. Onions are one of my favorite foods ever, and yet I’ve never had a blooming onion. How is that possible?! :) Luckily I can remedy that thanks to you – this looks so good!

  7. This is like a piece of art! It is beautiful! And looks so good!

  8. Truly amazing. This definitely brings back childhood memories!

  9. what a beautiful onion!!! I also remember the bottomless chips and dip at Chili’s during the teenage years

  10. I love healthy copycat recipes! This is definitely going to be tried at my house. I love onions! I bet it tastes amazing!

  11. Whoa does this onion look GREAT!

  12. This looks SO good! My husband and I love blooming onions and he has mentioned several times that I should make one. I haven’t because of the amount of oil it would take to fry and entire onion! I love that this is baked.

  13. WOW! I LOVE that you baked this! Definitely pinning to try!

  14. Oh my gosh I think I am in LOVE! I adored these blossoms as well but too found out that they were extremely unhealthy. Thank you for making my life NOW complete with making a baked version.

  15. This is beyond brilliant Ali! For cereal! I had a fried blooming onion a couple years ago at a fair and it just made me feel horribly guilty and greasy. This makes me sing, I can dip and devour sans guilt!

  16. This looks great & I love that it’s baked. Now I’m singing the baby back ribs song, too!

  17. My jaw just dropped to the floor. I MUST have this!

  18. This onion is totally sexy. Words can’t describe how delicious this onion looks. Gimme!!

  19. This is such a great appetizer. Love that you used panko!

  20. I’ve always wondered how to make one of these to perfection! Looks divine! Can’t wait to give it a whirl. ;)

  21. Oh my stars! I must make this as soon as possible!

  22. Oh my… loving this baked version of a childhood favorite *mine too by the way!

  23. I seriously just tried to bite my computer screen. Sad but true.

  24. This looks incredible! I love blooming onions, and the fact that this is baked totally makes it healthy. :) The spicy dipping sauce sounds delicious, too.

  25. This looks beautiful and tasty ! Thank you Ali for the diet version !

  26. Love love love this, Ali! Can’t wait to try it!

  27. NEED TO MAKE THE RECIPES WHERE THEY CAN BE DOWNSIZED TO COPY ON A RECIPE CARD THANKS

  28. I ate one too many bloomin’ onions when I was young. Seriously am loving this baked version. I’m craving one all over again! I have had one in AGES!!

  29. What a creative recipe! Such a great alternative to regular onion rings or an onion loaf. Looks great!

  30. That is THE most beautiful Bloomin’ Onion I’ve ever seen! Love that it’s baked, too! Great idea, Ali! :)

  31. AH-MAZING! This is just so stunning – too pretty to eat, actually!

  32. have not seen anything like this before. very creative, indeed.
    and will definitely have people amazed and impressed – i am too!

  33. Loving this, Ali! It is gorgeous!

  34. I’ve…actually never had a bloomin onion! But I already know I’d choose this baked version over deep fried anything any day!

  35. This is so gorgeous! I haven’t had a blooming onion in ages but Ive always loved them! I never thought to try to make them at home, but now youve inspired me!

  36. Blooming heck, this is awesome, and not even fried!! Winner..

  37. Oh wow, I love blooming onions :) this looks fabulous, I love the idea of baking it instead!

  38. I can’t wait to try this!

  39. Gaaahhh! I want this whole onion.

  40. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier bloomin onion Ali! Guess what? I used to work at Chili’s! LOVING the baked version my friend.

  41. These look delicious!! Can’t wait to try them. You should think about doing a video for cutting the onion…just saying ;-) It would be much easier to understand. Thanks for the recipe! I’m drooling over here!

  42. I remember an episode of Will & Grace where Grace has an onion blossom. I’ve been wanting one ever since. Thanks for the recipe! I’m definitely giving this a try.

  43. this is just brilliant – this is my guilty pleasure but im sure the baked ones are totally delicious

  44. I used to order the Chili’s bloomin’ onion until I saw how many calories and fat were in it! I’ll eat this one up with no guilt!

  45. this looks freaking awesome!

    Trisha x

  46. Yummy!! I just made this but I was lazy and dipped the whole onion in the egg and spread the petals as I sprinkled it with the panko mix. Then…….put it in the treager BBQ-ER!!!