Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions

For those who received an Air-Fryer for Christmas, this recipe is right up your alley. Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions.


Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions

We received an Air-Fryer last year for Christmas, and one of my first recipes was an Air Fryer Cornish Hen….30 minutes and it was perfect. I also made Buffalo Shrimp Egg Rolls with equal success.

The thing with gadgets is that you are all gung-ho at first. Then you put them in the cupboard, and forget about them……not good!

In our last post I mentioned our appetizer card party and posted our Sweet Spicy BBQ Meatball Sliders. Well I also made Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions, only I didn’t air fry them , I fry fried them……what a mess….especially when you have guests. Plus the whole house smelled like oil, and don’t get me started on cleaning up the mess, and disposing of the oil…ugh!

Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions

Knowing that I wanted to share this recipe, I made them again, but revamped my original recipe to bring my Air Fryer out of hiding. Worked like a charm! The onions were perfectly browned.No oil, no oily mess, and no oil to get rid of…..win…win…win!

Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions are a labor of love. You need to be very careful in slicing the onions, so as to not cut completely through, and you need to press on them slightly to make the blooms. This part proved to be a challenge for me , I have a tendency to strong arm, so I smashed a few, but I lightened up and they were perfect.

Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions

I bought white boiler onions (that’s all they had at Wal Mart) but you could use any small onion, cipollini onions would be nice. Marinading them in a buttermilk egg mixture, made them lose that intense raw onion flavor.

Panko crumbs I have discovered are your best friend in Air Frying. Panko is light and airy and crisps perfectly as it cooks. With no real flavor on its own panko adapts to the seasonings of your dish.

Your other best friend in Air Frying is cooking spray. I use a coconut spray, but whatever your preference is will work. This is a crucial step in my estimation for air frying. Without the spray things look a little dry and pasty……again…not good!

Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions

Once the onions were dipped in a panko flour mixture and place in the preheated air fryer, I sprayed them with the cooking spray trying to get as much into the sections of the onions as possible.

They only took about 10 minutes to cook, no draining on paper towels, or oil soaked onion….they were perfect!

As I mentioned in the beginning, having gadgets is great, but I must admit I am guilty of using them a few times, and then never using them again. Hopefully creating this recipe, and the fact that I received a Air Fryer Cookbook for Christmas (thank you Rick & Shari) will spurn me on to use my air fryer more frequently.

Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions

Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions would be a great Super Bowl Party snack. So, dust off your air fryer if its been awhile, or if its new to you… have fun with my recipes.
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Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions

Air Fryer Mini Blooming Onions

  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Air Fryer
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • Ingredients
  • 17 ounce container white boiler onions, peeled and sectioned
  • 1 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspooj pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Cooking Spray
  • Onion Dip:
  • 2 tablespoons miracle whip
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons ketchup
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Slice off the root end of the onion taking off as little as possible. Carefully peel onions. Cut the onions into eighths with a sharp knife, careful not to cut all the way through the onion you want the onion to stay together.
  2. In a large bowl whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Toss the prepared onions into the buttermilk mixture. Allow the onions to marinade for at least 15 minutes, they can be made ahead and marinade overnight.
  3. In a shallow bowl mix together the flour, panko crumbs, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper.
  4. Remove the onions from the buttermilk mixture. Before dipping, gently press on them to separate the section. Be gentle or you will break the sections and not have a bloom.
  5. Dredge the onions in the flour mixture making sure to get it into all the sections of the onion.
  6. Place the prepared onions in the basket of your preheated Air Fryer. Spray the onions with non-stick cooking spray so you have that crispy coating. Make sure to get the spray into the sections of the onions as much as possible to avoid dry spots.
  7. Follow the directions for your Air Fryer. Mine is a NuWave Brio and took 8-10 minutes at 360* degrees.
  8. While the onions are cooking in a small bowl blend together all the dip ingredients until combined.
  9. Remove the onions from the Air Fyer and serve with dip.

Notes

Alternately you can deep fry the mini onions in 350* degree oil for 4-6 minutes until they are golden brown.

This recipe can easily be double or tripled.

Keywords: boiler onions, egg, buttermilk, panko crumbs, smoked paprika, air fryer, appetizer

 

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