How to Make Vegan Blooming Onion Petals
These vegan blooming onion petals are such a fun appetizer! They are lightly battered onion pieces deep-fried to crunchy perfection and served with a spicy aioli for dipping. These taste exactly like a blooming onion, except they are much easier to make!
What is a blooming onion?
A blooming onion is a dish that consists of one large onion that is cut to resemble a flower. It is then battered and deep-fried and served with a dipping sauce. Blooming onions are a trendy appetizer served at restaurants, such as Outback Steakhouse.
What are vegan blooming onion petals?
As much as I love a vegan blooming onion, it is rather tedious to make! To make a blooming onion, you have to cut it a particular way, get the batter in between every onion crevice, and deep-fry it in a huge, deep pot with a ton of oil. I prefer cutting the onion through entirely, giving me lots of onion “petals.” This method is much quicker, easier, and less messy. Each petal is also entirely coated in the batter, which means each piece gets thoroughly and evenly crispy! Onion petals are also much easier and cleaner to serve amongst several people. Plus, they are sometimes referred to as awesome blossom petals, which is the cutest name for food!
This recipe is EASY!
Yes, this recipe is easy to make! The most challenging part of my vegan blooming onion petals recipe is the deep-frying, which isn’t even too difficult.
To make the onion petals, I cut an onion into large petal-like slices. I then coat the petals in a dry batter which consists of all-purpose flour and a large handful of delicious seasonings and spices. Then, I coat them in a wet batter which consists of plant-based milk, water, liquid Just Egg, and a dash of hot sauce. Lastly, I coat them once more in the dry batter.
To deep fry them, I preheat a saucepot with vegetable oil and then cook the battered onions for around 3 minutes, tossing them around to get them evenly brown and crispy. Then I drain them on paper towel, sprinkle them with salt, and drizzle truffle oil on top! The truffle oil is optional, but I highly recommend it for an extra layer of delicious flavor. For dipping, I created a super simple sauce of vegan mayonnaise, ketchup, and truffle hot sauce! The combination of the crunchy fried onion petals and the spicy truffle aioli is a match made in heaven and I can’t wait for you to try it!
If you make my vegan blooming onion petals recipe, don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see your recreation!
How to Make Vegan Blooming Onion Petals
Equipment
- Cooking thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized sweet onion
- 1 quart vegetable or canola oil, for deep frying
- *Optional: TRUFF truffle oil, for drizzling on the fried onions
Dry Batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling on top
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Wet Batter
- 1/4 cup plain, unsweetened soy milk (You can also use cashew or almond milk)
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp liquid Just Egg
- 1 tbsp hot sauce of choice (I use TRUFF Black Truffle Hotter Sauce)
Spicy Aioli
- 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp hot sauce of choice (I use TRUFF Black Truffle Hotter Sauce)
Instructions
Dry Batter
- Add all of the ingredients into a wide, shallow bowl and whisk until evenly combined.
Wet Batter
- Add all of the ingredients into a wide, shallow bowl and whisk until evenly combined.
How to Batter and Fry the Onions
- Preheat the vegetable oil in a medium-sized saucepot to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Please use a thermometer to get a precise temperature.
- Cut the onion in half through the root. Then, cut the ends off of the onion halves and remove the outer skin.
- Lay the onion down flat, with one of the cut ends facing you, and cut through the top three times, angling the knife towards the center each time to create a petal look. Then, peel the pieces apart so they are individual petals.
- Line a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper. Line another sheet pan with a couple of layers of paper towel.
- To batter the onions, first, place a few into the dry batter and toss them to coat them lightly. The batter will not stick to the onions a lot this first time. Then, evenly coat them in the wet batter. Lastly, evenly coat them in the dry batter once more. So, it's dry batter-wet batter-dry batter. Then, place them on the sheet pan with the parchment paper.
- To deep fry the battered onions, carefully drop 5 to 6 of them into the oil and cook them for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, flipping them over halfway through. Then, using a slotted metal spoon, remove the onions and place them on the prepared sheet pan of paper towels.
- Lightly season the fried onions with salt. If desired (I highly recommend this step), drizzle TRUFF's truffle oil over the fried onion petals just before serving. I also like to drizzle a little bit into my spicy aioli!
- Repeat the battering and frying steps with the rest of the onions!
Spicy Aioli
- Add all of the ingredients into a small bowl and stir until well combined.
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