Blooming onion
Culinary dish
title: "Blooming onion" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-vegetable-dishes", "hors-d'oeuvres", "cuisine-of-the-southern-united-states", "deep-fried-foods", "fried-vegetables", "onions", "onion-based-foods"] description: "Culinary dish" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blooming_onion" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Culinary dish ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox food"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Blooming onion |
| image | Blooming onion.jpg |
| image_size | 250px |
| alternate_name | Onion bloom, onion blossom, onion flower, onion mum |
| course | Hors d'oeuvre |
| served | Hot |
| main_ingredient | Onion, batter |
| place_of_origin | United States |
| :: |
A blooming onion, also called onion bloom, onion blossom, onion flower, bloomin' onion, or onion mum, is a dish consisting of one large onion, cut to resemble a flower (after it has expanded while soaking in ice water), battered, and deep-fried, often served with dipping sauce. It is served as an appetizer at some restaurants.
History
References to an "onion mum" consisting of an onion cut into the shape of a flower date as far back as 1947, though this dish did not fry or cook the onion. The more popular fried version of the dish was likely invented by Jeff Glowski in 1985 at New Orleans restaurant Russell's Marina Grill, where future Outback Steakhouse founder Tim Gannon worked at the time.
The dish was popularized in the United States when it appeared as the "Bloomin' Onion", a charter feature of the Outback Steakhouse when that national chain opened in 1988. It is usually served with a restaurant-specific signature dipping sauce. Despite the name's familiarity and frequent use as a generic term, "Bloomin' Onion" is a registered trademark and Outback's owners have issued legal threats to numerous restaurants over their use of similar names.
From June 21, 2016, Outback Steakhouse began serving a limited-time-only variant of the Bloomin' Onion, the Loaded Bloomin' Onion.
Nutrition
The egg wash and deep frying preparation process of the dish means it is high in food energy; a single blooming onion with dressing contains approximately 1,660 kcal and 87 grams of fat. In 2007, a study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest found a fat content of 116 grams, including a combined 44 grams of saturated and trans fat.
When it existed, the similarly styled Awesome Blossom at Chili's was ranked "Worst Appetizer in America" by Men's Health magazine in 2008 for the unusually high totals of food energy and fat, with 2710 kcal, 203 grams (1827 kcal) of fat, 194 grams of carbohydrates, and 6,360 milligrams of sodium, with as much fat as 67 strips of bacon. For reference, the U.S. Reference Daily Intake for fat is 65g and for sodium is 2,300 mg, assuming a 2000 kcal diet, while typical daily food energy recommendations lie in the range of 1600-3000 kcal.
References
References
- . (February 23, 1947). ["The Lady Of The House"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=69812043&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjM3MDY3ODIxNSwiaWF0IjoxNjIyNjAxNTQ3LCJleHAiOjE2MjI2ODc5NDd9.ivvEfk4E6kEQLe_iak3v0bwuw088pCXXgGSWsY8qHZM). *The Chicago Tribune*.
- VanHooker, Brian. (February 12, 2021). "Who Really Invented The Blooming Onion? Peeling Open The World's Greasiest Mystery". MEL Magazine.
- Elsass, Casey. (January 24, 2024). "Honey, I Shrunk the Bloomin' Onion".
- (November 11, 2015). "How they make a Bloomin' Onion and other Outback Steakhouse secrets".
- "Outback issued this St. Pete vegan restaurant a cease and desist for its Bloomin' Onion knockoff".
- (June 23, 2016). "The Loaded Bloomin' Onion Is Here, And It's Coming For You". The Huffington Post.
- (June 21, 2016). "Outback Steakhouse Tops Its Iconic Bloomin' Onion". www.prnewswire.com.
- "Outback Steakhouse Nutrition Information".
- (January 1997). "What's At Steak?".
- "Men's Health - Eat THIS, not That - 20 Worst Foods - 2. Worst Starter".
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