- Trader Joe’s just dropped Onion Flowers, a frozen “Bloomin’ Onion”–style appetizer.
- Early reviews say the flavor hits, but the cook-time instructions can leave a cold, soggy center.
- Shoppers are getting better results by cooking longer or microwaving before baking/air-frying.
Cancel your Outback reservation and head to Trader Joe’s! The grocery store just introduced a Bloomin’ Onion dupe, and shoppers are already chattering about it. The new frozen appetizer, Onion Flowers, comes from a supplier in Thailand and features a battered, fried onion in a flower-like pattern that makes it easy to rip and dip. According to the packaging, it takes less than 15 minutes in an air fryer or oven—way quicker than a trip to a restaurant—and costs only $5.49.
Trader Joe’s customers were stoked to see this appear in the freezer aisle. “Holy snap!!” commented one person on an Instagram post announcing the treat. “I’m sooo excited to try this!” another person exclaimed. “Okay, so I need to add this to my list,” wrote another.
But once people actually started cooking it, opinions got a little more complicated. “They need to be cooked longer and at a higher temp for both oven and air fryer. Because of all the comments I saw about the middle not cooking, I decided to deep fry mine,” one person on Reddit wrote.
Others had the opposite experience. “Oooooh I loved mine! It wasn’t soggy in the middle just soft onion with tons of flavor which was delicious. I dipped mine in Magnifisauce. Sooooo. Good!!” another person wrote.
Still, plenty of shoppers reported a similar situation: the onion didn’t fully cook according to the packaging instructions. “I made one last week and experienced the cold soggy center. Tonight, I microwaved one for a minute thirty and then baked it for about 13 minutes. It was perfect. Warm center and crispy petals,” another customer detailed.
“I just made the blooming onion too, and agree, had to use a knife and fork to eat the rest. Was delicious though,” one person added.
Overall, it sounds like the main problem is the instructions, not the taste or flavor. Many of the fixes are simple: microwaving the onion before baking, or just air-frying longer than the box suggests. “I imagine sitting in bed surrounded by my trinkets, eating this,” one person shared. You do you, honey.