Craving Outback Steakhouse? Snag This Trader Joe's Frozen Appetizer For Less

Outback Steakhouse may be known for its steaks, but the restaurant's range of appetizers is also worth a shout-out. The Bloomin' Onion is perhaps the most iconic Outback appy because it's huge, designed for sharing, and served with a creamy signature bloom sauce. In previous years, Outback Steakhouse has blessed customers with a free Bloomin' Onion on National Onion Day, which falls in the summer. However, if you don't want to wait until June 27th to get your hands on a freebie and are craving an affordable crispy root vegetable made for sharing, you need to snag a batch of Trader Joe's onion flowers. These frozen copycat appetizers cost $5.49 for a box of two, which equates to less than $3 per onion.

A Bloomin' Onion from Outback Steakhouse will set you back $11.99, making TJ's version far more affordable (while each individual onion is smaller, you can simply gobble down both if desired!). Trader Joe's onion flowers are coated in a batter made with simple ingredients, including wheat flour, cornstarch, rice flour, garlic powder, baking powder, and a dash of salt and pepper before they're fried and packaged. They have a more delicate flavor than a classic Bloomin' Onion, which allows the naturally sweet character of the vegetable itself to come to the fore. This may be because the breading for a Bloomin' Onion contains more spices, such as paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, and cumin.

The lack of vibrant spices in Trader Joe's onion flowers means they look paler than a deep-fried Bloomin' Onion to begin with. As they cook in the air fryer, the closed petals open up and develop a bit more color. The consensus on a Reddit thread devoted to discussing the details of TJ's onion flower is that it needs more time to cook than the box recommends. For instance, one Redditor said that "it's good" but advised that "if you oven it instead of air frying, make sure and give it longer than the instructions say because the edges will be hot but the center may still be a bit cold." Another Redditor baked their blossom for 20 minutes and removed the outer petals before giving it another quick stint in the air fryer to encourage the center to cook through. In spite of this issue, the flavor of this vegan appetizer was described as being just like restaurant versions by several commenters.

Trader Joe's onion flowers don't come with a sauce, which means you can serve them with your preferred condiment or gussy them up with extra toppings to turn them into entrees. In fact, Outback Steakhouse occasionally offers a loaded blooming onion that's topped with cheese fries.