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Can You Eat Onion Flowers? [Delicious Recipes!]

Onions that have not been pulled out of the ground may overgrow and flower. Onion flowers are great when you want to mix it up a little!

You can eat them fresh in salads and even sauté, fry, or roast them.

Onion flowers aren’t as commonly eaten as other foods, so we understand why you’d be confused.

If you’re wondering whether you can eat onion flowers, we are here to answer your question!

Contents

Can you eat onion flowers? 

Yes, you can eat onion flowers. Onion flowers are edible and aren’t toxic to human beings. There are several ways you can enjoy onion flowers in your meal. You can add them fresh and uncooked in salads and soups. You can roast or sauté to make a delicious evening snack as well!

Onion flowers are a great idea to try something new in your diet. It’s a unique concept that might fascinate your guests too! 

It is natural to want to know everything about the food we consume.

In this post, we’ve elaborately answered the question, “can you eat onion flowers?” along with sharing some delicious recipes! 

Onion Flowers – The Edible Parts!

As we mentioned above, onion flowers are absolutely safe to eat. They are sweet, and like onions, they too have a strong taste.

Onion flowers are versatile and cooked in many different ways. You can add them to soups and salads and roast or sauté them.

Are you wondering if the entire onion flower is edible?

If not, what parts are they? What you need to remember is that the green parts of the onion are what’s edible.

The tiny petals of the flower are edible too. You can also eat raw buds if you don’t mind the stronger taste.

Adding the full onion flower is an excellent tip to elevate your soup’s taste. All parts of the onion flower are edible.

Each part of the onion flower can be enjoyed with the flavors you choose to combine.

How can onion flowers be used?

Onion flowers make a great alternative to baked potatoes.

They can be used as an ingredient in quesadillas, burritos, or even breakfast omelets. Onion flowers offer their share of benefits to your diet!

Can you eat the bulbs of the flower?

Yes, the bulbs of the flower are safe to eat. They die a little faster than other parts, so they must be stored properly.

When you see the onion flower mature, snip the buds off. Doing this will prevent the bulb from splitting.

It is essential to keep onions from blotting, or they can become challenging to store.

How to store onion flowers?

Storing onion flowers is not complicated at all.

All you need is a Ziploc bag.

Once you’ve packed them in your Ziploc bag, you can pop them in the fridge.

One tip you can try is boiling the onion flowers before putting them in a Ziploc bag. This helps increase their life in the fridge.

It helps to use good quality Ziploc bags to store onion flowers properly. Ziploc bags need to be sturdy and exceptionally airtight.

We’ve mentioned some of our top recommendations for Ziploc bags. Check them out!

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How to Cook Onion Flowers? 2 Delicious Recipes!

For those of you who want to try onion flowers, we’ve got two recipes for you. Check them out! 

Recipe #1: Roasted Onion Flowers

  • Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes 
  • Cook time: 40 minutes 
  • Total Duration: 60 to 80 minutes 
  • Serves: 6-8 people
  • Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Do you like crispy food?

Roasted onion flowers are delicious crispy snacks.

They can be prepared as a side dish on the dining table. You can also serve roasted onion flowers on their as a snack.

Ingredients

Roasted onion flowers are an excellent recipe.

It uses everyday ingredients yet manages to stand out! It is a fun, tasty snack that can be addictive to eat.

Let’s review the ingredient list to prepare them on your kitchen counter.

Ingredients Quantity 
Red onion 6 medium-size
Olive oil 6 tsp
SaltAccording to your preference
Rosemary leavesFor garnishing 
Ground black pepperAccording to your preference

Cooking Directions

We’ve enlisted 6 steps for you to follow to make this easy recipe even more straightforward!

Beginners, too, can follow these steps and achieve amazing results. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!

Step #1: Get the oven ready

First, let’s begin by prepping the oven. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F.

You don’t need anything too special for this; a simple oven that can bake break will work!

Step #2: Removing the outer layer

Onion flowers have a papery exterior that must be removed before cooking them. Please be sure not to chop the flower off. Just cut it to make about eight wedges.

Step #3: Prepare the baking tray

The next step is to get the baking tray or dish ready. For this, use olive oil to coat the tray’s surface thinly.

If you don’t have olive oil, butter is a good alternative. Please ensure that they don’t stick to each other.

Step #4: Applying oil to the flowers

Use a pastry brush or a cooking sponge to apply oil to the onion flowers. Sprinkle some salt on the flowers and ensure all parts are well-salted.

Along with perfectly roasting them, the result also depends on what you add in this step.

Try adding rosemary leaves to incorporate the beautiful scent into the roasted onion flowers.

Step #5: Time to bake!

It’s finally time to bake!

Set the oven to the 40-minute timer. You can flip the onion flowers in between to ensure that all sides are roasted properly. Please make sure the petals are open.

40 minutes is long enough to have your onion flowers perfectly roasted.

It is best to ensure that the onion flowers are crispy outside but still tender internally. You will start noticing them becoming crispy 20 minutes into baking them.

Step #6: Seasoning the onion flowers

You can use pepper to season the flowers. This is based on your preference as well. You can add other spices such as paprika, chili powder, oregano, etc. It tastes fantastic with a cheese dip.

You can go for a tangy mayonnaise dip if you want more of a kick! 

Here are some other excellent dips you can try to make your roasted onion flowers more enjoyable to eat!

Recipe #2: Onion Flowers and Lentil Soup 

  • Prep time: 5 minutes 
  • Cook time: 10 minutes 
  • Serves: 2 people

The onion flowers and lentil soup recipe is one of the popular onion flower recipes. Who doesn’t enjoy some soothing, warm soup? This recipe is extremely simple, and with our cooking directions, it is made simpler! 

Ingredients

Now, it’s time to assemble your ingredients! It is essential to have easy access to all your ingredients to avoid making a mess!

Ingredients Quantity 
Scallions/ Onion flower 2-3
Olive Oil2 tsp
Balsamic Vinegar 4 tsp
Minced garlic2 tsp
Celery sticks 2 thinly sliced pieces 
Sliced carrotsAccording to your preference 
Ground black pepperAccording to your preference 
Coarse saltAccording to your preference
Beef stock14.5 oz
Lentils½ cup

Once you’ve sorted all your ingredients out, let’s start cooking! 

Cooking Directions

The recipe soup recipe has 4 simple steps. It is an easy recipe for beginners to make fresh, hot onion and lentil soup. We’ve put together stepwise cooking directions. You can also add spring onion flowers if you need ideas for alternatives. 

Step #1: Cut the scallions

Start by cutting the scallions. Overgrown scallions are basically onion flowers. You can add some young flowers to the mix for an enhanced taste. 

Step #2: Get the stock ready

Pour some oil into the saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. We need to let the oil heat.

Once it’s sufficiently heated, go ahead and add the scallions, garlic, celery, and carrots.

You can season the mix with salt and pepper as per your preference. Let it cook for about 3 minutes and stir regularly.

One tip to take this dish a level higher is adding some onion granules. It is not compulsory.

Step #3: Boiling the stock

Now, it’s time to boil the stock. This dish doesn’t take too long to prepare, so boiling the stock will be quick.

Vegans can use vegetable stock in this step as well. This step will only take about 5 minutes on a medium-low flame.

If your onion flowers are white, you will start to see them turn into a dull brown color.

Step #4: Continue to stir

Continue stirring until you notice the lentils starting to thicken a little. This doesn’t take too long; you’ll observe the texture changing within 3 to 5 minutes.

Please ensure you stir the vinegar in properly too.

You can use a filter if you don’t like your soup being too chunky. You can then taste it to check if the seasoning is alright.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are onion flowers toxic?

No, onion flowers aren’t toxic. They are safe for human consumption and are not considered poisonous. Sometimes, flowers that have overgrown are associated with disordered onions. All in all, onion flowers can never be toxic! 

Do I need to soak onion flowers before cooking? 

It is not necessary to soak onion flowers before cooking. You can cook onion flowers without having to rehydrate them. But you can still soak them in water if you wish to. Soaking onion flowers in vinegar works well too. 

Is it safe to eat raw green onion flowers?

Yes, it is safe to eat raw green onion flowers. The best way to eat raw green onion flowers is by adding them to salads. Blending the flavors with herbs and other vegetables can enhance its taste greatly.

Wrapping Up

We’ve reached the end of the post. You got your answer if you’ve come across some onion flowers and wonder whether it is safe to eat!

You’re sure to enjoy onion flowers, especially if you’ve cooked them the way you like. Not everyone enjoys the same recipes.

So, go ahead and combine ingredients that suit your taste palate! 

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more! 

Susan Wilson

My name is Susan and I am the person behind this blog. My mission is to help you become a better cook and start cooking like a pro! Here we talk about our kitchen adventures – good or bad- so you can laugh or two about it. So let the journey of mastering the ART OF COOKING begin.