Onions are usually diced and used to enhance the flavor of a dish, but the TikTok trend of making onion boils has pushed the humble vegetable into the spotlight as the star of many mukbang shows, leaving many people to speculate if eating a whole onion might actually taste good.
You might be wondering — why in the world would someone willingly eat a whole onion? As a former picky eater who hated eating even a small piece of onion in a stir fry, I was wondering the same thing myself.
If you’ve heard of a seafood boil, the concept of an onion boil is slightly reminiscent of it, except for one small detail: the onion isn’t actually boiled, it’s baked. An “onion bake” doesn’t really call back to the famed seafood boil though, hence the “onion boil” being popularized instead.
Onion boils aren’t new to TikTok, but they seem to go viral all over again at least once every year. The dish was first popularized in mid-2024, with people making everything from French onion soup-flavored onion boils to Italian seasoned onion boils topped with shredded parmesan cheese.
In its most basic form, an onion boil is usually made with sweet onion varieties, like the Vidalia onion, due to their higher sugar content and lower percentage of sulfur, making them the most ideal type of onion for eating alone after they’re caramelized.
Some people, such as popular creator @duhparis on TikTok, prefer using red onions for their mukbangs, but white and light-yellow onions are typically the most popular type of onion used to make an onion boil.
After cutting off the top and bottom of an onion and peeling it sufficiently, a well is dug in the middle of the onion, creating a cavity to stuff with a generous amount of butter, along with a mixture of melted butter and seasonings tweaked to personal preference. The most popular seasonings include garlic powder, dried herb flakes, and Cajun seasoning.
Once the onion boil is finished, the onions look juicy and soft enough to squish when a person bites into them, as demonstrated in an onion boil TikTok posted by @ladakl. When she tries her finished baked product, the onion is clearly filled with flavorful melted butter.
The comments section of her video contains a mixed bag of reactions. Some people actually want to give it a try, while others have already decided that eating a whole onion is not for them.
Another mukbang video, made by popular mukbang creator @aliviadonai on TikTok, features onions that are so seasoned they’re red. The creator tops them with lemon for a pop of acid before beginning to eat.
With nearly 900K likes on the mukbang video, different opinions on the onion boil quickly emerged in the comments.
Some people love the flavor and satisfaction that seems to come with the onion boil, to the point where they’re willing to look over their own personal dislike for the vegetable. “I hate onions but I want to eat that,” said one comment on @aliviadonia’s video.
Another commenter said, “Do I like onions? No. Do I want it? Yes.”
Others aren’t so convinced that the onion boil actually tastes good. “Why does it look so good and bad at the same time?” wrote one conflicted viewer.
Some viewers are completely shocked by people’s willingness to eat a whole onion. “There is no way you guys eat this,” one viewer commented. “[L]emon and onion and butter sounds good to y’all?”
While there are some people who have decided onion boil is definitely not for them, the majority’s reaction to onion boils on TikTok seems to be rooted in curiosity, with many viewers suggesting different onion boil experiments, such as Buldak-stuffed onion boils.
The popularity of the onion boil trend speaks for itself though. With hundreds of thousands of creators trying it on TikTok over the past few years, the onion boil isn’t going anywhere any time soon.