Turn the humble onion into an elegant dish by filling it with a succulent stuffing.
Stuffed Onions
This stuffed onion recipe combines umami-forward ingredients like bacon and mushrooms with vibrant parsley. Then it gently cooks in the oven with savory beef broth until meltingly tender. The aroma of onions caramelizing in bacon drippings will get everyone’s stomach rumbling.
Serve onions as an entree for a light supper with a green salad and crusty French bread, or as a hearty side for roast meat.
Ingredients for Stuffed Onions
- Onions: Use six large yellow onions for stuffing. Choose evenly-sized, round onions that can be easily filled.
- Bacon: Just two strips of bacon add plenty of savory flavor to the stuffing.
- Bread crumbs: Dry bread crumbs help bind everything together.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley will add a vibrant and fresh flavor. You can substitute dried parsley flakes and reserve extra for garnishing.
- Butter: Mushrooms are sauteed in rich butter until soft and golden brown.
- Mushrooms: Sliced fresh mushroom add moisture and earthy flavor to the stuffed onions.
- Pepper and nutmeg: We keep the seasonings simple with a dash of pepper and nutmeg.
- Beef broth:Â Braise the onions in store-bought or homemade beef broth.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare onions for stuffing
Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a Dutch oven, bring some water to a boil. Peel the onions and boil for four to six minutes until they start to soften.
Let them cool and slice 1/4 inch off the top of the onion. Also, slice a small portion off the bottom so they will stand up. Remove the center, leaving about a 1/2 shell for stuffing. Chop up these onion portions and set aside.
Step 2: Make the savory stuffing
Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain and crumble when cool. Saute chopped onion in the bacon fat until soft. Stir in the breadcrumbs and parsley. Add butter and mushrooms and cook until soft. Stir in bacon, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Step 3: Stuff and braise onions
Add stuffing to onion shells and place them in a shallow 1-quart baking dish. Carefully pour the broth around onions and bake uncovered until tender, about 45 minutes. Baste frequently during the first 15 minutes of cooking. Sprinkle with reserved parsley and serve.
Stuffed Onion Variations
- Include meat:Â For a heartier stuffed onion, replace the mushrooms with ground beef, turkey or pork. Cook in a separate skillet until no longer pink and then add to stuffing ingredients.
- Make it vegetarian:Â Leave out the bacon and cook the onions in olive oil instead and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese before stuffing to replace the umami flavor of bacon. Cook in vegetable broth.
- Go Italian (or Greek, or French): Making small tweaks can significantly change the flavor profile of this recipe. For Italian-style, stir in your favorite Italian seasoning blend and braise in tomato sauce, maybe stir a little mozzarella cheese into the filling. Here is a collection or recipes for other seasoning blends.Â
How to Store Stuffed Onions
Cover and store leftover stuffed onions in the refrigerator for three to four days.
How do you reheat stuffed onions?
Add a little broth to a baking dish, cover onions and warm at 325° for 20 to 30 minutes until heated through.
Stuffed Onion Tips
What’s the best way to remove the center of the onions?
You can either dig out the center with a spoon or melon baller or be a little more precise and cut vertical slices in the layers you want to remove to separate them and cut them into sections. Then use a spoon to dig them out.
How do you make this in a slow-cooker?
Follow the instructions until the end and then place onions in a 6-quart slow cooker. Add broth, cover and cook on low until tender, for four to six hours.
What are the differences between white, red and yellow onions?
Yellow onions are a great standard cooking onion. They’re sweet, hold up to heat and have a balanced savory sweet flavor. There are extra-sweet varieties of yellow onion, like Vidalia or Walla Walla. White onions are commonly seen in Mexican preparations and in salads, but don’t have a lingering flavor. Red onions are tender, and have a balanced peppery sweetness. They are also commonly seen raw or pickled. Here’s more info on onions and their differences.Â
Stuffed Onions
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
45 min
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
- 6 medium yellow onions (about 2 pounds)
- 2 bacon strips, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1-1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Dash each pepper and ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- Additional parsley, optional
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°. In a Dutch oven, bring a small amount of water to a boil. Peel onions; using a slotted spoon, place onions in boiling water. Cook for 4-6 minutes more until softened; remove and let stand until cool enough to handle. Cut a 1/4-in. slice off the top of each onion. Remove center, leaving a 1/2-in shell. Chop centers and tops of onions; set aside. In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove to paper towel to drain. In the drippings, saute chopped onion until tender. Stir in bread crumbs and parsley. Add the butter and mushrooms; cook until mushrooms are tender. Add bacon, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stuff onion shells; place in an ungreased shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Pour broth around onions. Bake, uncovered, until tender, 45 minutes, basting frequently during the first 15 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with parsley.
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