Tender and sweet Grilled Onions are a perfect side dish or topping for your next BBQ! They are simple to make and taste oh-so-good!
These are the perfect complement to so many meals that you should just count on making them every time you grill. They only take a couple minutes to grill so they won’t hold up meals while you wait a long time for them to finish up. We serve these up with our Cornish Hens, Cowboy Steaks and Caramelized Onion Chicken.
🍽️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s an inexpensive side dish for all of your favorite meals.
- They can be made in just 30 minutes!
- You only need four ingredients, and you probably already have them on hand.
- It tastes so amazing that I am happy to eat it plain.
🧅 Ingredients
Look for a good, sweet onion. Hands down, the sweet varieties will caramelize and cook the best.
- Walla Walla Sweet Onion – I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and each summer, when these became available, we would buy quite a few for our cooking. They are wonderful. It is harder to find these out of season and out of the Northwest, but if you see them, make sure to grab them.
- Vidalia Onion – This is the most readily available onion on the market. It is quite common to find these at almost every grocery store. Interestingly, these are grown in one of 20 counties in Georgia and uses a granex seed variety.
- Maui Sweet Onion – As the name indicates, this onion variety is grown in Hawaii. It is definitely more difficult to get in mainland America, but definitely grab some if you get the opportunity. It is one of the sweetest onions in the world. You will find these under the “Kula-grown” trademark.
- Texas 1015 Onion – This is an extremely large and mild variety that is usually only available through special order. The size of these onions alone make them awesome for grilling.
🔥 Instructions
Step One: Slice the onions into half inch slices, place the palm of your hand over the onion and carefully push the skewer through. Make sure not to slip and accidentally poke your hand. Trust me, that hurts!
Note: Err on the side of cutting too thick. If you slice these too thin, they will be hard to get the skewer through and it will make it harder to turn them over on the grill.
Alternatively, you can stick the skewer through when the onion is whole, and then slice on either side of the skewer, but I thought that was more cumbersome than gently pushing it through after slicing.
Step Two: Mix two tablespoons of olive oil with a little bit of kosher (or sea) salt and coarse ground pepper in a small bowl. Brush the olive oil mixture on the onions. Always do this AFTER you put the onions on the skewer. If you try to do this before, they become too slippery and it is hard to keep a grip on the onion and you could end up poking yourself. Let’s not ask me how I know that, ok?
Step Three: Grill these between 20 and 30 minutes. I set them on direct heat at 300 degrees for 10 minutes and then turned them over for another 10 minutes. The onions are done when they are golden brown and a bit soft to the touch. Don’t worry if the edges get a little charred. That part tastes the BEST!
💡 Expert Tips
Use Flat metal skewers. These are much easier to push through the center of an onion slice than round or wooden skewers. Plus, the flat skewers eliminate the onion from spinning when you lift it. That makes it much easier to turn over.
Brush both sides of the onion with the olive oil mixture to minimize the chances of sticking to the grill. You don’t need a lot of oil. A little bit will go a long way.
Use the GrillGrate to get those beautiful charred lines. This is my single favorite grilling accessory. Spoiler Alert: This is well worth every penny!
If a slice is too thin, or you are not able to get the skewer through, place it on a non-stick copper mat and grill.
Serve these with steaks, chicken, or pork! Top off a thick juicy burger for a great treat!
👨🍳 Recipe FAQs
I find that all I want is some salt and pepper, but virtually any kind of seasoning will work well. Try cajun, chili powder, or Italian for some tasty options.
Allow the onions to cool down all the way. Once cooled, place them in a freezer bag and refrigerate or freeze.
They go with pretty much everything. Try adding them to your favorite meals until you find what you like the best. Here are some of our favorite ideas:
Salads
Turkey
Steak
Chicken
Pork
Related Recipes
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Grilled Onions
Equipment
- Flat Skewers
Ingredients
- 1 each Sweet Onion
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 pinch Black Pepper coarse ground
- 1 pinch Sea Salt
Instructions
- Cut a sweet onion into ½" thick slices
- Hold the sliced onion flat on the cutting board with the palm of your hand and insert a flat metal skewer through the center. Be careful not to slip.
- Combine the olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Brush both sides of the onion with the olive oil mix.
- Set your grill for 300 degrees on direct heat. Place the onions on the grating. Let them cook for about 10 minutes or until they are golden brown on the bottom. Turn them over.
- Cook the other side of the sweet onion slice for another 10 minutes or until it is golden brown and slightly caramelized.
- Remove from the grill and serve as a side dish with grill steak or chicken.
Notes
Nutrition
Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
[…] Grilled Onions these are so sweet and delish! You can’t stop eating them, I promise! So easy and fast to make as well! […]