These are the best grilled onions around. Full of flavor, tender and mildly sweet onion is a tasty addition to any savory dish.
Onions are very simple to prepare and grill, with only a few ingredients and ready in 40 minutes. Add them to your favorite burger or steak for the perfect meal.
What’s The Best Way To Grill Onions?
Onions are usually grilled at high heat – approximately 400 – 450°F temperature – while caramelized onions are cooked on low heat for a longer time.
Restaurants usually call sautéed onions, grilled onions, which are often actually cooked on a griddle rather than a grill. If you want a restaurant style onions you are most likely looking for our caramelized onions.
What Kind Of Onions?
The best recommended onion for grilling is a sweet onion like Vidalias, which have a mellow sweeter flavor. And while we all know red onions are great for salads, they’re perfect for cooking on the grill as well.
How Do You Cut An Onion For Grilling?
The most important tip is to use a skewer in each slice of onion to keep the whole onion together while it grills. It also makes it easier to move them as needed, because we don’t want layers of the onion to fall apart when it starts to soften as it cooks.
First, you need to peel and cut the ends off a large onion. After that push the skewers through the onion crosswise at the same intervals.
You will need approximately 4 skewers for each onion. Both metal and wooden skewers will work well. If you use wooden skewers cut as much of the excess skewer off as possible on both sides of the onion after inserting it into the onion. This will help keep them from burning while onion is grilling.
Steps For Grilling Onions
- Preheat the grill for about 5 minutes.
- Brush onion slices with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
- Place each slice of onion on the grill.
- Cook for approximately 10-15 minutes on each side.
- Once the onion is tender it is done.
Tip: you don’t want to overcook the onion, so check it after 10 minutes. If it’s not ready, cook it a little longer, checking every few minutes.
Serving Grilled Onions
Grilled onion is the perfect addition to burgers or steaks. It adds extra flavor to any dish – well, any savory dish. Give it a try with our Beef Stroganoff Burger or delicious Lamb Burgers. They can be also added to salads or you can eat them as a side dish.
More Recipes For The Grill
The Best Grilled Onions Recipe
These are the best grilled onions around. Full of flavor, tender and mildly sweet onion is a tasty addition to any savory dish.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 large onions (Vidalia or red onion)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 8 skewers
Instructions
- Heat the grill for 5 minutes.
- Peel onions and remove the ends. Put skewers crosswise in the same intervals.*
- Brush each slice of onion with olive oil on both sides.
- Season with salt and black pepper on both sides.
- Place slices of onion on the grill. Flip after 10-15 minutes. Cook another 10-15 minutes on other side.
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Notes
*You will need approximately 4 skewers for each onion. Both metal and wooden skewers will work well. If you use wooden skewers cut as much of the excess skewer off as possible on both sides of the onion after inserting it into the onion. This will help keep them from burning while onion is grilling.
This post originally appeared in November 2020 and was revised and republished in April 2024.
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