Bacon cheeseburger stuffed onions are tender, sweet onion petals wrapped around a filling of seasoned ground beef, crispy bacon, chopped pickles and little pockets of melty cheddar, baked in a skillet until golden and drizzled with homemade Thousand Island. It's our very American spin on a classic Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dish, and it's pure comfort food.
This post is sponsored by Staub. As always, all opinions are our own!
A cheeseburger, wrapped in an onion!
First things first: we need to give credit where it's due. Stuffed onions are absolutely not our invention. They're a centuries-old dish you'll find from Egypt to Turkey to Iraq. They're known as basal mahshi in Arabic and soğan dolması in Turkish, where whole onions are boiled, separated into layers, filled with spiced rice and ground lamb or beef, and simmered in a tangy tomato or pomegranate broth. And they're absolutely delicious!
Our version keeps the technique and swaps in a very Americanized flavor profile of a bacon cheeseburger. Ground beef and bacon, ketchup and mustard, dill pickles, and cubes of sharp cheddar that melt into gooey pockets while the onions bake. We finish them with a quick homemade Thousand Island (store-bought is fine, too) and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, because what's a cheeseburger without the bun?
The whole concept is a little silly, but works so well. It also happens to be a great low carb recipe for those interested!
We use our Staub 3.5 qt braiser for the bake. It goes from stovetop to oven, holds the heat evenly thanks to an enameled cast iron surface, and the lid is what keeps the onions from drying out during the first 20 minutes. I love that the lid is glass so you can see what's happening under there!
Plus, it looks great going straight to the table. This is cookware that will last you a lifetime (and will look stunning in any kitchen). 1000% worth the investment. We have it in a gorgeous bright yellow color called Citron, but there are so many options for any color preference.
xoxo, Lexi & Beth
Key Ingredients Needed For Bacon Cheeseburger Stuffed Onions
- Onions: Bigger is better, since each layer needs to be big enough to hold filling. Sweet onions like Vidalia give you a milder, almost caramelized flavor, while yellow onions hold their shape a little better. Either is fine here! If your onions are on the smaller side, you will need 4-5 instead of 3. Once the layers start to get small, they aren't really usable.
- Ground beef: I like to use 85/15 here, which keeps the filling moist. Leaner ground beef will work fine, I'd maybe just add a little more broth.
- Tomato paste: We use ketchup in the filling too, so this might seem redundant, but it adds more depth than ketchup does and you only need a small amount.
- Ketchup, yellow mustard and Worcestershire: The burger trifecta!
- Breadcrumbs: Plain breadcrumbs help to bind the filling slightly so it's easy to stuff the onions. Panko is totally fine, too. If you use seasoned breadcrumbs, you'll want to cut down on the salt.
- Sharp cheddar: You can shred it, but we prefer to cut it into tiny cubes, which melt into distinct pockets of cheese instead of mixing into the beef. It's a small change that really makes these taste like a cheeseburger!
- For the dressing: Mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, mustard, pickle juice, Worcestershire and garlic powder (lots of overlap with the filling!). It takes two minutes and tastes like the sauce on a *certain* famous burger. Store-bought Thousand Island dressing or really any burger sauce is totally fine. You also don't need the sauce, but it does really complete the whole cheeseburger flavor profile.
How to Make Bacon Cheeseburger Stuffed Onions
There are a few steps here, but none of them are hard, and the filling can be made a day ahead! The full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Boil and separate the onions
Cut off both ends of each onion, then peel and cut a slit from the outside to the center of each onion. Simmer in salted water for about 15 minutes, until softened, then cool and peel the layers apart. Once you get to the small pieces in the center, stop peeling. Dice those up for the filling.
Make the filling
Cook the diced bacon until crispy, then remove it and brown the beef in the same skillet. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and pour off most of the fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon behind.
Sauté the diced onion, garlic and tomato paste for a minute or two. Add the beef and bacon back in with the ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, seasonings and ¼ cup of broth. Stir in the breadcrumbs, let it cool a few minutes, then fold in the pickles and cubed cheddar. Want to make your own pickles? Try our quick pickle recipe.
Fill, roll and bake
Scoop about ¼ cup of filling into each onion petal and roll it closed. Arrange the onions seam side down in a greased 12-inch skillet, pour in the remaining ½ cup of broth, and bake at 375˚F covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes more, until golden on top.
Make the dressing and serve!
Whisk together the ingredients for the Thousand Island while the onions bake. If it's too thick to pour, whisk in a little more pickle juice or just a splash of water.
Drizzle it over the top of the baked onions, sprinkle with sesame seeds and parsley, and serve warm.
Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
- Don't over-boil the onions. About 15 minutes is enough to make the layers easy to work with, but not so soft that they tear apart when you roll them.
- Use the lid. The first 20 minutes covered is what steams the onions so they're nice and tender. If your skillet doesn't have a lid, aluminum foil is fine!
- Make the filling ahead. It keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, so you can boil the onions and fill them later on. Great for turning this into a quick weeknight meal!
- Don't try to top these with shredded cheese. We learned this from experience, unfortunately. In early tests, the cheese just slid right off the onions, even when we tried broiling it. But don't worry, there's plenty of cheese in the filling!
- Storage: Keep these stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days (keep the dressing stored separately!). Reheat them in a 350˚F oven, covered and with a little more beef broth, for ~15 minutes, or in the microwave in 1-minute bursts until warmed through.
- Freezer storage: These freeze nicely! Freeze the baked onions in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat covered in the oven as directed above.
More Comfort Food Recipes You'll Love
- Shepherd's Pie Twice Baked Potatoes
- Meatball Sub Bites
- Chili Pie with Cornbread Topping
- Vegan Cabbage Rolls (the same roll-and-bake idea, but plant-based!)
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📖 Recipe
Bacon Cheeseburger Stuffed Onions
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F and lightly grease a 12-inch skillet.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Slice off the top and bottom of each onion, then peel. Make a cut in each onion halfway through the onion (to the center) so there's a slit. Add the whole onions and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the onion is softened.
- Remove the onions and let cool until they are easy to handle. Carefully peel off each layer of the onion, and set aside. We discarded the outermost layer. When you get to the center and cannot get a large enough petal to use for filling, set it aside and finely dice it to use in the meat filling.
- In a separate large skillet, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until crispy and browned, then remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel.
- In the same skillet, cook the ground beef, breaking it apart until no longer pink and fully cooked through. Remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard most of the fat, leaving just about 1 tablespoon in the skillet.
- Add in the chopped onion, garlic and tomato paste, cooking for just a minute or two.
- Add back in the cooked ground beef, bacon, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mustard, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and ¼ cup of beef broth. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring until well combined and moist. Remove from heat.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs, then let it cool for a few minutes. Stir in the pickles and the cubed cheddar, mixing just until evenly incorporated. You don't want the cheese to fully melt into the ground beef – it will melt into distinct pockets in the oven.
- Take an onion petal and scoop about ¼ cup of filling into the center, rolling the onion around to enclose the filling. The larger onion peels can be cut in half.
- Place the filled onions seam side down in the prepared skillet, arranging them in one layer. Repeat with all remaining onions/filling. Pour in the remaining ½ cup of beef broth.
- Cover with a lid and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the onions are light golden brown on top.
- While the onions are cooking, whisk together all ingredients for the dressing. If it's too thick, thin it out with more pickle juice or a splash of water.
- Serve the stuffed onions warm with dressing drizzled over the top, sesame seeds and (optional) chopped parsley for some freshness. Enjoy!
Notes
- Onions: Large sweet or yellow onions both work. If yours are small, use 4 to 5 instead of 3, since the inner layers get too small to roll.
- Don’t over-boil the onions: It only takes about 15 minutes for the layers to be pliable. If you go longer, they may tear when you roll them.
- Cheese: Cube it instead than shredding it, and let the filling cool a few minutes before stirring it in so it melts into pockets instead of distributing into the beef. Don’t top the onions with shredded cheese (it slides right off!).
- Make ahead: The filling keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Boil the onions and fill them when you’re ready to bake. This makes this recipe much more weeknight-friendly!
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers for 3 to 4 days with the dressing stored separately. Reheat covered in a 350˚F oven with a splash of broth for about 15 minutes. Freeze baked onions in a single layer, then bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and reheat the same way.
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