• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Belly Rumbles
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Restaurants
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Restaurants
  • Work With Us
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Christmas Sides

    Baked Stuffed Onions with Parmesan Cream

    December 11, 2012 By Sara McCleary Updated December 10, 2020 - This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe

    Baked stuffed onions hit the bullseye if you are after the ultimate Christmas side dish to go with your roast turkey or glazed ham. To make them even more delicious they are also doused in parmesan cream.

    The onions are rich, hearty, and delicious. So much more fun than a standard baked onion. Stuffing an onion really elevates the humble onion bulb into something rather magical.

    They have become a firm family favourite.  I often make them during the Australian winter with a roast. Christmas is only once a year, and these onions deserve to be eaten more than once.

    Sara xxx

    above view of the baked stuffed onions

    Ingredients

    baked stuffed onions ingredients
    1. White Onions: Use white onions (salad onions) if you can as they have a milder and sweeter taste to brown or Spanish (red) onions. They are the perfect choice for stuffed baked onions.
    2. Salt: Flavour enhancer, used for seasoning.
    3. Parsley: Adds a herbaceous note to the stuffing. To change things up you could use thyme, basil, or even oregano.
    4. Pepper: A little seasoning kick to the stuffing.
    5. Cream: Use thick cream. Along with the parmesan creates a lovely sauce that gets between the onion layers.
    6. Ham: This can be omitted if you want to make them vegetarian.
    7. Parmesan: Finely grated it is mixed with the cream to create a delicious sauce.
    8. Breadcrumbs: Catches all the flavour from the cream and parmesan cheese.
    9. Garlic: Use one or two crushed cloves, depending on how much you love garlic.
    baked stuffed onions in baking dish

    Recipe Walk Through

    securing onions with toothpicks for cooking

    Fill a large pot with salted water and place on stove top to heat to a simmer.

    Whilst water is coming to a simmer, peel skin from onions and remove roots, keeping the onions whole.

    Place wooden toothpicks in either side of the onion to hold them together.

    Cook onions in simmering water for 30 minutes or until just tender.

    cooking onions in a large pot
    cooling onions in a colander after cooking

    Reserve ½ cup of the onion cooking liquid, then drain the onions in to a colander.

    Leave onions in colander to cool until easy to handle.

    Cut onions in half and remove toothpicks.

    cutting onions after cooking between the toothpicks
    removing their hearts with a fork

    Remove the heart of the onion halves and reserve.

    Place onion halves, cut side up, in a baking dish that has been lightly greased with olive oil.

    onions with hearts removed ready for stuffing
    mixing up the stuffing for the baked stuffed onions in a small glass bowl

    Chop the reserved onion hearts finely.

    In a medium bowl place finely chopped onion hearts, garlic, ham, parsley, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and mix well.

    Stuff mixture into the onions and don’t be scared to pile it high.

    adding stuffing to the onions
    spooning over parmesan cream

    Mix cream and parmesan together in a small bowl. Spoon cream mixture over the top of the stuffed onions.

    Pour the reserved ½ cup of onion cooking water in the base of the baking dish.

    Place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

    Serve the baked stuffed onions immediately.

    adding wine to the baking dish
    close up of the baked stuffed onions
    baked stuffed onions recipe

    Baked Stuffed Onions with Parmesan Cream

    Recipe Author: Sara McCleary
    Baked stuffed onions hit the bullseye if you are after the ultimate Christmas side dish to go with your roast turkey or glazed ham. To make them even more delicious they are also doused in parmesan cream.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 1 hr
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 20 mins
    Course Christmas, Sides
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 6
    Calories 170 kcal

    Special Equipment

    • Large pot
    • baking dish
    • chopping board + sharp knife

    Ingredients

    • 6 medium white onions
    • 1 garlic clove crushed
    • 2 tablespoons ham finely diced
    • 2 tablespoons continental parsley finely chopped
    • 2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
    • salt & pepper
    • 4 tablespoons grated parmesan
    • 150 mls thick cream

    Instructions
     

    • Fill a large pot with salted water and place on stove top to heat to a simmer.
    • Whilst water is coming to a simmer, peel skin from onions and remove roots, keeping the onions whole. Place a wooden toothpick in either side of the onion to hold them together.
    • Cook onions in simmering water for 30 minutes or until just tender. Reserve ½ cup of the onion cooking liquid, then drain the onions into a coladner.
      Leave onions in the colander to cool until easy to handle.
    • Preheat oven at 180°C (350°F).
    • Cut onions in half and remove toothpicks.
    • Remove the inner hearts of the onions and reserve.
    • Oil and baking dish. Place onions cut side up in the baking dish.
    • Finely chop reserved onion hearts. In a medium bowl place finely chopped onion hearts, garlic, ham, parsley, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
    • Stuff mixture into the onions and don't be scared to pile it high.
    • Mix parmesan, and cream, together in a small bowl then spoon over the onions.
    • Pour the reserved onion water in to the base of the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.

    Notes

    GENERAL COOK’S NOTES
    All oven temperatures are for a conventional oven, if using fan forced lower the temperature by 20 Deg C (70 Deg F).
    All measurements are Australian tablespoons and cups. All measures are level, and cups are lightly packed unless specified;
    • 1 teaspoon equals 5ml
    • 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml (Nth America, NZ & UK use 15ml tablespoons)
    • 1 cup equals 250ml (Nth America use 237ml)
    • 4 teaspoons equals 1 tablespoon
    • I use the below unless specified in my recipes;
    Herbs are fresh | Vegetables are of a medium size | Eggs are roughly 60 grams in weight (large) 
    NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION BELOW IS A GUIDE ONLY

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1gramsCalories: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 148mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4g
    Keyword best way to bake an onion, creamy onions, roast dinner side dishes
    Did You Make This Recipe?I do a happy dance when people share how they went. Tag me on Instagram or Twitter @bellyrumbles & #bellyrumbles

    More Christmas Side Dishes

    You will find more delicious recipes in our Christmas sides category. Including my super crunchy Parmentier potatoes, and the unusual but delicious dill pickle pasta salad.

    • My Mum's Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon
    • Perfect Parmentier Potatoes Every Time
    • Unusual but Tasty Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
    • Easy Hasselback Butternut Squash Pumpkin Recipe
    pinterest pin
    pinterest pin
    « Festive Sausage Rolls
    Slice & Bake Cookie Recipe »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. [email protected]

      January 04, 2013 at 2:00 am

      I love recipes like that. We have heaps of newspaper cut outs that are family staples. I think our treat dish is probably the trifle. Everything else usually makes an appearance at other times.

      Reply
    2. Carole

      December 20, 2012 at 8:47 pm

      Hi there. The current Food on Friday is all about onions! So it would be great if you linked this in. This is the link . Wishing you very happy Holidays!

      Reply
      • Sara

        December 29, 2012 at 10:07 am

        Thanks Carole, I will check it out.

        Reply
    3. ahu

      December 12, 2012 at 2:24 am

      These are beautiful! I almost thought they were scallops at first. We stuff onions frequently in our cuisine (Persian) but never seen it with cheese. This looks delicious!

      Reply
      • Sara

        December 29, 2012 at 10:05 am

        I will have to do a bit of a search for Persian stuffed onions, I imagine they would be lovely.

        Reply
    4. Christine @ Cooking Crusade

      December 12, 2012 at 12:03 am

      Wow I've never had stuffed onions before! These look divine. I usually whip out a trifle at Chrissy 😀

      Reply
      • Sara

        December 29, 2012 at 10:04 am

        My sis-in-law is the trifle queen in our family, she always does one for Chrissy

        Reply
    5. Nic

      December 11, 2012 at 11:34 am

      This is very similar to a Jamie Oliver recipe. I tried it a couple of times and despite its deliciousness I decided life is too short to stuff an onion!

      Reply
      • Sara

        December 29, 2012 at 10:02 am

        There are a family fave, and take no time to make, except the simmering of the actual onions. Then it is spooning the mixture in and banging them in the oven.

        Reply
    6. Gaby

      December 11, 2012 at 10:04 pm

      I don't know why it never crossed my mind to stuff onions but it sounds delicious.

      Reply
      • Sara

        December 29, 2012 at 10:03 am

        These guys are well worth making.

        Reply
    7. Robyn Little

      December 11, 2012 at 9:23 am

      Sounds so delicious - can't beat cheese and onions.

      Reply
      • Sara

        December 29, 2012 at 10:00 am

        Definitely a combo I like 🙂

        Reply
    8. muppy

      December 11, 2012 at 6:53 am

      These look delicious! i've been looking out for christmas deliciousness.....

      Reply
      • Sara

        December 29, 2012 at 9:59 am

        Awe thanks Muppy.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    photo of Sara McCleary, Founder, Belly Rumbles culinary travel blog

    Well hello there! I’m Sara McCleary a food photographer, creative recipe developer, and avid traveller (when the World isn’t in a pandemic).

    Welcome to Belly Rumbles, my slice of the Internet.

    I share Recipes discovered or inspired by my adventures and family favourites too! Come join me on my culinary adventure.

    More about me ?

    Footer

    back to top


    Nitty Gritty

    About Us

    Let's Connect

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • About
    • Sara McCleary
    • Work With Us
    • Contact
    • Sign Up! for emails and updates
    • Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

    © Sara McCleary and Belly Rumbles® 2009-2022

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Yummly
    • LinkedIn
    • Reddit
    35 shares