The meat stuffed onions are a tasty and different main course, great when served hot or at room temperature. Stuffed vegetables are indeed a great alternative to usual main dishes and are also a very practical solution if you need to cook in advance. If you ever find flat white onions for sale, known for their sweet and delicate flavor, one of the best ways to cook them — besides making them gratinated — is to stuff them with ground meat, seasoned with Parmesan and herbs. However, if flat onions are not available, you can prepare meat stuffed onions using common white or golden onions: you will just need to cut them in half and proceed to stuff them the same way. Since onions generally take quite a long time to cook in the oven, it is necessary to boil them in boiling water for about ten minutes. Meat stuffed onions can be served both as a main course and as an appetizer and the stuffing can be customized to your liking: at the end of the recipe, I will leave you some suggestions.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Oven, Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 486.63 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 40.27 (g) of which sugars 15.46 (g)
- Proteins 31.17 (g)
- Fat 23.13 (g) of which saturated 8.97 (g)of which unsaturated 8.74 (g)
- Fibers 6.58 (g)
- Sodium 606.76 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 307 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Meat Stuffed Onions
These amounts are designed for an appetizer for 4 people or a main course for 2 people.
- 1.5 lbs onions (flat or golden)
- 2/3 cup beef (ground)
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (grated)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (+ as needed for garnish; gluten-free for me)
- 1 egg (medium)
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch parsley
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pot large
- 1 Melon Baller
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking Tray
- Parchment Paper
How to Prepare Meat Stuffed Onions
To prepare the meat stuffed onions, start by cleaning the onions: if you use flat onions, you’ll only need to remove the part with the filaments (1). If you use round onions, remove both ends and the skin; don’t cut them in half now, but do it after boiling them, otherwise they might open during cooking.
Bring plenty of lightly salted water to a boil and immerse the onions (2). Boil them for 10-12 minutes (depending on the size of the onions), then drain and let them cool slightly. If using flat onions, use a melon baller or a teaspoon to remove the center, so only a couple of rings remain (3).
If using round onions, cut them in half and position them cut side up, then hollow them out leaving only two or three rings. In both cases, the part of the onion you removed should be finely chopped with a knife after discarding the core (4).
Put the chopped onion in a bowl and add the ground meat, chopped parsley, a good pinch of salt, and a grind of pepper (5). Mix briefly, then add Parmesan and breadcrumbs (6).
After you have well incorporated the ingredients, also add the egg (7) and carefully mix it into the stuffing, until you obtain a homogeneous and fairly compact mixture (8). Use it to fill the onions, both inside and on top (9).
If you have leftover stuffing, you can make small meatballs, which you can easily add to the baking tray and bake in the oven along with the onions. Dust the surface of the stuffed onions with a little breadcrumbs (10).
Place the onions on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and drizzle them with a little extra virgin olive oil (11). Bake them in a preheated oven at 350°F (static) for 45-50 minutes. When the onions are slightly golden, remove them from the oven (12) and let them rest for at least 5-10 minutes.
You can serve the meat stuffed onions either hot or at room temperature. With these quantities, I stuffed 4 medium-sized flat onions, which is enough as a main course for two people or as an appetizer for four people.
Storage
You can store meat stuffed onions in the refrigerator, closed in a glass container, for 3 days.
Tips and Variations
You can enrich the filling with mortadella, sausage, cooked ham, or speck. As mentioned, if you have leftover stuffing, you can make meatballs to add to the baking tray and cook along with the onions for the same amount of time.
