Tennessee onions are thick slices of sweet onions baked in butter, garlic, and loads of melty cheese. The onions are served soft, tender, cheesy, and delicious.
This vegetable side dish pairs perfectly with steak, burgers, grilled chicken, and pork chops. Try it with your next dinner; the whole family will love it.
"I am from Middle Tennessee, and I have been eating this luscious onion dish my entire life. We just never called them Tennessee Onions, LOL. We just called them "Baked Onions and Cheese". Some of my friends sprinkle the top with a little bit of Panko crumbs before baking. I use the seasoned ones but omit the oregano from the recipe. If you can't find Vidalias, substitute Maui onions or any round, white sweet onion. If you are an onion lover, you will be so happy you made this. And it seems to be a "man magnet"! Don't use the pre-grated cheese! Freshly grated cheese ALWAYS tastes so much better. Any mixture of cheese will work. I like cheddar, gruyere, jack, a little goat cheese, Muenster, or really any cheese you love. (I skip the Blue varieties). Enjoy!!!"
★★★★★ -Pamela
Onions are used as a topping for salad, sandwiches, and burgers. Why not eat them as a side?
Onions are a vegetable. They are packed with nutrients.
If you cook them in loads of butter and cheese, they are absolutely delicious! I hope you love them as much as we do. Enjoy! xoxo ~Katie.
Jump to:
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make Tennessee Onions.
- Sweet Onions-Use sweet Vidalia onions if you can get your hands on them. Otherwise any sweet onion will do. I do not recommend yellow onions.
- Butter-Do not substitute with margarine or oil.
- garlic powder or garlic salt
- Oregano-Dried or fresh.
- salt and black pepper to taste-If you enjoy a little spice, add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper for a little extra heat.
- sharp cheddar cheese-You can substitute with any type of cheddar. I personally enjoy the bold flavor sharp cheddar cheese offers.
- mozzarella cheese- You can substitute with the Italian blend cheese.
- Parmesan cheese
*Full recipe with measurements is located at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Cheese Tip
Cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese are the traditional cheese combination for Tennessee onions. However, you can swap out any of these and substitute with Gouda, Swiss, Asiagio, or Monterrey Jack cheese. If I have Gouda on hand, I like to use cheddar, Gouda, and Parmesan cheese when making this dish.
How to make Tennessee Onions
Follow these simple steps to make Tennessee Onions.
- Slice sweet onions into ¼ in thick slices. Seperate the onion rings and spread in a 9x13in prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle onion rings with salt, garlic powder, and oregano.
- Thinly slice butter and arrange evenly over the top of the onions.
- Evenly layer cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese over the top of the onions.
- Bake onions uncovered in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve.
Watch how to make
What is a sweet onion?
Sweet onions are lower in sulfur and less pungent than other onions. Because they are lower in sulfer, you are able to taste the natural sugars, giving them a sweeter flavor.
Sweet onions also will not make you cry when cutting them.
Popular sweet onion varieties include the Vidalia, Walla Walla, Texas Sweet, and Maui Sweet. The Mattamuskeet Sweets are grown in my current hometown, Beaufort, NC.
The Vidalia onion is the ideal onion for this cheesy combination, but any sweet onion will do.
When are Vidalia Onions in season?
Vidalia onions are in season in the summer time.
However, Tennessee onions are a great dish to eat year long. If Vidalia onions are not in season, choose any sweet onion variety.
Please leave me a comment below if you make these cheesy onions and tell me what you think. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your cheesy onion casserole on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
📖 Recipe
Tennessee Onions Recipe-Cheesy Onion Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 sweet onions Use Vidalia onions if you can. Otherwise any sweet onion will do.
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice sweet onions into ¼ in thick slices. Seperate the onion rings and spread in a greased 9x13in baking dish.4 sweet onions
- Sprinkle onion rings with salt, garlic powder, and oregano.1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon oregano, salt and pepper to taste
- Thinly slice butter and arrange evenly over the onions.4 tablespoons butter
- Evenly layer cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese over the onions.1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup Parmesan
- Bake onions uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese are the traditional cheese combination for Tennessee onions. However, you can swap out any of these and substitute with Italian blend, Gouda, Swiss, Asiagio, or Monterrey Jack cheese. If I have Gouda on hand, I like to use cheddar, Gouda, and Parmesan cheese when making this dish.
MJ Compton says
Perfection in a baking dish. I made this as a side with meatloaf and roasted potatoes on a blustery winter night. Keeper!
Hilary Davis says
Omg...heaven on earth!! DELICIOUS!!
Never made these before but will definitely be making them again. Only thing is we will be adding more cheese, There Is Never Enough cheese on anything!!
Pamela S. Allison says
I am from Middle Tennessee, and I have been eating this luscious onion dish my entire life. We just never called them Tennessee Onions, LOL. We just called them "Baked Onions and Cheese". Some of my friends sprinkle the top with a little bit of Panko crumbs before baking. I use the seasoned ones but omit the oregano from the recipe. If you can't find Vidalias, substitute Maui onions or any round, white sweet onion. If you are an onion lover, you will be so happy you made this. And it seems to be a "man magnet"! Don't use the pre-grated cheese! Freshly grated cheese ALWAYS tastes so much better. Any mixture of cheese will work. I like cheddar, gruyere, jack, a little goat cheese, Muenster, or really any cheese you love. (I skip the Blue varieties). Enjoy!!!
Katie Crenshaw says
I love all the extra tips! Thank you so much Pamela!
Dee says
Oh my goodness! I've never heard of Tennessee onions. Man this looks good!
Moop Brown says
I've never tried Tennessee onions before but this recipe has me intrigued and wanting to try. Thank you for sharing!
Claire says
I've never heard of Tennessee onions before but I'm so intrigued by this recipe. Can't wait to give it a try!
Ann says
These onions sound like a great side dish option. I have not made something like this before. Thanks for the recipe share!
Susan says
Wow!! I love how these sound - they must be so full of flavor!! And so perfect for a fall side dish.
Valentina says
This looks so good! I have never had Tennessee Onions but I would love to try it. Will save this recipe for later.
Carrie Robinson says
I can't say that I have ever had these before! But how can you possibly go wrong with onions, butter, and lots of cheese?? 😉 Yum!
Mindy S says
A delicious baked onion dish! I served along with steaks and it was delicious. Also paired with steamed broccoli. Yum!
Lauren Michael Harris says
We made these onions to pair with steaks this weekend - soooo good! I don't know if we'll be making steaks without them now!
Tristin says
Me and my daughter are huge onion lovers so this was just the recipe for us! We used cheddar, gouda, and parm like you recommended. So good and cheesy!
Amy Liu Dong says
It was a fun experience making this! It is very worth it and I just love the topping on the onions, very delicious!
Jamie says
Wow! This is such a great Onion dish! It looks amazingly delicious! I love the butter and loads of cheese you've done with this! It will definitely boost the taste of every onion! Totally love it!