The Right Way to Grill Onions (So They Don’t Fall Through the Grates)

Whenever I’m stuck on ideas for dinner, I reach for an onion (yes, even in the summer). Onions often play an ancillary role when adding depth and flavor to many dishes, but rarely do they get top billing. But onions are a vegetable and can be cooked just as you would any other produce — and in the summertime, they’re perfect for grilling. Grilled onions might not have the celeb status of charred corn on the cob, yet they are among the best side dishes you can make this season. Here, I’ll teach you two ways to cut, grill, and serve onions all summer long. 

The best types of onions to grill are red and sweet onions because they become sweet, tender, and caramelized over the fire. Don’t fret if you have yellow or white onions on hand — this method works for those onions as well.

Cut onions into wedges or rounds for grilling, depending on how you plan to serve them. 

Halve the onion and remove the peel before cutting each half into quarters. Leave the root end intact when cutting into wedges, so that the layers do not separate and fall through the grill grates. 

Trim the ends of the onion and remove the peel. While the onion is still whole, insert a row of skewers from root to tip, 1/2- to 3/4-inch apart. Slice between each skewer to form rounds. The skewer will keep the rounds intact on the grill, keeping them from slipping through the grates and allow for easy flipping.

Despite what you may have heard, grilled and caramelized onions are two wildly different things. 

Tender, grilled onions are a tasty side dish that you can serve alongside almost any main dish, including a spread of other grilled vegetables. Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy them:

And don’t forget to save space on the grill for onion rounds when serving juicy beef or mushroom burgers this summer.