BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Stuffed Vidalia Onions

We are an onion lovin’ family and I use them often in my cooking. I would say, in 99% of my dishes featuring onions, I use sweet Southern Vidalia onions. So when I came across the Vidalia onion recipe contest this month, I knew I had to enter a couple delish recipes. My first recipe entry to share with you is BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Stuffed Vidalia Onions. I have always wanted to make stuffed onions and I came up with this Americanized Bacon Cheeseburger idea and ran with it! The end result was a juicy, flavorful onion filled with creamy savory goodness! This one’s a winner in my book {and hopefully yours too!}.

Ingredients:

Makes 2 servings

2 large Vidalia onions
2 cups beef broth
2 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tbsp cream cheese, softened
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt/pepper, to taste
2 tbsp BBQ sauce
green onions or chives, diced for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the top and bottom off of onions and remove outside peels.
Fill a baking dish with beef broth and add onions.
Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and place onions on a cutting board to cool slightly.
Pour beef broth into a container, let cool, then keep for another use.
Meanwhile, add ground beef to a skillet over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Stir and cook beef until cooked through and no longer pink.
Drain any excess grease.
Add cream cheese, chopped bacon, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese to meat mixture and stir until combined and melted.
Cut a circle out of the top of the cooked onions {similar to carving a pumpkin} and using a grapefruit spoon or small scoop, remove a few layers of the center onion.
Sprinkle 2 tbsp cheese into the bottom of each onion.
Spoon meat filling into both onions, pushing down and stuffing the onions, then mounding the mixture on top.
Add remaining shredded cheese on top of onions.
Bake for 10 minutes to heat throughout and melt the cheese.
Place the onions on a plate and drizzle each with BBQ sauce and garnish with diced green onions.
Serve hot with a side of fresh steamed veggies and enjoy!

Start with large sweet Vidalia onions.

Peel outer skin and cut the end and top off both onions.

Place onions in a baking dish and fill halfway with beef broth.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir until cooked and no longer pink. Drain grease.

For the ultimate creamy bacon cheeseburger filling I use lots of shredded cheddar cheese, crunchy bacon, and a touch of cream cheese to bring it all together.

Add bacon and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese to the cooked ground beef. Stir to combine.

Add a tbsp of cream cheese to the mix and heat until melted and mixed well.

Remove from oven and place onions to a cutting board to cool slightly.

Pour beef broth into a container, let cool, then keep for another use.

Cut a circle out of the top of the cooked onions {similar to carving a pumpkin} and using a grapefruit spoon or small scoop, remove a few layers of the center onion.

Place hulled out onions back in the baking dish.

TIP: Don’t throw away the onions you removed from the middle.
I place them in the reserved warm beef broth, let cool, then refrigerate and keep to make a gravy, au jus, or French onion soup later.

Sprinkle 2 tbsp cheese into the bottom of each onion.
Then spoon meat filling into both onions, pushing down and stuffing the onions, then mounding the mixture on top. Add the remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top of the onions.