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Creative Ways to Use Onions

By Lori Taylor

Apr 29, 2022, Updated May 16, 2023

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Onions are one of those veggies we can’t live without. Whether we’re chopping them, stewing them, frying them, caramelizing them, or eating them fresh in a salad or sandwich, they add essential flavor and crunch to all kinds of recipes. But they rarely get to shine as the star ingredient in a meal – we think its time to change that! Join us in the Life.Style.Live! kitchen to learn some creative ways to use onions.

Air Fryer Egg Rolls

Everyone gets excited about egg rolls! They’re deliciously flavorful, delightfully crunchy, and easy eat. Even better, they’re easy to make, too! Using your air fryer, you can make perfectly crispy egg rolls at home that your friends and family will love. We got our inspiration from this TikTok:

@whatsmomcookin Air fryer egg rolls! So good! #HaventSeen #MakeItMagical #DejaTuHuella #appetizer @paytongrillz ♬ pepper – punker

Our egg rolls are filled with sweet Vidalia Onions courtesy of our partners at the Vidalia Onion Committee. Since it’s in season right now, there’s no better veggie to cook with when finding creative ways to use onions. Heat brings out the full flavor of Vidalias, which means they’re perfect for using in recipes like these Air Fryer Egg Rolls.

We made this egg roll recipe even easier by using coleslaw mix. No need to chop your own slaw! Mix the coleslaw with diced Vidalia onions that have been cooked until they’re just a little bit translucent. Next, add some toasted sesame oil and freshly grated ginger to get the perfect flavor. Saute the mixture until it’s nice and soft, or about 3 minutes.

Because the Vidalia onion flavor is the only one we want in these egg rolls, we replaced the chopped green onions you would normally use with sugar snap peas. Chop these up and add them to the mix after everything else has cooked. They’ll add a nice flavor and a little extra crunch.

Now you’re ready to roll up these egg rolls! We used premade wrappers, which you can usually find in the dairy or frozen food section of your grocery store. Place some filling in the center of the wrapper, then fold two opposite corners over the filling until they just barely touch. Start from one of the unfolded corners and roll up the egg roll until it’s nice and tight. Place them seam-side-down in the air fryer and cook them until they’re golden and crispy!

Traditional Vidalia Air Fryer Egg Rolls

Ingredients

• 6 egg roll wrappers
• 1 bag coleslaw mix
• 1 Vidalia onion, chopped or diced
• 1 cup of sugar snap peas, diced
• 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp ginger grated
• 1 clove garlic {minced}
• 1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat a frying pan for a few minutes over medium heat.
2. Add the sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and coleslaw mix. Cook down for 2-3 minutes or until the cabbage has wilted.
3. Add the snap peas, soy sauce, and black pepper. Stir and remove from heat.
4. Assemble your egg rolls.
5. Brush olive oil over the top of the egg rolls.
6. Brush olive oil on the basket of your air fryer. Place the egg rolls in the basket, seam side down, without letting them touch each other.
7. Bake at 360 degrees F for 7 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 2 minutes.

Hot Honey Roasted Vidalia Onions

If you want some extra kick in your recipes this season, we have just the thing: hot honey! This trendy ingredient adds sweet-and-spicy depth to the sweet flavor of Vidalia onions. You can find it in the honey section at the grocery store or make it yourself: just add some Tabasco or chili flakes to some honey and you’re good to go!

We’ve oven roasted some of our Vidalia onions with hot honey to create an incredible, versatile recipe. These onions are delicious in our Air Fryer Egg Rolls (see below!) or on burgers, in wraps, or anywhere else you could use roasted onions.

Get the recipe for Hot Honey Roasted Vidalia Onions here!

Hot Honey Vidalia Onion Egg Rolls

Ingredients

• 6 egg roll wrappers
• 1 Hot Honey Roasted Vidalia Onions, diced
• 1 cup Monterey jack cheese

Directions

1. Assemble your egg rolls.
2. Brus olive oil over the top of the egg rolls.
3. Brush olive oil on the basket of your air fryer. Place the egg rolls in the basket, seam side down without letting them touch each other.
4. Bake at 360 degrees F for 7 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 2 minutes
5. Serve with a side of hot honey for dipping or drizzle on top.

Onion Bombers

Make a one-of-a-kind treat out of your Vidalia onions while they’re in season by cooking up these Onion Bombers. These are low in carbs, high in veggies, and sure are tasty! We found these creative ways to use onions on TikTok:

@regular_gourmetjoe Onion bombers #grill #bbq #smoke #howtobbq #cooking #food #onion #howto #learnontiktok #fyp #easyrecipe #foryoupage #regulargourmetjoe ♬ La Grange (2019 Remaster) – ZZ Top

Start by cutting the top and bottom off of the onion. Cutting the top will allow you to hollow it out (which we’ll do in a moment), while slicing off the bottom means it will stand upright while it’s cooking. To hollow out the onion, use your knife to cut a cone shape out of the top. Next, use a spoon (or even better, a grapefruit spoon) to hollow out the onion while leaving the bottom intact. You should have a cup or bowl shape remaining.

Now we’re ready to fill it up! We use a mixture of ground hamburger and diced mushrooms – this helps cut down on the amount of meat while adding some extra veggies and savory flavor to the recipe. You can mix the meat and mushrooms together or layer them in the onion. Wrap the outside of the onion with a slice of bacon. If the onion is too large, use two slices. Use a toothpick to keep the bacon in place on the onion.

We’re almost ready to put these in the oven (or over the campfire, or in the smoker, or wherever you’d like to cook them), but first we need to add the sauce! Cover the bacon on the outside of the onion with your choice of barbecue sauce using a brush. You don’t want too much sauce, but just enough to add flavor. Finally, add some Monterey Jack cheese to the top and you’re ready to get cooking!

Onion Bombers

Ingredients

• 2-4 Vidalia Onions
• ½ lb ground sirloin
• ½ lb ground sausage
• ½ lb bacon
• ¼ cup jalapenos, diced
• ¼ cup brown mushrooms, diced
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp BBQ rub
• ½ cup BBQ sauce
• ½ cup Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

1. Slice off both ends of the onions.
2. Hollow out the onion.
3. In a medium bowl, mix sirloin, sausage, jalapenos, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce and BBQ rub.
4. Place mixture in hollowed out onion and season.
5. Wrap stuffed onion with a slice of bacon and use toothpicks to hold it in place.
6. Place on grill (or smoker). Grill for 15 minutes and add BBQ Sauce. Grill for another 10 minutes. Check to make sure meat is cooked through. Once it is, add shredded cheese on top and grill for another 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

What are your favorite creative ways to use onions?

Onions are a staple in many kitchens, but there are countless ways to put them to use! Have you found any creative ways to use onions that you come back to over and over again? Let us know in the comments!

Watch all of The Produce Moms’ April 2022 Life.Style.Live! segments here!