These Tennessee onions are an old-fashioned southern side dish, that are so delicious, they’ll blow your mind. They’re quick and easy to put together and make a wonderful side dish to virtually any meat or chicken entrée.
The taste is a perfect combination of savory and sweet. The backbone of this dish is Vidalia onions. They’re tossed with in a homemade spice mixed and baked with lots of cheese. Trust me, you’re going to make these on repeat!
If you’re looking for vegetable recipes your family will love and actually eat, I hope you’ll try our Arkansas green beans, brown sugar glazed carrots, melting potatoes, and super meaty southern collard greens!
Best Onions To Use?
My number one choice is Vidalia onions. Can you use other onions? Yes, of course. If you need to switch the onions, choose a sweet variety of onions like Texas sweet or Walla Walla.
Tennessee Onions Ingredients
- Thyme: I use dried thyme leaves, not ground thyme.
- Garlic Powder: Be sure to use garlic powder and not garlic salt.
- Cajun Seasoning: Use your favorite brand. Remember that Cajun seasoning contains salt, so go easy when adding more.
- Mustard: Dry mustard. I use Coleman’s brand.
- Salt: This is optional. I only use a 1/4 teaspoon. Feel free to omit if you feel your Cajun seasoning has enough salt. If you do omit, check and adjust the seasoning after baking.
- Onions: The one and only choice is sweet Vidalia onions in my humble opinion. Of course, you can switch them up, but you’ll have a different dish.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter.
- Cheese: I use a 3 cheese combo. Mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and parmesan.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? These Tennessee baked onions can be kept in tightly covered container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Can This Recipe Be Frozen? I prefer the texture of the onions when this dish is made fresh. Freezing ruins the texture in my opinion.
- Make-Ahead Tips: You can prepare this Tennessee onions casserole and refrigerate overnight. Allow the baking dish to sit on the counter for an hour before placing in a warm oven.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
As I said in the intro, these onions make a terrific side dish with most meats. We love them with our crockpot pork tenderloin, crockpot ranch pork chops, Mississippi pot roast, Campbells chicken and rice, or million dollar chicken. But, these onions can be either a side dish or a condiment.
They’re also really amazing served over cooked brown sugar meatloaf, Cracker Barrel meatloaf, or Stove Top stuffing meatloaf. There also great over hamburgers. When using them as a topping or a condiment over meatloaf or hamburgers, be sure to drain them of the broth the onions create as they bake.
How To Make Tennessee Onions
- In a bowl, mix together the seasonings.
- Transfer the onion rings to a bowl.
- Sprinkle the seasoning in a bowl of onion rings and toss to coat.
- Arrange the onion rings to the prepared baking sheet.
- Top with butter and cheese. Cover with foil and bake.
- Add parmesan and bake again uncovered until golden brown.
- Garnish and serve.
***See the full instructions below.
More Delicious Veggie Recipes
- Fajita Veggies – seriously delicious
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges – fabulously seasoned
- Funeral Potatoes – Icky name, but everyone’s favorite
- Simple Roasted Peppers – inspired by Sacramento’s best restaurant, Biba’s
- Roasted Green Beans – with pancetta + shallots
- Southern Green Beans – just like Grandma made. A super popular recipe on our site.
- Sautéed Green Beans – with lotsa garlic – pure deliciousness
- Roasted Garlic Asparagus with Feta – just WOW
- Roasted Broccoli – I make this recipe more than any other side dish – easy and crazy delish
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tennessee Onions
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 pounds Vidalia onions, peeled, sliced into 1/4 rings, and separated
- 4 tablespoon, plus extra for greasing the dish unsalted butter, cut into 8 thin slices
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Lightly butter a 9X13 inch baking dish or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together thyme leaves (1 teaspoon), garlic powder (1 teaspoon), cajun seasoning (1 1/2 teaspoons), dry mustard (1/2 teaspoon), and salt (1/4 teaspoon).
- Add rings of onion (2 1/2 pounds) to a large bowl. Sprinkle with seasoning mix and toss gently to evenly coat.
- Arrange onions in the prepared baking dish.
- Top onions with butter slices (8 thin slices), then sprinkle a layer of mozzarella (1 cup) then a layer of cheddar (1 cup) evenly over top.
- Spray a large piece of aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray. Cover baking dish with foil, nonstick spray side down on onions. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and discard. Sprinkle parmesan (1/2 cup). Return to oven uncovered and continue to bake until onions are soft and the top is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
My parents loved this! For a person like that doesn’t cook much, I can say this is really easy to make!
Yaaay! That’s awesome, Jude! Enjoy 🙂