Tennessee onions, an old-fashioned onion casserole, is a Southern side dish you need to add to your dinner sides ASAP! It mixes sweet onions with a gooey cheese and savory butter sauce and is an easy recipe for your holiday dinner table, supper side dishes, weeknight meal recipes, vegetarian recipes, appetizer ideas, easy potluck dishes to make and take or party foods. If you love Cracker Barrel’s hashbrown casserole, definitely add this to your veggie side dishes. It’s the ultimate soul food from the south!
Super Easy Tennessee Onions Recipe For Side Recipes
The great thing about these cheesy baked onions is that they are one of those side dishes recipes that go with EVERYTHING — as a side for grilled meats, steak, pork roast or pork chops, side dishes with hamburgers, roasted chicken / fried chicken, or even to eat alone.
(Also, think of anything you would eat with peppers side dish recipes or baked potatoes and these probably work with those, too!)
This is also one of those few ingredient side dishes. You’ll be shocked at how simple these cheesy onions are to make. If you’re looking for easy covered dish recipes, add this into your recipe rotation.
If you’ve been looking for Vidalia onion recipes (sweet onions recipes) or garden recipes, this is the one!
SNEEK PEEK – Recipe Ingredients For Tennessee Onion Casserole:
- Vidalia onions (or any sweet onions)
- Garlic powder
- Oregano
- Butter
- Cheddar cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Fresh parmesan cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
Get the full recipe for Tennessee onions and free printable recipe card below.
If you want a unique veggie recipe not everyone else is making for your Thanksgiving side dishes or Christmas dinner menu, add these!
ALSO TRY THIS CHEESY HASH BROWN POTATOES CASSEROLE RECIPE!
How To Make Tennessee Onions
The BEST Tennessee Onions Recipe!
There are several ways to make baked onion recipes like this Tennessee onion casserole recipe.
It’s one of those easy recipes that you can play around with and see how you best like it. Try other things like cumin, turmeric, dry mustard, and different kinds of cheeses than the ones listed in our printable recipe below.
We layer our Tennessee onions casserole, but some people make it in a single layer.
RECIPE TIP: We only use Vidalia onions for Tennessee onions because I think they have the best taste, but you can use any sweet onions.
MORE SIDE DISH SOUTHERN RECIPES TO TRY:
- Old Fashioned Macaroni and Stewed Tomatoes Recipe
- Southern Cornbread Salad
- Southern Deviled Egg Recipe
- Best Southern Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe with Secret Sauce
You can easily double or triple this recipe for a crowd. Just make sure that you use a big enough baking dish so that the onions cook evenly.
Traditional Tennessee Onions Recipe
Ingredients
- 3-4 large Vidalia onions (or any sweet onions)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (may use more based on personal tastes)
- 1 teaspoon oregano (may use more based on personal tastes)
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese shredded
- Salt and pepper to taste*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Set aside.
- Slice onions into 1/4-inch rings. Separate the rings. (Don't leave them as nested slices or they won't cook evenly.)
- Place a single layer of onion rings in the bottom of the greased baking dish. (You can overlap or place a few smaller slices into or on bigger slices, but don't layer them too thick or they won't cook evenly.)
- WORKING IN LAYERS: Place one tablespoon of butter in small pats over the onions. Sprinkle with garlic powder and oregano. Evenly layer 1/3 cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses over the onions. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with salt and pepper on the top layer of onions and then the last layer of cheese on top. (We usually get around 3 layers.)
- Place tented aluminum foil on top of baking dish so it's not touching the cheese. Bake covered for 30 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and allow the cheese on top to brown slightly.
- Serve warm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (If it lasts that long! It never does in our house!)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Note
Nutrition calculations are approximate. If you're following a special diet, please calculate your own nutrition values.
TRY THIS SIDE DISH RECIPE NEXT: One Pan Chili Lime Skillet Corn
Enjoy the Tennessee onions recipe!
