Smoked Onion Bombs

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Smoked onion bombs are the appetizer you didn’t know you needed. They have a little bit of everything (onion, sausage, and bacon, oh my!), to impress all your guests with an explosion of flavor!

Smoked onion bombs wrapped in bacon with text overlay - Smoked Onion Bombs.

What is an Onion Bomb?

An onion bomb is the ultimate BBQ appetizer. This delicious food is made from an onion shell stuffed with sausage and cheese. The whole thing is wrapped in bacon for an appetizer so amazing you could eat it as a main dish (we won’t tell, we promise!)

The cheese melts while the onion bomb cooks, so when you cut the whole thing open, a reservoir of cheese oozes out. In true Hey Grill Hey fashion, we seasoned our bombs with Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub and Everything BBQ Sauce for a sweet and savory finish.

Sliced onions being separated into large pieces.

Smoked Onion Bombs

Just when you thought these onion bombs couldn’t get any better, they’re slow-smoked for 3 hours to give them a hit of smoky BBQ goodness. You can use your favorite hardwood for this recipe, but I found hickory to impart an awesome flavor.

We also smoked, seasoned, and sauced them for a flavor explosion befitting the name onion BOMB. The final result is like a cheese-stuffed sausage meatloaf in a smoky onion shell that is lovingly wrapped in bacon. I dare you to turn this guy down at a party. It’s downright impossible!

Hey Grill Hey Beef Rub pouring into a bowl of sausage stuffing.

How to Make Onion Bombs

The onions bombs can be a bit tricky to create, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be assembling these flavorful bombs left and right. Here’s how to make onion bombs.

  1. Prep the onions. Slice the ends off of the onions. Remove the paper skin and slice the onion in half. Move the largest outside rings to the side (these will act as the shell for your bomb) and mince the remaining inside onion.
  2. Make the sausage stuffing. Combine all ingredients for the sausage stuffing (ingredients in the recipe card below!) in a large bowl.
  3. Assemble! Scoop the sausage mixture into the onion rings. Press a cube of cheddar cheese into the sausage. Next, place two halves of the stuffed rings together. Your stuffed onion bomb should be formed and nice and round.
  4. Wrap in bacon. Secure the onion bombs by wrapping each one with two strips of bacon and securing them with toothpicks. Wrap one slice of bacon on the seam and the other over the holes in the onion to keep the stuffing in.
  5. Season. Liberally season the stuffed onion bombs with Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub. You can make this from scratch or purchase it from the Hey Grill Hey Store.
  6. Smoke. With your smoker preheated to 250 degrees, place each onion bomb on the grill grates. Close the lid and smoke for 3 hours or until the internal temperature reads 155 degrees F.
  7. Sauce. Baste the bombs with Everything BBQ Sauce (or your favorite ketchup-based BBQ sauce). Continue smoking until they reach a final temperature of 175 degrees F.
  8. Enjoy. Carefully remove the bacon wrapped stuffed onion bombs from the grill. Allow them to cool slightly before digging in!

Onion halves stuffed with sausage and cubes of cheese.

Bacon being attached to an onion bomb with toothpicks.

How Long to Smoke Onion Bombs

With your grill preheated to 250 degrees F, it will take 3 hours to smoke your onion bombs.

More important than the time when cooking on the BBQ is temperature. The 3-hour timeframe for this onion bomb recipe is a recommendation only. These bombs need to be cooked to an internal temperature of 175 degrees F to ensure they are cooked through and safe to eat. 

I recommend investing in an instant-read thermometer to gauge the doneness of your meat. Remove the bombs from the grill when they reach the correct temp.

Hey Grill Hey Everything BBQ being poured over smoked onion bombs on the smoker.

Tips for Making Onion Bombs

Ready to get your bomb on? I’ve compiled a few tips to help you make this recipe a success without the stress. Check out a few tips below.

  • Cut off the ends. Separating the onions can occasionally be a hassle, depending on your onion. Slicing the ends off of the onions before halving and separating helps the most, as you can push the individual onion rings out from the ends.
  • Maximum the bacon! The bacon wrap creates the seam and seals in the meatloaf. Use those bacon strips like glue and wrap them around the ends of the onion bomb (over the holes) and the sides of the onion bomb (around the onion seam).
  • Have fun with flavors! I kept it classic with Sweet Rub and Everything Sauce, but you can mix things up with your seasoning and sauce of choice. Fill your bombs with a different blend of cheeses, or add jalapenos or anything else that sounds good to you!

Melted cheese oozing out of a cut smoked onion bomb.

More BBQ Onion Recipes

Onions are a great BBQ pairing. Whether you’re topping them on your burger or sauteeing them for your steak, they bring an extra boost of flavor. Check out a few awesome onion recipes from Hey Grill Hey below.

Onion Bombs Recipe

Check out the printable onion bombs recipe below for full ingredient amounts and instructions. Once you make these, be sure to return to this post to let us know how it turned out. We love to hear from you!

Smoked Onion Bombs

By: Susie Bulloch
5 from 1 votes
Smoked onion bombs are the appetizer you didn't know you needed. They have a little bit of everything (onion, sausage, and bacon, oh my!), to impress all your guests with an explosion of flavor!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 15 minutes
Servings4 people

Ingredients
 

  • 2 large yellow onions look for perfectly round ones
  • 8 ounces medium cheddar cheese cut into 2-ounce cubes
  • 1 pound pork sausage
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ¼ cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Beef Rub or equal parts salt and pepper
  • 4 Tablespoons Everything BBQ Sauce divided use
  • 1 pound bacon
  • 2 Tablespoons Sweet Rub recipe link in notes section

Instructions
 

  • Preheat. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F with your favorite hardwood. Hickory gives a nice strong smoke flavor to these onions that I really like.
  • Prep the onions. Prepare your onions by slicing both ends off of each. Remove the paper skin and slice the onions in half to create thick rings. Remove the inside of the onions and mince, leaving the outer rings intact. These large rings will form the exterior shell of your onion bombs.
  • Make the sausage stuffing. Combine the sausage, ¼ cup of your minced onions, garlic, egg, milk, breadcrumbs, 2 Tablespoons of Everything BBQ sauce, and Beef Seasoning in a large bowl. Mix until just combined.
  • Assemble the onion bombs. Place a portion of the sausage mixture in the bottom round of one of the onion rings. Gently press a cheese cube into the center of the sausage. Top with another onion ring stuffed with sausage and seal up the edges to keep the cheese in. Your sausage-stuffed onions should be nice and round.
  • Wrap in bacon. Wrap the seam of each onion with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Wrap an additional piece of bacon from the top to the bottom and back up, sealing the holes on the ends, and secure with another toothpick.
  • Season and smoke. Season the bombs on all sides with Sweet Rub. Place on the smoker and cook for around 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the sausage reads 155 degrees F.
  • Sauce. Baste the bombs with Everything BBQ Sauce (or your favorite ketchup-based BBQ sauce), close the lid, and continue smoking until the bombs reach 175 degrees F internal temperature.
  • Enjoy. Remove the bombs from the smoker and allow to cool slightly before digging in!

Notes

Sweet Rub

Nutrition

Calories: 1187kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 97g | Saturated Fat: 37g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 38g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 256mg | Sodium: 5587mg | Potassium: 811mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1015IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 557mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About

FOUNDER/BBQ BOSS LADY

Susie is the BBQ Brain behind the Hey Grill Hey website. Her passion for smoked meats and developing fun, new recipes have landed her on the Food Network, cooking turkeys with Shaq, and on a couple of Guinness World Records. When she’s not grilling, she is hanging out with Todd and their three kids, preferably outdoors!

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Reader Reviews

1 Reviews

  1. Clint says:

    What can I say? These were literally “THE BOMB!” These very rich and flavorful Smoked Onion Bombs were the main course and did not disappoint!