Three years ago my neighbor Dave brought a plate of weird-looking things to our backyard cookout and wouldn't tell us what they were until everyone tried one. Called them cheesy bacon onion bombs which sounded like something a twelve-year-old would name. Bit into mine and got hit with crispy bacon, sweet onion that had cooked down soft, and melted cheese holding it all together. Spent the rest of that afternoon pestering Dave for the recipe until he gave in and showed me. Turns out they're stupid simple - just onions stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon, then cooked. No weird techniques, no ingredients you need to hunt down at specialty stores, just regular stuff from the grocery store.
Why You'll Love This Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
These cheesy bacon onion bombs are easy even if you barely cook because there's three steps - stuff onions with cheese, wrap bacon around them, cook them. That's the whole thing. No chopping twenty ingredients, no sauce you have to babysit on the stove, no trying to time everything to finish together. You prep it all, stick it in the oven or on the grill, then ignore it for 45 minutes. Come back and it's done. Takes me maybe 20 minutes now to get a batch ready, then the oven handles the rest while I'm doing other stuff or watching TV or whatever.
They also look way harder to make than they are. Bring these anywhere and people think you spent all day in the kitchen doing fancy cooking. Really you just poked holes in onions, stuffed cheese in there, and wrapped bacon around the outside. But nobody needs to know that part. The Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs makes them look professional and when you cut one open and cheese comes oozing out, everyone's impressed. Plus you can eat them with your hands so no plates or forks needed at parties, which means way less dishes to deal with later when you're cleaning up after everyone leaves.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
- Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs Ingredients
- How To Make Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
- Storage Tips
- Equipment For Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
- Favorite Variations on Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
- Top Tip
- Why This Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs Works
- FAQ
- Time to Make These Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
- Related
- Pairing
- Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs Ingredients
Main Players:
- Medium yellow onions
- Regular bacon strips
- Cheddar cheese
- Cream cheese
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Salt
Optional Add-Ins:
- Ground beef or sausage for filling
- Jalapeños for heat
- BBQ sauce for brushing
- Green onions for topping
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs Step By Step
Made these enough times that I don't even think about it anymore - here's exactly how it works:
Prep the Onions
- Peel outer skin off each onion and cut off the root end so they sit flat
- Leave the top stem part attached or the whole thing falls apart when you cook it
- Use apple corer or sharp knife to hollow out the center, making a hole about 2 inches wide
- Go deep but don't poke through the bottom or your cheese leaks out everywhere
- Save the onion cores for soup or whatever, don't just throw them away
Make the Cheese Filling
- Mix room temperature cream cheese with shredded cheddar in a bowl
- Add garlic powder, black pepper, and pinch of salt
- Stir until everything's combined and smooth
- If cream cheese is cold it won't mix right and you get lumps
- Taste it and add more garlic or pepper if it needs it
Stuff and Wrap
- Pack cheese mixture into hollowed onions, really stuff it in there tight
- Wrap bacon strips around each onion starting at the bottom
- Overlap the bacon slightly so there's no gaps
- Secure ends with toothpicks so bacon doesn't unwrap while cooking
- Use 3-4 bacon strips per onion depending on size
Cook Them
- Let cool 5 minutes before eating or you'll burn your mouth on molten cheese
- Preheat oven to 375°F or heat grill to medium
- Place Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs on foil-lined baking sheet or directly on grill grates
- Cook 45-50 minutes until bacon's crispy and onion's soft when you poke it
- Rotate halfway through so they cook even on all sides
Smart Swaps for Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
Onion Options:
- Yellow onions → Vidalia or sweet onions (sweeter, cost more but really good)
- Medium onions → Small onions for appetizer size (cook 10 minutes less)
- Regular → Red onions in emergency only (stay sharp tasting, not my favorite)
Bacon Swaps:
- Regular bacon → Turkey bacon (healthier but doesn't get as crispy)
- Pork bacon → Vegetarian bacon strips (tested for my vegetarian sister, weird texture but edible)
- Standard → Thick-cut bacon (looks better but stays chewy, add 15 minutes cooking time)
Cheese Changes:
- Cheddar → Pepper jack for spicy version (Oliver hated this)
- Sharp cheddar → Mild cheddar (less flavor but some people prefer it)
- Cream cheese → Sour cream mixed with shredded cheese (tangier taste)
- Regular cheese → Dairy-free shreds (melts weird but works if you need it)
Filling Add-Ins:
- Plain cheese → Add cooked ground beef or sausage (makes it more filling)
- Regular → Mix in diced jalapeños (way too spicy for kids)
- Standard → Add crumbled cooked bacon to the cheese (bacon overload in a good way)
Cooking Method Swaps:
- Oven → Air fryer at 350°F for 30-35 minutes (crispier bacon, fits less at once)
- Baking → Smoking on pellet grill (takes longer but tastes amazing)
- Indoor → Outdoor grill over indirect heat (summer option when it's too hot to use oven)
Storage Tips
I've made batches of these for meal prep and tracked how long they stay good, so here's what works:
Refrigerator Storage (3-4 days):
- Let them cool completely before putting in fridge or they get soggy
- Store in airtight container with paper towels on bottom to soak up grease
- Bacon stays crispier when you separate layers with parchment paper
- Reheat in oven at 350°F for 15 minutes to crisp bacon back up
- Microwave works but bacon gets chewy and gross
Freezer Storage (2 months):
- Freeze them once they're cooked and cooled, not before cooking
- Wrap each one individually in plastic wrap then put in freezer bag
- Label with date because frozen Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs look like frozen mystery blobs
- Reheat from frozen at 375°F for 30-35 minutes covered with foil
- Uncover last 10 minutes to crisp up the bacon
Make-Ahead Tips:
- Stuff the onions and wrap with bacon up to one day ahead
- Keep in fridge covered until ready to cook
- Don't leave them sitting longer than 24 hours or onions get too wet
- Cook right before serving for best crispy bacon texture
Equipment For Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
- Sharp knife for cutting onions (dull knife makes you cry more and slips easier)
- Apple corer or melon baller for hollowing onions (knife works but takes longer)
- Box of toothpicks to hold bacon in place (regular wooden ones, not the fancy colored ones)
- Baking sheet or grill grates depending on how you're cooking them
- Aluminum foil for lining the pan (saves cleanup time)
Favorite Variations on Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
BBQ Beef Bombs:
- Mix cooked ground beef seasoned with BBQ sauce into the cheese filling
- Brush outside with more BBQ sauce halfway through cooking
- Tastes like a cheeseburger and onion ring had a baby
- My brother requests these every time he comes over
Jalapeño Popper Style:
- Add diced jalapeños and extra cream cheese to filling
- Wrap in bacon same way
- Way too spicy for Oliver but adults at parties go crazy for them
- Wear gloves when handling the jalapeños or your hands burn for hours
Breakfast Bomb Version:
- Stuff with scrambled eggs, cooked sausage, and cheddar
- Wrap in bacon and cook same way
- Made these for brunch once and people lost their minds
- Reheat leftovers in microwave for quick breakfast
Pizza Bomb Twist:
- Fill with mozzarella, pepperoni pieces, and Italian seasoning
- Serve with marinara for dipping
- Oliver actually ate this version because it tastes like pizza
- Kids at his birthday party demolished a whole tray
Loaded Baked Potato Style:
- Mix cheese with sour cream, chives, and crumbled cooked bacon
- Top with more sour cream and green onions after cooking
- Tastes exactly like loaded baked potato but way more fun to eat
- My go-to for potlucks because it's different
Top Tip
- Make way more Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs than you think you need because people demolish these faster than any other appetizer. Found this out at my first cookout where I made eight bacon wrapped onion bombs for twelve people thinking that was plenty. Gone in ten minutes and everyone was bummed there weren't more. Now when I'm making bacon onion cheese bombs for parties, I do at least two per person, three if it's a hungry crowd or people are drinking.
- Getting the right onion size matters for these Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs. Medium yellow onions work best because they're big enough to hold decent cheese filling but small enough to cook through in 45 to 50 minutes. Too big and bacon burns before onion's soft. Too small and you can't fit enough cheese to make it worth it.
- For crispy bacon on your BBQ Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs or grilled onion bombs, don't wrap bacon super tight or it steams instead of crisping. Leave tiny gaps between bacon strips so hot air gets around them while cooking. Works whether you're doing air fryer onion bombs at 350°F, baked Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs in the oven at 375°F, or smoked onion bombs on a pellet grill for that smoky flavor people lose their minds over at tailgates.
Why This Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs Works
These cheesy bacon onion bombs work because bacon fat drips down while they're cooking and bastes the onion from outside while cheese melts and flavors it from inside. You're basically trapping the onion between two fat sources, which is why it tastes way better than just baking an onion by itself. The bacon wraps around like a shield keeping the onion from drying out. Without it, the outside burns before the inside's cooked. The cheese mixture with cream cheese and cheddar stops the filling from just melting out everywhere. Cream cheese stays thick even when it's hot so everything holds together while cheddar gives you actual cheese taste instead of weird gluey texture.
Cooking at 375°F for 45 to 50 minutes lets the onion go from crunchy and sharp to soft and sweet without burning the bacon. Hotter temperature and the bacon crisps too fast then burns while onion's still raw. Cooler temperature and you're sitting there forever waiting for bacon to cook and it stays chewy. Tested different temps maybe six times before figuring out 375°F is where everything finishes together. The toothpicks holding bacon matter more than you'd think - skip them and bacon unravels halfway through cooking. Found that out my second try when I thought I could skip toothpicks and ended up with loose bacon and exposed onions that dried out and tasted awful.
FAQ
Should you cook onion or bacon first?
Neither - you stuff raw onions with cheese, wrap raw bacon around them, then cook everything at once. Bacon crisps up while the onion cooks soft. If you cook either one first you're just cooking it twice and it gets dried out or burnt. Raw ingredients work better together.
What kind of cheese is best for cheeseburger bombs?
Sharp cheddar mixed with cream cheese works best. Cheddar tastes like an actual cheeseburger and cream cheese keeps it creamy instead of just melting out everywhere. American cheese melts good but tastes boring. Mozzarella gets too stringy. Pepper jack's fine if you want spice but kids usually hate it.
Can you cook onions and bacon together?
Yeah, that's how these work. Raw bacon wraps around raw stuffed onions and cooks together 45 to 50 minutes. Bacon fat drips down and flavors the onion while everything's cooking. Just watch your temperature or bacon burns before the onion's done cooking through. Medium heat works best.
What are onion bombs?
Hollowed-out onions stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon, then cooked until bacon's crispy and onion's soft. Started as tailgate food and BBQ thing. Called Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs because they're round like balls and it sounds way cooler than "bacon wrapped stuffed onions" which is just boring to say.
Time to Make These Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
You've got everything now - how to hollow out onions without poking through the bottom and losing all your cheese, how to wrap bacon so it doesn't fall off halfway through cooking, all the screwups I made over forty batches so you don't waste bacon and onions learning the same lessons. These cheesy bacon onion bombs don't need years of practice or fancy equipment collecting dust in your cabinets. Just hollow out onions, stuff them with cheese, wrap bacon around them, cook them. That's it.
Want more stuff that doesn't make you regret starting it? Our Easy Crock Pot Pierogi and Kielbasa Casserole is dump everything in and forget about it for hours until dinner's done. The Best Lemon Cream Tart Recipe looks like you went to pastry school but it's just butter, flour, eggs, and lemons following simple steps. Need Taco Bell without leaving your house? Best Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme tastes like the real thing except you know what's in it and there's no mystery meat.
Post your onion Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs ! We look at every post - the perfect ones, the disasters where bacon fell off, the weird experiments that somehow worked. Real kitchen photos with messy counters beat those fake magazine shots where everything's spotless and perfect.
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Related
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
Cheesy Bacon Onion Bombs
Equipment
- 1 Sharp knife (For cutting and trimming onions)
- 1 Apple corer or melon baller (To hollow out onion centers)
- Toothpicks (To secure bacon ends)
- 1 Baking sheet or grill grates ((Depending on cooking method)
- 1 roll Aluminum foil (For easy cleanup
Ingredients
- 8 medium yellow onions - Peeled and hollowed
- 24-32 strips bacon - 3-4 strips per onion
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese - Sharp or mild
- 4 oz cream cheese - Softened
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- optional cooked ground beef or sausage - Mix into filling for heartier bombs
- optional diced jalapeños - For heat
- optional BBQ sauce - Brush outside before or during cooking
Instructions
- Peel outer onion skins and cut off root ends so onions sit flat. Keep stem end intact so layers stay together. Hollow out centers about 2 inches wide without poking through the bottom.
- Combine softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Stir until smooth and well mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Fill each hollowed onion tightly with the cheese mixture, pressing to pack it in firmly.
- Wrap 3-4 bacon strips around each stuffed onion, overlapping slightly to cover gaps. Secure ends with toothpicks.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Place onion bombs on foil-lined baking sheet and bake 45-50 minutes, rotating halfway through, until bacon is crispy and onions are tender.
- Let the onion bombs cool for 5 minutes before serving to avoid burning your mouth on the hot cheese filling.
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