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Meat, Classics and bistro fare

Stuffed onions with mashed potatoes

Stuffed onions with mashed potatoes are a bistro style dish for 4 people, ready in 1 hour 40 minutes with medium difficulty and a cost of €2.40 per person. Big hollowed out onions filled with herby sausage meat braise slowly in chicken broth. The key is blanching the onions first, which softens the layers so they're easier to hollow out.

Big hollowed out onions, packed with herby sausage meat and slowly braised, a bistro dish that smells like old fashioned home cooking.

Stuffed onions with mashed potatoes
Total time
1 h 40
Difficulty
Medium
Cost per person
€2.40
Calories per person
500 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Fall, Winter
The kids
They generally like it

Picture a whole onion gone soft and sweet, all its sharpness cooked away, stuffed with sausage meat seasoned with parsley and garlic, served over mashed potatoes soaked in the cooking juices. It takes a while to cook, but it barely needs watching, and it has that warm, round flavor of an old school bistro dish.

This is a Sunday recipe, the kind you make when you've got a couple of hours and want the house to smell like something good is happening. Kids generally go for the sausage filling and the creamy mash right away, even if they push the onion aside at first.

The ingredients

4 people

Fruits and vegetables

  • Large onions 4
  • Parsley 6 sprigs
  • Garlic 2 cloves
  • Potatoes 1 kg

Butcher

  • Sausage meat 400 g

Bakery

  • Bread slices 3 slices

Dairy

  • Milk 5 cl
  • Butter 50 g

Pantry

  • Chicken brothoften in the pantry 30 cl
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Allergens Lactose, Gluten

The step by step recipe

  1. Peel the onions, blanch them in boiling water, then hollow out the center with a spoon. 10 min

    Keep the onion cores, they'll go into the filling.

  2. Mix the sausage meat with the bread soaked in milk, the chopped garlic and parsley, and the diced onion cores.

    Mix by hand so the filling stays even.

  3. Fill the onions with the stuffing, pack them tightly in a buttered dish and pour the broth around them.

    Wedge them in so they don't fall open.

  4. Bake at 180°C, basting regularly, until the onions are soft and tender. 1 h

    If the tops brown too much, cover with foil.

  5. Cook the potatoes for the mash, mash them with the butter and a bit of the cooking juices, and serve the onions on top. 25 min

    The cooking juices season the mash better than milk would.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick onions that are round and similar in size so they cook evenly and stand up straight in the dish.
  • Don't scoop the onion out too thin, leave two or three thick layers so it holds together during braising instead of tearing.
  • Baste the onions with the broth every twenty minutes so the tops don't dry out in the oven.

The variations

  • Swap the sausage meat for plant based sausage or a mix of chopped mushrooms and cooked rice for a meatless version.
  • Stir a pinch of nutmeg or some grated Comté into the filling to change things up from one time to the next.
  • For a quicker version, stuff smaller onions and cut the oven time down to 40 minutes.

What to serve it with

  • A sharply dressed green salad
  • A glass of sparkling apple juice
  • Crusty country bread for mopping up

Storage

Stuffed onions keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container. They freeze well once cooked, for up to 2 months. Reheat them in the oven with a splash of broth so they stay moist, and reheat the mash separately on the stovetop with a little milk.

Questions about this dish

Can you make stuffed onions ahead of time?

Yes, you can stuff them the day before and keep them in the baking dish in the fridge. Let them sit out for a bit before baking so they don't go into the oven stone cold.

What meat can replace the sausage meat?

Chicken sausage meat works well and makes the dish a bit lighter. You can also mix half ground pork and half ground veal with the same herbs.

How do you keep the onions from falling apart while cooking?

Blanch them well for ten minutes before hollowing them out, and pack them tightly together in the dish. They stay upright thanks to each other and the sides of the dish.

Do stuffed onions freeze well?

Yes, once cooked and cooled, they freeze well for up to 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw them in the fridge overnight before reheating in the oven.

How long does it take to make stuffed onions with mashed potatoes?

Count 1 h 40 in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “medium”.

How many calories are in stuffed onions with mashed potatoes?

About 500 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does stuffed onions with mashed potatoes cost?

About €2.40 per serving, or €9.60 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains lactose, gluten. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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