Beautifully tender and charred, these Mexican grilled onions are a delicious vegan side dish to team up with your fajitas, tacos and other Mexican barbecue favorites.
Cambray onions are lightly seasoned and grilled until they’re beautifully caramelized in this easy 10 minute recipe.
The traditional version of this recipe, aka Cebollitas Cambray, requires you to use Mexican green onions, but here, I’ve used spring onions, which are quite similar, and much easily available.
I’ve recently been experimenting with a lot of Mexican recipes. My cucumbers with Tajin, Mexican broccoli salad and Mango con Tajin were all big hits, and featured fresh veggies as the hero ingredient.
So of course, I had to try these grilled spring onions too!
Jump to:
- What's So Great About the Recipe?
- Ingredients For the Mexican Grilled Onions Recipe
- How to Make Mexican Grilled Onions
- Substitutions & Variations
- 💭Top Tip
- Equipment
- How to Store the Leftover Cebollitas Asadas
- Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- How to Serve Mexican Grilled Onions
- FAQs
- Related Recipes
- Mexican Grilled Onions (Cebollitas Asadas)
What's So Great About the Recipe?
I love this recipe for its simplicity and how quick and effortless it is.
It took me under 15 minutes to put these together- 12 minutes to be precise.
Another big plus is the versatility of these onions. They’re grilled to your liking and are savory, salty and perfectly caramelized- ready to be served with your favorite Mexican BBQ dishes.
Ingredients For the Mexican Grilled Onions Recipe
To make these grilled Mexican onions, here’s what you’ll need.
Green onions: I’ve used green onions for this recipe, but if you’re able to get your hands on the OG Cambray onions, I would highly recommend using them. They have a much bigger, rounder bulb.
Soy sauce: A dash of soy sauce or some Maggi seasoning sauce can lend the grilled onions a delicious depth of flavor.
Lime: Lime juice balances out all the other flavors with its citrusy notes.
Seasonings: I like to keep the seasonings simple, so I just used some salt and pepper.
Oil: And of course, you’ll need some oil to help the onions caramelize, but not end up burning and sticking.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Mexican Grilled Onions
Ready to make this recipe? Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Wash and chop ½ inch off the tops of the green onions. Pat dry.
Place onions in the middle of a large sheet of foil. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle the soy sauce and oil.
Wrap up the onions and make foil packets. Grill the onions for about 8-10 minutes and take off heat before opening them up.
Transfer them to a platter and sprinkle with salt and a light drizzle of lime juice before serving.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can also bring some variation to the classic Cebollitas Asadas recipe by using a different type of onion. Red onions and white onions are some classic choices that you can go for.
- If you want to try a gluten free version of this recipe, just skip the soy sauce and use tamari instead.
- You can also try seasoning the scallions with some Worcestershire sauce if you want to.
💭Top Tip
Remember to flip the foil packet midway through the cooking time to ensure that the onions are grilled perfectly on all the sides.
Equipment
How to Store the Leftover Cebollitas Asadas
Your leftover grilled Mexican onions can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Just remember to use a clean airtight container to store them.
These can then be reheated in the microwave or in a pan over the stovetop.
You can also use your leftover grilled Mexican onions in lots of different recipes.
I like to chop them up and add them to my breakfast eggs and even my fresh salads to bring in some smoky flavor.
Also Read: Mexican Pickled Carrots
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Remember to preheat your grill before you get the foil packets in.
- If you’re using a gas grill just like I did, you can do that too. Just remember that the cooking time for these might be slightly higher.
- If you want some of that extra char, open up the foil packets and transfer onions directly on the grill. Cook these on high heat for about a minute or two or until softened and lightly charred.
- If you love spicy food, you can also sprinkle some Tajin seasoning mix over the scallions before you pack them in the foil and grill them.
- Use a sturdy pair of barbeque tongs to move the foil packets easily.
How to Serve Mexican Grilled Onions
These beautiful caramelized onions have become a total family favorite in my household, especially during the summertime.
They’re such an effortless simple side that have the perfect balanced sweet and savory flavors that don’t just work with Mexican cuisine, but lots of other dishes too.
Here are a few good ideas to get you started.
As a Mexican Side
These charred, grilled green onions are incredibly easy to make, which is why I always serve them as a side with all of my authentic Mexican recipes like Carne Asada, quesadillas, tostadas and even tacos.
You can also team these up with some avocado lime crema, a nice Elote casserole and some corn Pico de Gallo to turn it into a delicious Mexican feast.
With Grilled Meats
I love teaming these charred green onions with some grilled chicken too! It has become my new favorite cookout side when I don’t have other veggies at hand, and just want something simple and effortless.
I think they would taste amazing with grilled burgers too.
With Light Meals
I also love pairing these smoky Mexican onions with my simple dishes like my broccoli cheddar soup and my chickpea egg salad.
The charred, smoky flavor just takes these subtly flavored dishes to the next level.
FAQs
You can! Just remember to brush a bit of oil on the grill and on the onions to keep them from sticking to each other during the cooking process.
Also Read: Sausage and Potato Foil Packets
Related Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Mexican Grilled Onions (Cebollitas Asadas)
Ingredients
- 12 green onions
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Wash and chop ½ inch off the tops of the green onions. Pat dry.
- Place onions in the middle of a large sheet of foil. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle the soy sauce and oil.
- Wrap up the onions and make foil packets. Grill the onions for about 8-10 minutes and take off heat before opening them up.
- Transfer them to a platter and sprinkle with salt and a light drizzle of lime juice before serving.
