A few year ago I shared blooming onion with Hatch green chile and cheese. I hope you’ve been enjoying them. Since the nature of New Mexican cuisine is – if you can make it with green, then you can probably make it with red – I give you a Blooming Onion with chorizo and red chile. If you love onions and chile like I do, you’ll appreciate how five simple ingredients, yield such a flavorful and spicy dish.
This version of a blooming onion is baked onion, stuffed with Mexican chorizo and cheese then smothered with New Mexico red chile. It makes for an unusual main dish, and a rather exciting one. Serve with rice or your choice of grain, put an egg on top and serve with a warm flour tortilla, or serve with sliced avocado or a side of beans. If you have leftovers, then make a breakfast chimichanga. It’s all good!
Blooming Onion with Chorizo and Cheese, Smothered in Red Chile
A healthier version of the blooming onion -A Baked blooming onion with Mexican chorizo and cheese, smothered in New Mexico red chile sauce. Serve as a main dish or side dish.
Prep and Cook time assumes you already have some red chile. If you don't, see Kitchen Notes.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 2 medium size onions*
- 1/4 pound Mexican chorizo*, crumbled (not cooked)
- 1/4 pound Fontina or Monterey Jack cheese*, grated or crumbled
- ¼ cup vegetable, chicken or beef broth
- 1/2 cup red chile sauce*
- Preheat the oven to 375°
- Peel the onion and remove the top part of the onion (about the top 1/2’”)
Carefully remove most of the root, but do not cut into the core. The core will hold the onion together while it bakes, but you do want to create somewhat of a flat surface so that the onion sits upright.
Using a paring knife, cut a vertical 1/2" – 3/4" wide hole down the middle of the onion, stopping about ½” above the core.
Make several vertical cuts into the onion, stopping ½ – ¼” above the core.
- Carefully separate the layers to create a “blossom”.
Transfer onions to a baking dish.
- Place a piece of cheese vertically in the hole in the middle of the onion.
Distribute the crumbled chorizo throughout the onion pieces as shown here.
Pour ¼ cup broth into dish.
Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
If you need to make some red chile*, make it while the onions are baking.
Remove the onions from oven. Remove the aluminum foil. Using a turkey baster, remove all but about 1/4” of liquid from the baking dish. Set aside for later.
Scatter the desired amount of grated or crumbled cheese onto each of the onions, placing cheese between the "petals" of the bloom and laying cheese on top.
Return the dish to oven, uncovered, and baked for another 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and prepare to serve*. (See Kitchen Notes for serving suggestions)
If you find your red chile sauce too thick, use some of the liquid that you set aside to get the consistency you want.
Onion – The best onions to use are nice round onions. Sweet onion, yellow, white or red onions all work. Just choose what you like best. The flatter sweet onions are hard to use logistically in that they are difficult to cut into “blooms” and separate.
Link to Homemade Mexican Chorizo
Red Chile – If you don’t have any red chile, then you can make a quick batch from powder, or you could use your favorite enchilada sauce or salsa.
Cheese – Fontina and Monterey Jack are the cheeses that I mostly use. A mild cheddar also works.
Broth– The broth is the steaming liquid. While baking, the onions steam in the broth, infusing flavor and salt into the onions. Liquid from the onion and fat from the chorizo will add to the broth during the 30 minute bake.
Serving Suggestions –
- Transfer to a bowl and smother with red chile. Serve with a flour tortilla and side of sliced avocado or a side of beans.
- Transfer to a bowl, top with a fried egg, and smother in red chile. Serve with home fries or beans.
- Serve over brown rice or a wild rice blend or your favorite grain. Smother everything with red chile.
- For a side, use a knife and fork and separate the baked onion into smaller portions. Pour red chile on top and serve the smaller portions as sides.
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If you have leftover, use them in a chimichanga. Add black beans and more cheese, if desired, for a hearty breakfast.
Other red chile recipes you’ll enjoy:
What a delicious change-up from the usual blooming onion! It looks super and the sauce sounds so good.
My Indian palate loves chilies and onions and this combination sounds like a flavor bomb. So good!
It’s one of the most beautiful and unusual dishes I’ve ever seen! I would never dream of making anything similar. Such a wonderful and delicious idea! It’s so clever to add chorizo and cheese too and thus create a main course (though I’m sure I would devour it without chorizo too!). I’m certain I’d have to make a huge batch because we are big fans of onions (of chorizo and chile too, of course!).
MJ, I’ve been craving Southwestern, Tex-Mex, Mexican food so much lately. And every time I think about preparing something within those genres, my mind turns to you and your delicious blog recipes! I just had another one of those moments a few minutes ago and knew I had to get to your blog for a recipe or two (or three, etc.). I love this ‘bloomin’ onion’ recipe because it doesn’t have all of that greasy, linger-on-your-tongue fattiness taste from being fried. This is more fresh and light enabling all of the flavors to sing out and marry with the others. Thanks for such incredible creativity, MJ, and for sharing it!
Totally love this idea! I can almost imagine the subtle sweetness, spicy and savory of this lovely appetizer.
I can’t believe I’ve never made a blooming onion. It’s utterly cool (and we eat a ton of onions; so we’re like your target audience 😉 love that New Mexican cuisine motto – I’m in for red or green, just bring me all that smothered goodness… Gotta try this soon!
The fried version tends to taste oily after the first few bites. I love the way you made it, baked with the cheese, chorizo and red chile. Anything with red chile and onion is just perfect and the egg on top would taste delicious!
Onions are often part of a recipe, but not the star. This version of the classic blooming onion changes all that. A fabulous way to enjoy an often overlooked vegetable!
OK. Amazed 🙂 Will do tomorrow and let you know how it worked out. Already hooked MJ !
Few hours ago, we had this beauty for lunch with some simple rice garnished with chopped cilantro. I have never prepared anything like this before and it is definitely the one to be made often. xo
MJ, this would be such a treat as an appetizer! I could even see a sprinkle of cotija cheese too. Great idea!
MJ, this looks so good! It’s much nicer than the commercial Blooming Onions I’ve seen in restaurants. If you have time, please do pop by and share it with Hearth and Soul. I’ve got a feeling it would be very popular!
MJ, I’m wowed, what a great idea. It brings memories of those bloom’n onions without the fat and calories from the batter and deep frying. The chorizo we get in our market doesn’t even resemble true chorizo sausage, so thanks for the link to your chorizo sausage recipe. We just got and new sausage stuffing gadget, so I’m making a big batch of your chorizo and stuffing some of it into links for the grill. Thanks for sharing this one.
Hope you didn’t just made 2! I could easily eat 4! So delicious and tempting with chorizo and that chili sauce!
Neat dish! Whenever I’m have green chile anything, green chile is my favorite. And whenever I’m having red chile anything, red chile is my favorite. You’d think I’d learn and just have Christmas-style all the time? 🙂 Anyway, this looks terrific — thanks.