How To Grill The Best Spring Onions On A Gas Or Charcoal Grill

If you didn't know any better, you might think alliums (the botanical family starring onions, shallots, garlic, and leeks) were called all-yums — because they're delicious any way you eat them. While the smaller varieties, like spring onions, are often sliced raw to garnish salads or Asian food, they're also incredible cooked on the grill. There, the intense heat chars and softens them, mellowing their flavor and turning them into a delicious side dish.

True to their name, the long-stemmed spring onions are typically ready to harvest in the early part of the year, but some places may offer them year-round. If your store doesn't carry them right now, this method also works on their smaller, less bulbous cousins, known as green onions or scallions. While the larger variety has a stronger flavor, both types taste about the same after grilling, though the smaller ones may cook a bit faster. 

You can prepare either of them the same way, rinsing them and trimming off any wilted portions, along with the very bottom of the bulb. Then slather them with oil and toss onto a hot grill. After about four minutes of cooking, turn them once, allowing the vegetables to soften and develop grill marks on both sides. On a gas grill, you may need to close the cover to keep the heat in while they cook, but a charcoal grill may be hot enough on its own. Continue cooking until you can pierce both the green and white parts with a fork — about eight to 10 minutes in total. Watch them carefully, moving them off the direct flame if necessary to keep them from getting too charred.

So what do grilled spring onions go with? Just about everything! They're a perfect complement to grilled steak, but don't stop there. Try them atop a burger or grilled portobello mushroom, inside fajitas, or as part of a taco bar.  They're also fantastic mixed with grilled zucchini, tomatoes, or red peppers, or as a topping for your backyard oven pizza. Any way you use them, spring onions are a great addition to your grilling game.