Grilled Lamb Loin Chops and Onions with Herb Salad
on Jul 24, 2017, Updated Jan 25, 2025
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This simple grilled lamb chop meal is elegant, delicious, and not challenging to make in the slightest.
This grilled lamb chop recipe sounds fancy, looks fancy, and tastes fancy, but it takes only a few steps of preparation and some very simple assembly. It’s one of those recipes where you want to buy the best ingredients you can afford since that will make all of the difference. The good news is that loin lamb chops are actually quite affordable!
Grilling the lemons along with the lamb and onions caramelizes them, and the juice you sprinkle over the finished dish will have a lovely hint of smokiness. Also, the grilled onions add a perfect sweet and savory component. This dish is complete all on its own, but would be a bigger and more colorful meal with some grilled vegetables and maybe some spicy salsa verde.
Table of Contents
- Loin Lamb Chops on the Grill
- Best Internal Temperature for Grilled Loin Lamb Chops
- Ingredients For Grilled Lamb Loin Chops
- How to Make Grilled Lamb Chops with Onions and Lemons
- Grilled Loin Lamb Chop Variations
- What to Serve With Grilled Lamb Loin Chops
- More Lamb Recipes
- Grilled Lamb Chops and Onions with Herb Salad Recipe
This Grilled Lamb Chops and Onions with Herb Salad looks and tastes fancy, but is not hard to make. A perfect grilled meal for entertaining.
Loin Lamb Chops on the Grill
Loin lamb chops are one of the most readily available lamb cuts in the case at the grocery store and butcher shop. Lean and tender, they are usually 3 to 4 ounces each. They have a small “T” shaped bone that runs through the meat, which is why they are sometimes called T-bone chops. You can also use rib lamb chops, which are a bit pricier but would be super duper impressive. Both cuts grill up beautifully and quickly on the grill.
Grilling Smarts
If you have a vegetable grilling grate, pull it out. Otherwise (even if you use a wide grilling spatula), you may end up sacrificing a few of the onion slices to the grilling gods.
Best Internal Temperature for Grilled Loin Lamb Chops
See below for internal temperatures for different levels of doneness.
- Rare: 120 to 125 degrees (very deep pink/red inside)
- Medium-rare: 125 to 130 degrees (very deep pink inside)
- Medium: 130 to 135 degrees (some noticeable pinkness inside)
- Medium-well: 135 to 140 degrees (just a bit of pinkness inside)
- Well-done: 140 to 145 degrees (no pink inside)
Ingredients For Grilled Lamb Loin Chops
- Extra-virgin olive oil – Helps coat the lamb and the lemons.
- Dry white wine – This is optional but adds great acidity.
- Balsamic vinegar – Preferably white balsamic vinegar.
- Onions – Yellow or Vidalia onions are the best because they’re the sweetest.
- Lemons – These grilled lemons have all kinds of uses beyond the chops, so you may want to grill up a few more lemons to keep around and use on vegetables, chicken, fish, etc.
- Loin lamb chops – Try to get chops that are 1 inch thick and even so that they cook all at the same time.
- Baby arugula – The arugula side salad adds a great little peppery kick.
- Flat-leaf parsley – Whole parsley leaves mix in great with the arugula.
How to Make Grilled Lamb Chops with Onions and Lemons
- Make the marinade: Mix together the oil, wine, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Coat the onions and lemons in the marinade.
- Season: Season the lamb all over with salt and pepper.
- Grill: Place the onion slices and lamb chops on the grill and grill until nice and brown on both sides, about 8 minutes total (see above for different levels of doneness measured by internal temperature). Place the cut side of the lemons down on the grill and cook until beginning to char. When the lamb chops reach 125 to 130 degrees internally, take them off the grill.
- Rest: Remove the chops and lemon and let them sit for 10 minutes while the onions finish cooking.
- Make the salad: Meanwhile, dress the arugula and parsley with the remaining oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Serve: Place the lamb chops and onions on the greens. Nestle the lemon halves into the chops and onions for people to squeeze over.
Grilled Loin Lamb Chop Variations
- Play around with the herb and lettuce mixture. Any assortment of tender lettuces and fresh herbs will be lovely alongside the rich grilled chops and tender, smoky onions.
- I think a few pitas or lavash would be great with these. You might brush one side with olive oil and give them a minute on each side on the grill. If you want to cut the meat off the chops and mix it with the greens and herbs with a squeeze of the caramelized lemon juice everyone could fashion their own wraps at the table.
- You can let the grilled onions and lemons sit in the marinade at room temperature for an hour or so or in the fridge for up to 2 days for even more flavor.
- If you wanted to drizzle this whole thing with a bit of Chermoula sauce, you would take this to another level!
What to Serve With Grilled Lamb Loin Chops
More Lamb Recipes
- Mediterranean Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops
- Lemon-Garlic Semi-Boneless Leg of Lamb
- Slow-Cooked Mediterranean Leg of Lamb with Tzatziki
- Herbed Boneless Leg of Lamb with Mustard Crust
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Grilled Lamb Chops and Onions with Herb Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
- ¼ cup dry white wine (optional)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (preferably white balsamic; divided)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 2 large yellow or Vidalia onions
- 3 lemons (halved crosswise)
- 8 loin lamb chops (about 1 inch thick)
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
Instructions
- Combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, white wine, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper in a shallow baking dish. Peel the onions and cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place them in the baking dish, along with the lemon halves, turn to coat with the marinade (it’s fine to stack the onion slices), and set aside.
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Grill the onions and the lamb chops for about 8 minutes, about 4 minutes on each side, so that they get nicely browned on both sides, turning the onions with a grilling spatula (you can use a spatula or tongs for the lamb). At the same time, grill the lemons cut side down for about 5 minutes. The internal temperature of the lamb chops should be 130 degrees for medium rare (see Note for other desired levels of doneness and internal temperatures).
- Remove the chops and the lemons from the grill and let sit on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, move the onions to a cooler area of the grill or turn the gas down, and let them continue to soften while the lamb and lemons sit, watching carefully to make sure the onions don’t burn.
- While the chops sit and the onions finish cooking, place the arugula and parsley in a medium bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar, then season with salt and pepper and toss. Transfer the greens to a serving platter.
- Place the lamb chops and onions on the greens. Nestle the lemon halves into the chops and onions, for people to squeeze over.
Notes
- Rare: 120 to 125 degrees (very deep pink/red inside)
- Medium-rare: 125 to 130 degrees (very deep pink inside)
- Medium: 130 to 135 degrees: (some noticeable pinkness inside)
- Medium-well: 135 to 140 degrees (just a bit of pinkness inside)
- Well-done: 140 to 145 degrees (no pink inside)
