Learn how to slowly caramelize onions to bring out a deep, rich, sweet flavor as the natural sugars in the onions caramelize. Need a picture? Video included!
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Caramelizing onions by slow cooking them in a little olive oil until well browned is a wonderful way to add flavor to the simplest of ingredients.
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Caramelize onions
Onions are naturally sweet; and since caramel is created from the simple cooking of sugar, if you cook onions slowly for an extended period of time, the natural sugars in the onions will caramelize, making the result intense and wonderfully flavorful.
You can use onions prepared this way on steaks or for onion soup, tarts, pizza or onion dip. Or you can do what I did with this batch, eat them straight. What are your favorite dishes with caramelized onions? Please let us know in the comments.
By the way, I put together a time-lapse video of the caramelization process to show how the onions cook down and caramelize over the course of an hour. Enjoy!
Other ways to deglaze the onions
In step 3 there is a suggestion to deglaze the pan with wine (red or white) or balsamic vinegar. It’s not necessary, but it will add some extra flavor. You can also extinguish with these other liquids.
- chicken or vegetable broth
- bourbon
- Marsala wine
- port wine
- Light beer (dark beer might add too much flavor)
- Apple juice
- cider
How to store caramelized onions
Refrigerate caramelized onions in a tightly closed container, up to 1 week.
Freeze caramelized onions in a freezer-safe zip-lock bag or container for up to 3 months. Recommendation: Freeze caramelized onions in portions in ice cube trays. When frozen, remove portions and quickly place in a freezer-safe ziplock bag and back in the freezer. They don’t stick together and you can grab as much as you need, when you need it.
5 ways to use caramelized onions
- Focaccia with caramelized onions, cranberries and brie
- Caramelized Onion Dip
- Baked potatoes with caramelized onions
- Broccoli Rabe with caramelized onions
- English muffin pizzas with caramelized onions
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Caramelize onions
Quantities depend on how many caramelized onions you want to make. In this example, 5 large raw onions yielded about 2 cups of caramelized onions.
ingredients
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Several Middle or big onionsyellow, white or red
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Extra virgin olive oil
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butterOptional
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Kosher salt
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sugarOptional
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balsamic vinegarOptional
method
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Cut the onion root to the tip:
Cut 1/2 inch from the stem ends of the onions and the roots from the root end. Place the onions cut-side down on the cutting board. Cut them in half through the root end. Peel the skins off the onions.
Lay the onions cut-side down and make slanting cuts in each onion, pointing towards the center, cutting almost all the way through the root end, but not all the way through. Make the cuts to the desired thickness.
The root end helps hold the onion together as you cut it, making slicing easier. Then cut a V into the root end to cut out the tough root holding the slices together.
Become an onion slicer expert with this step-by-step guideCONTINUE READING:
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Heat the olive oil and add the onion:
Use a wide, heavy-bottomed frying pan for maximum pan contact with the onions. Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil, or a mixture of olive oil and butter if using (about 1 teaspoon per onion).
Heat the pan over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with the oil. Spread the onions evenly in the pan and allow to cook, stirring occasionally.
Depending on how hot your stovetop is, you may need to reduce the heat to medium or medium-low to prevent the onions from burning or drying out.
After 10 minutes, sprinkle some salt over the onions, and if you like, you can add some sugar to help the caramelization process. (I only add about a teaspoon of sugar for 5 onions, you can add more.) One trick to keep the onions from drying out while cooking is to add a little water to the pan.
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Stir onions every few minutes:
Let the onions cook for an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every few minutes. Once the onions start to stick to the pan, let them stick and brown a bit, but then stir before they burn.
The trick is to leave them alone enough for them to brown (if you stir them too often they won’t brown), but not long enough that they burn. After the first 20 to 30 minutes, you can lower the heat and add a little more oil if you think the onions are about to burn.
A metal spatula will help scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan as the caramelization progresses. As the onions cook, you may need to scrape the pan every minute instead of every few minutes.
Continue cooking and scraping, cooking and scraping, until the onions are a rich, browned color. At the end of the cooking process, you may want to add some balsamic vinegar or wine to deglaze the pan and add extra flavor to the onions.
Store refrigerated in an airtight container for several days.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 51 | calories |
| 3g | Fat |
| 6g | carbohydrates |
| 1g | protein |
