Easy Caramelized Onions
Hey there Honey's and New-Bees!
Making caramelized onions is a simple and straightforward technique that only requires a little bit of patience but has a huge payoff! Although I’d heard of caramelized onions before, I never really knew what they were let alone how to make them, sooo for the longest time I just assumed it was frying onions with sugar – but that was incorrect, whoops!
Caramelization is the result of cooking sugar, and onions, believe it or not, are naturally sweet despite their eye-watering effect; and cooking them slowly for an extended period of time naturally pulls out those sugars which enables the onions to caramelize and create an incredibly wonderful sweet flavor – no extra refined processed sugar needed!
So, not only are caramelized onions easy to make, they’re also incredible versatile, and are awesome recipes like french onion soup, to have with steak, add on a burger, to use for dip and are even just great on their own and/or with a little cheese and crackers (and a glass of wine)!
This is a really fun and easy little kitchen skill that really goes a long way! I hope you enjoy the tutorial and let me know how they turned out!
Step 1 – Chop your Onions
First thing to know is that you can use any type of onion to make caramelized onions, so go ahead and have fun mixing and matching. I really like to mix-n-match when making french onion soup, and will often use three different types of onions as I find it really enhances the colour and depth of the flavor 😋.
The only other thing you really need to be aware of during the selection process is that your onions will reduce significantly, so you might need more raw onion that you initially think, so know that 5 cups of raw onion will reduce down to about 2 cups.
Once you’ve selected your onions, slice off the top, remove the outer layer of skin then slice the onion in half from root to stem (lengthwise). Lay each side of the onion facedown on the cutting board and make angled cuts into the onion to whatever thickness you want your slices to be. Try not to slice through the root of the onions while you make the cuts as the root will hold your onion together making the cutting process a little easier. Once you’ve made all your cuts, slice off the root and voila, that’s it!
Step 2 – Heat your Oil
Coat the bottom of a wide heavy-bottom pan with olive oil, and it warm up for a couple of minutes on medium heat. When adding the oil, you should know that you only need about 1 tsp per onion; I’ve made the mistake of adding too much oil and it just made everything greasy – remember you only need a little bit of the oil here.
Sometimes I like to use a combo of oil and butter since I like the subtle flavor butter adds, and I strongly suggest you try it out as well. However, although you can make caramelized onions using either just olive oil or with a butter and oil combo, do not caramelize your onions only with butter. Butter has a much lower smoke point than olive oil, and the butter will burn very quickly, making a mess of your pan and may even cause some serious damage to your pan when it burns; so use olive oil, or a combo of olive oil and butter – but don’t use butter on it’s own!
All that being said, once the oil is simmering add the onions, coat them in the oil and then evenly spread in the pan.
Step 3 – Cook your Onions
Let the onions cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally for at least 5 minutes. Patience is key when it comes to making caramelized onions, but it’s fairly low-
maintenance. Although you want to make sure your onions brown (rather than burn), you don’t want to stir too often. I used to make the mistake of constantly stirring the onions and they would take FOREVER to caramelize; not only did this make the process long, it was also tedious and unnecessary. Going forward, I like to check on my onions every 4-5 minutes, adding a pinch of salt and adjusting the heat if I notice that that the onions are started to burn and/or dry out.
Every stove is a little different, and don’t be shy to lower heat if need be, remember the point is to caramelize the onions in their own sugars and not burn them; sugar can burn very quickly. If you do find that the onions are burning, don’t worry, just lower the heat and add a little extra oil or even a little bit of water to the pan.
Continue cooking your onions until they are a dark golden brown, then remove them from heat and use them as desired right away or you can store in the fridge for about a week.
Sometimes I like to add a little extra flavor to my caramelized onions and will add a little bit of balsamic vinegar right towards the end of the cook time which give the onions a great zing (especially when serving the onions as a wine and cheese appetizer), and also deglazes your pan, making the cleaning process a whole lot easier!
Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial, and let me know in the comment section how you like to use caramelized onions and/or what extra flavors you like to add!
Items Featured in this Post:
"If
-
Fried Mushrooms
Mushrooms shouldn't be grey and soggy, learn how to make beautiful golden brown mushrooms! -
Homemade Cheesy Stovetop Pasta
The ultimate comfort food that will have you coming back for seconds! -
Easy Homemade Cilantro Hummus5
This super easy hummus recipe is way better than anything you would buy at the store! -
Easy Roasted Potatoes
A very simple side dish that every cook should know!
Check out even more delicious dishes on my Recipes Page!
My mom does something like this too 🙂 sometimes she will put a bit of brown sugar in to help them caramelize faster
I love carmelized onions! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for posting.
My pleasure, their such a fun treat!
Mmmm this looks yummy I must try I love me some onions cooked or not cooked so this really sounds good thanks !
If you like onions these are a real treat! Enjoy!
I used to absolutely hate onions when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve fallen in love with them. I could probably eat them raw, but caramelized onions is one of my favorite ways to have onions. Greta recipe — I’ll have to give it a whirl.
Great post! x
Michelle
dressingwithstyle-s.com
I absolutely LOVE caramelized onions, but they’ve always intimidated me in the kitchen, so I tend to only get them when I go out. But this seems to simple! Thank you!
It’s so simple, and loads of fun to make! Happy Cooking!
I love adding onions to anything! This recipe looks like it’s worth trying to add a different taste. Thank you for sharing another tasty recipe!
I love this caramelized onions!! You’re making me want to make them again haha.
Butter and oil is the best combo because oil will keep the butter from burning! Is there anything that ISN’T better with carmelized onions?! Yum!
Xo,
Joi
http://www.joi-knows-how.com
That’s a great question lol 😂
I don’t make these enough so thanks for the nudge! Great to make loads at once too!
Yummm! I love caramelized onions but I can personally never do it right. This tutorial is quick and simple enough that I might be able to FINALLY do it on my own.
Awesome!!!! I’m sure they’ll turn out great!
It’s so easy, I love that! My mom does that every time she cooks steak. Yum!!
That’s one of my favorite ways to have them as well!
These look so amazing! My sister makes these and I will have to start as well. Everyone loves them.
What a quick and easy technique! Thanks for sharing
Aishah x
http://www.grainsandgains.com
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed!
Oh this is the perfect blog ever! I love following foodies and discovering new recipes 🙂
Thank you Shelby!! 😊💜
You know I always love all your recipes and this one is no exception. Caramelize onions are fantastic and we do them on our steaks and burgers can’t wait to try this one
They’re so great on top of a burger or steak! Glad you enjoyed the post Jen 😃