We’re walking you through how to make caramelized onions! They’re incredibly easy, hands-off, and make for the yummiest addition to all sorts of recipes – from this easy, homemade BBQ chicken pizza to this delicious, elevated stuffed acorn squash, and everything in between.
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Recipe Ingredients for Caramelized Onions
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Caramelized Onions
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Favorite Recipes with Caramelized Onions
- How to Make Caramelized Onions Recipe
- Recipe Contributors
This recipe is…
Caramelized onions are a game changer, y’all. They impart such a rich, delicious flavor in every single dish that they add to, and while they are slightly time consuming, the time spent is almost completely hands-off.
Rich, deep, and slightly sweet (seriously, if you’ve never had caramelized onions, PLEASE TRY THEM), caramelized onions make the most exquisite addition to soups, pastas, pizzas, hamburgers, and dips.
If you’re looking for recipes to add these caramelized onions to, we’ve got you. This BBQ chicken pizza calls for caramelized onions, and truly, they are the BEST part of the entire pizza, this french onion skillet dip is wow-worthy and the most incredible warm dip to bring (along with a bunch of toasted crostinis) to any party you attend, and these steak sandwiches are loaded with a bunch of goodies, caramelized onions being one of the key players.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They elevate every single dish – I’m not kidding when I say that these caramelized onions truly take every dish they touch to the next level.
- They’re extremely easy to make – as mentioned above, while caramelized onions are time consuming, and you will need to be in your house while they cook (the stovetop will need to be on), they require almost zero hands-on time, making them an extremely easy recipe to pull off.
- They’re easy to make in bulk – because they’re so great on so many things, we highly recommend making these caramelized onions in bulk and storing them in a jar in the fridge to put on all of the things!
Recipe Ingredients for Caramelized Onions
Three ingredients are all you need to make this easy recipe! Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Onions – we tend to grab yellow onions for caramelized onions but white will do also!
- Butter – butter is a KEY component of caramelized onions. It may seem like a lot of butter, but trust us and go with it!
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Use olive oil instead – while (in my opinion), the butter adds a rich, deep flavor to the onions, if you don’t tolerate butter well, feel free to use olive oil instead.
How to Make Caramelized Onions
This recipe is incredibly easy to make! Follow along below for the full how-to.
Step 1: Add the butter to a heavy-bottomed pot over low heat, and once melted, add the sliced onions and sea salt. Stir to combine, place a lid on top, and let the onions wilt for 30 minutes.
Step 2: After 30 minutes, take the lid off of the skillet and toss the onions in the butter. Turn the heat up to medium-low, and let the onions continue to caramelize, uncovered, for 45 minutes, scraping the pan and stirring the onions occasionally.
Recipe Tips
Make more onions than you need for one specific recipe! Caramelized onions can be stored for up to a week in the fridge, so you’ll have time to put them on all of the things before they go bad.
How to Serve
The sky’s the limit when it comes to enjoying caramelized onions! They’re delicious on…
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
- French Onion Skillet Dip
- Barbacoa Tacos
- BBQ Chicken Breasts
- Grilled Hamburgers
- Pot Roast Pasta
- Crustless Quiche Lorraine
- Traditional Quiche Lorraine
How to Store and Reheat
Store your caramelized onions in an airtight jar or container for up to a week.
To reheat, simply pop the caramelized onions in the microwave or reheat them in a skillet over medium-low heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
The key to really great caramelized onions is to cook them low and slow and with a lot of butter (or oil, if you can’t do butter).
You can use either! We prefer the rich flavor that butter imparts on the onions, but if you don’t tolerate butter well, olive oil is a great alternative.
While some caramelized onion recipes call for a little bit of sugar, this one does not. It does call for salt, though!
You won’t stir the onions for the first 30 minutes of cooking, but once you take the lid off and turn the heat up a bit, you’ll want to stir the onions and scrape the pan every 10-15 minutes.
Favorite Recipes with Caramelized Onions
If you tried this Caramelized Onions recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
How to Make Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
- 2 pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the butter to a heavy-bottomed pot over low heat, and once melted, add the sliced onions and sea salt. Stir to combine, place a lid on top, and let the onions wilt for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, take the lid off of the skillet and toss the onions in the butter. Turn the heat up to medium-low, and let the onions continue to caramelize, uncovered, for 45 minutes, scraping the pan and stirring the onions occasionally.
- Use the caramelized onions right away or store them in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to a week.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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