How to Caramelize Onions and the Best Caramelized Onion Recipe (2024)

Ingredients for Caramelized Onions

• Onions – White, yellow or red onions all caramelize beautifully. Shallots also caramelize well. Learn how to cut an onion here!
• Oil – Vegetable oil, olive oil or butter

How to Caramelize Onions

1. Slice Onions – I generally use two onions because one is never enough. It may seem like a lot when they are raw, but once they caramelize, they reduce significantly in size.
2. Sauté – Place them in your pan over medium heat. I frequently use my cast iron skillet, but any will do. Allow the butter to melt or the oil to heat, then toss using my secret weapon – tongs. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Caramelize – Toss the onions and caramelize for another 10 minutes, and up to half an hour longer. Depending on how caramelized you’d like them to be, you can cook them on low for up to one hour in total.

Tips

• Oil – Use just one tablespoon of oil or butter per onion, or the sautéed onions can become too greasy. Be sure to put a lid on the sauté pan – this speeds up the cooking and helps the onions retain their moisture.
• Make them Vegan – To make the onions vegan, use a plant based oil or butter.
• Darker – to make your onions darker and more rich-looking (as in the photo in the glass container below) add a tablespoon of balsamic or brown sugar.

How to Store

• Room Temperature – Caramelized onions can be kept at room temperature for up to two hours while serving.
• Refrigerate – Once the onions are cooked, let them cool to room temperature and place them in an airtight container in the fridge and they will keep up to one week. You can then use them as is in recipes, or you can reheat them gently on the stovetop to serve.
• Freeze – Store in airtight container or freezer bag up to three months. Double wrap to avoid onion odor seeping into other frozen goods.

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