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This caramelized onions recipe transforms ordinary onions into irresistible, melt-in-your-mouth goodness—an essential skill for your culinary toolkit. Though seemingly simple, my favorite method for how to make caramelized onions makes them sweet, plump, and packed with flavor, much like sauteed mushrooms. I’ll spill all my secrets for making them perfectly!
Unlike sauteed onions, caramelized onions are cooked slowly and for a longer time, allowing the natural sugars in the onion to caramelize. The result is much sweeter and more rich. And just like balsamic glaze, they infuse instant flavor into just about any dinner recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Caramelized Onions Recipe
- Sweet & savory flavors
- Perfectly caramelized
- Plump and juicy, never dry
- Easy to make
- Versatile for so many different dishes
How To Cut Onions For Caramelizing
You can cut onions in two ways – slicing or dicing. I personally prefer my caramelized onions sliced, so that they make luxurious ribbons when complete, but diced onions will caramelize, too.
To Slice The Onion:
- Peel the onion.
- Cut off the ends (both the root end and other end).
- Cut the onion in half.
- Place an onion half flat side down and slice to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness, parallel to the cut ends.
- Repeat with the other half.
To Dice The Onion:
- Start by following the same steps above, keeping the slices together when slicing.
- Turn the sliced onion 90 degrees and slice in the opposite direction.
TIP: For both of these methods, if you want even more uniform pieces, slice radially.
To do this, after cutting the onion in half, cut from the outside in toward the center. You can watch me do it in this video.
How To Caramelize Onions
This section shows how to make caramelized onions, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Melt butter. Heat unsalted butter in a large saute pan over medium high heat, until melted.
- Add the onions and broth. Add the sliced onions and some bone broth (or regular chicken broth) to the pan. This will help keep them moist. Saute, stirring occasionally with a spatula, but not constantly.
- Hydrate and deglaze. Add a bit more broth, scrape any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Caramelize. Continue to cook the caramelized onions, until golden brown.
Tips For The Best Caramelized Onions
There are a few reasons that your onions might not caramelize, often with a result of burning too quickly. So, how do you caramelize onions without burning them? Here are a few tips and mistakes to avoid:
- Use butter if you can. This will give your caramelized onions maximum flavor, and the butter doesn’t burn since we aren’t using high heat. However, you could use olive oil instead.
- Use the right pan. Choose a large skillet with high sides, for optimal onion-to-pan contact. Ideal pans include hard anodized (like I used for the pictures), cast iron, or stainless steel.
- How long to caramelize onions will vary depending on your stove, pan size and material, and size and shape of the onions. Reduce heat if they start to brown too much before they caramelize.
- Don’t cut onions too thin or too thick. If your onions are too thin (or pieces too small), they run the risk of burning easily. If they are too thick, they will take a longer time to caramelize. Aim for slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Crowding the pan causes steaming, which delays caramelization by lowering the temperature. Stick to 2 large onions in a large pan for best results.
- Cook at the right temperature. High heat burns onions while low heat will take too long. Maintain medium heat, and decrease to medium-low if needed. Go slow for the best caramelized onions.
- Stir ocassionally, but not constantly. Stirring too frequently can prevent your onions from caramelizing, or at least delay the process. You only need to check on them and stir every 5 minutes or so.
- Hydrate and deglaze. Adding some broth keeps onions moist and releases flavorful browned bits (called fond) without overdoing it to prevent steaming. You can also replace some of the broth with balsamic vinegar if you like the flavor.
- Be patient. This is the most important part! Caramelized onions require time, at least 20 minutes, , usually longer. It will depend on the thickness of your onions, and the size and material of your pan. It can take up to an hour if you are making a lot.
Storage Instructions
Store the onions in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Reheat them in the microwave or in a skillet over low heat, until they sizzle.
Common Questions
Still have more questions? These answers can help:
- How long to caramelize onions? Caramelize onions over medium-low to medium heat for approximately 20-35 minutes, or until they turn a rich, deep brown color.
- How to caramelize onions fast? Caramelizing onions requires patience for the richest flavor. However, if you want to speed up the process, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per pound of raw onions (this raises the pH level, helping the Maillard reaction happen faster), or simply make a smaller batch (which will caramelize more quickly).
- What is the best onion to caramelize? Classic caramelized onions are typically made with yellow or white onions. However, you can certainly use red onion or Vidalia onion as well.
- Can you freeze caramelized onions? Absolutely, you can freeze caramelized onions! Store them in zip lock bags (or individual portions in ice cube trays) in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, or in a bowl of water on the counter, before using in recipes.
Ways To Use Caramelized Onions
Now that you know how to caramelize onions perfectly, there are so many ways to use them! Here are some of my favorite ways:
- Beef – Take your burgers to the next level, or add these sweet and savory onions on top of a juicy filet mignon for a fancy meal (or any steak for that matter).
- Pork – I use them to make the onion gravy for my smothered pork chops, and they are also delicious with a pork tenderloin.
- Chicken – These are the star of the show in my French onion chicken, but you could top just about any chicken recipe with caramelized onions.
- Breakfast – Stuff these sweet onions into a fluffy omelette, or tuck them into a breakfast casserole or spinach quiche for a burst of flavor.
- Soups – I always use them in my low carb French onion soup, but tossing them into other soup recipes just amplifies the end result.
- Salads – Toss caramelized onions into a salmon salad, or sprinkle them over a grilled chicken salad or even Big Mac salad for added sweetness.
- Sandwiches – You can’t go wrong topping any sandwich with these caramelized beauties. For healthier sandwich alternatives, I use white keto bread or almond flour bread.
- Appetizers – Made with just 6 ingredients, French onion dip is a party fave, but I like to add them to spinach dip for a burst of flavor from time to time.
- Pizza – I like to use them as a topping for my keto pizza crust, but you can even use them on cauliflower pizza crust or zucchini pizza crust.
- Noodles – Stir them into a heaping bowl of your favorite pasta, zucchini noodles, or spaghetti squash with marinara sauce.
How To Caramelize Onions
Caramelized Onions (Best Easy Method!)
Learn how to caramelize onions with this foolproof method! It's the best caramelized onions recipe for sweet, flavorful results every time.
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Ingredients
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Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Heat the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat, until melted.
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Add the onions and 2 tablespoons (29.57 milliliters) of broth. Saute for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally but not constantly.
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Add 2 more tablespoons of broth to keep the onions hydrated, and scrape the bottom to deglaze. Continue to saute for 10-20 more minutes, until browned and caramelized. (Time will vary depending on your stove, pan size and material, and size and shape of the onions. Reduce heat if they start to brown too much.)
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Recipe Notes
Serving Size: 1/4 cup
This entire caramelized onions recipe makes 1 1/2 cups.
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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11 Comments
Kenneth Mcintosh
0The onion and pork chop recipe is a hit. Also your mashed cauliflower. Will be making these again.
Heather G.
0This is the fastest way to make caramelized onions! I was skeptical about adding broth but it worked perfectly.
Definitely saving this recipe, making again, and passing it along. Thank you!
Michele
0Hi. No criticism, just a question. I didn’t realize the bone broth I have (Pacific organic chicken broth) has cane sugar in it. It’s 4th on the inbred list and there is 1 carb in an 8 oz container. I was going to ask if it would be ok to use, it o figured asking if you would use it would be a better question .
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Michele, Ideally, you should try to find a bone broth that is sugar-free, but that isn’t always possible. Feel free to use what you have, and keep an eye out for a possible better alternative.
Meagen
0Such a great recipe and easy to follow. We will definitely be making them again, came out so well! Yum!
Tim
0The best way to dice onions (used by all the professional chefs I know) is:
1) remove the top of the onion;
2) rest the onion on its top end (now flat, after step 1) with the root uppermost – then slice it in two from the root down (it helps to avoid mess if you twist off any remaining roots before doing this);
3) lay each half onion on its side and make a series of slices at roughly 1/8″ intervals from the outside inwards – making sure not to cut as far as the root so that it remains intact and holds everything together; and
4) turn the onion through 90 degrees and slice at right angles to the many ‘segments’ that step 3 created so that you end up with a fine-to-medium dice (roughly 1/8″ pieces)
The method you recommend will work, but it is MUCH more time-consuming and also results in a less consistent result. Hence why professional chefs use the method described above.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Tim, Thanks so much for the tip!
Lisa Sparger
0I love the way you give a recipe with several options for people that eat differently. Like keto, low carb…
Beth
0This post is wonderful! So many great tips that I’m sure to get perfect caramel onions for dinner tonight!
Nellie Tracy
0I LOVE caramelized onions on so many things. Love that this recipe provides a simple way of explaining how to best make them! Thank you!
Gina
0Loved your tips! They were spot on!