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These Caramelized Onions are easy and will instantly elevate any dish to “gourmet”! Use them in French onion soup, on sandwiches, on this gourmet turkey burger, in dip, or in savory tarts like this butternut squash carrot tart! The options are endless!

Easy Caramelized Onions

I love Caramelized Onions! I love them in tarts; I love them on sandwiches; I love them on bruschetta…I just love them. They have that rare ability to elevate any dish to “gourmet,” yet they are so simple. Funny how that works.

Easy Caramelized Onions
Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce on wooden spoon
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At the risk of losing you, I am going to tell you the first thing that popped into my head when I started writing up this post on caramelized onions.

I thought, “Things that make me go Mmmm,” which immediately made me think of the song “Things that Make you go Hmmm” by C+C Music Factory.

[If you want a good chuckle at the expense of the early 90’s, you should listen to it.]

But then that was ALL I could think about.

And when I think about C+C Music Factory there is one memory that trumps all the rest…yes, even the memory of trying to learn the dance in the music video. [Before you ask, that was not a successful endeavor…it was best I stuck with math.]

Circa 1994, when I was 10 and my little brother was 4, we were living in Hong Kong and it was rare to find an American movie, CD, or anything really that had been released in the past 5 years, but somehow my mom got her hands on the CD Gonna Make You Sweat by C+C Music Factory.

Easy Caramelized Onions

And my mom, brother and I would blast “Things that Make you Go Hmmm” and “Gonna Make You Sweat” (mostly the latter because that was my brother’s favorite) at top volume, sing at the top of our lungs, dance around and jump on the bed. Probably one of my all time favorite memories and the only time I remember being allowed to jump on the bed.

Maybe this is why my brother doesn’t share my blog with his friends…Hmmm.

Easy Caramelized Onions

Anywho. Back to caramelized onions!

You will love these! They are a bit of a time commitment but the actual recipe is not difficult and it only involves 4 ingredients. I first saw this recipe on Martha’s Cooking School when she was making French Onion Soup, and I could hardly wait to make it!

Martha uses butter and olive oil in her recipe: butter for flavor and olive oil so that the butter doesn’t burn. Smart woman! Don’t be worried about being stuck eating 2 pounds of onions; they cook down to barely any!

Easy Caramelized Onions

On another side note: If they aren’t already there, you should add “Gonna Make You Sweat” and “Things that Make you go Hmmm” to your workout playlist. Or just dance along to the music videos – seriously they are like workout DVD’s. I should know…

Easy Caramelized Onions
5 from 1 ratings

Easy Caramelized Onions

These Caramelized Onions are easy and will instantly elevate any dish to “gourmet”! Use them in soup, on sandwiches and salads, in dip, or in savory tarts! The options are endless!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients  

  • ¼ cup butter unsalted
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 pounds yellow onions cut in half lengthwise and sliced ¼ inch
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • Melt butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven or non-reactive pan over medium-high heat, stirring as needed.
  • Add onions, stirring to coat. Spread them out in as even a layer as possible, sprinkle with sugar and cook, stirring as needed to keep the onions from sticking. Continue to cook until the onions are soft, deep golden brown and smell fragrant and sweet, about an hour.
  • Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and use as desired!

Notes

Makes approximately 1 cup

Nutrition

Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 100mg | Potassium: 335mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 359IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Condiments
Cuisine: French
Calories: 227
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Easy Caramelized Onions

Hi, I’m Chef Lindsey!

I am the baker, recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Chef Lindsey Farr. I believe in delicious homemade food and the power of dessert!

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13 Comments

    1. You do!! You would probably wrap them up with some fabulousness inside of a homemade puff pastry! I can’t even imagine what you are going to do with all your newfound space!

  1. LOL Lindsey! You crack me up! You have no idea how many times this song pops into my head when I start writing a post. I think I even mentioned it in a couple recipes. Unlike you I was a bit older when this song was popular and remember it quite well. It was also one of my sister and my favourite song and we used to sing and dance to it like we were 2 crazy girls. I miss those 90’s dance songs. Anyway I also love caramelized onions, I could eat it just like that, but I’ve made a pizza with it before and it’s yumm!!!!

    1. Does it really!??! Thank heavens I am not the only one! Then you would totally understand how, when I was writing this post, I wasted more time than I care to say watching bad 90’s dance videos on Youtube!

      In other news – you’re older than me?! I would never have guessed by your pic. So we shall add dancing around to 90’s music to our list of things to do when I show up at your door, camera in hand! 🙂

      1. Absolutely, love that 90s music. And yes I am older than you, probably by a decade. 🙂 Doesn’t matter, it’s all about how old you feel.

        1. True that! And to quote Tailor Swift, “I don’t know about you, but I’m feelin’ 22!”

  2. I have a strong desire to jump up and down on my bed now. Hehe.
    My dog would think I had lost my mind though.
    LOVE caramelized onions. Yum!!!

    1. Crank up the 90’s tunes and jumping on the bed will seem almost acceptable! Who’s the dog going to tell anyways?! 😉

      Me too, Cristin, me too!

  3. And now I’m craving French onion soup!!! I saw that episode of Martha’s Cooking School, too 🙂

    1. Hi Bill!! I didn’t know you read my blog 🙂 So glad you do!

      I refrigerated them tightly sealed in the jar pictured for a week before using them up, and they tasted great each time!