Sautéed red onions, caramelized in butter and olive oil on the stovetop. The key is cooking them on low heat, stirring often until they caramelize! This recipe makes 1 cup caramelized onions.
Quick Caramelized Red Onions
We love making caramelized onions with all our garden onions. Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions are delicious, but sometimes we want them fast so I started making them on the stovetop to get them on the table quicker.
Red onions are sautéed with butter and olive oil in a large skillet over low heat until they caramelize. When they’re finished you can serve them right away, or I love freezing them to preserve, especially if I have lots of onions to use up!
This recipe makes 1 cup caramelized onions. You can double or triple it if you’d like!
Looking for more fresh red onion recipes? Try my French Onion Soup, Pickled Red Onion Slices, Red Onion Jam and Fresh Cucumber Side Salad with Red Onions.
Ingredients
- Red Onions, don’t have red onions? Then you can do a combo of red onions with yellow or white onions.
- Olive Oil and Butter, both are crucial to caramelizing. The 50/50 combo really makes them special! Salted or unsalted butter both work, but I usually always use salted butter.
- Chicken broth helps prevent the red onions from sticking to the skillet over time, but you can easily swap it out for other flavors. Masala Wine, red wine vinegar, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar are other options you can use for deeper flavor.
How to Make Caramelized Red Onions on the Stove
Cut the red onions up into 1/4″ -1/8″ thick slices.
Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and a pinch of salt and cook until the onions become translucent.
Reduce heat and continue to cook until they caramelize, stirring often with a spoon or a pair of tongs.
While they caramelize, they will most likely start to stick to the skillet. As soon as you see it happen, add a tablespoon of chicken broth. Repeat this as needed.
Serve with dinner, keep in the fridge or freeze for later usage. Enjoy these yummy caramelized red onions!
Storing and Freezing Caramelized Onions
Storing: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Place onions in ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, pop out and place in a freezer bag and freeze again. When ready to use defrost in the microwave or you can add a frozen cube directly to hot soups and skillets. Frozen caramelized onions are good for up to 6 months.
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Quick Stovetop Caramelized Red Onions
PrintIngredients
- 3 red onions
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- pinch of salt
- Chicken broth
Instructions
- Cut the stem and root ends off each onion, and then cut the onion up into 1/4"–1/8" thick slices.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and butter, letting the butter melt. Add onion slices and a pinch of salt on top, stirring to fully coat the onions in butter and oil. Cook until onions become translucent, about 7-8 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and continue to cook the onions until they caramelize. Stir every few minutes with a spoon or a pair of tongs until they start to soften and you see their rich color change. This takes about 25-30 minutes. During this time the onions will stop releasing water and they might stick to the skillet, if this happens add a tablespoon of chicken broth and stir to prevent burning. Repeat as necessary.
- Serve right away, keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
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