You'll love to know how to caramelize onions. Not only is it super easy, but they are incredibly delicious and can be used to greatly enhance hundreds of recipes. There are many ways to make them and my favorite is to use clarified butter. 
We're creating an unbelievable, intensely rich, sweet flavored, caramel-colored, spreadable delicacy.
Some might say it's like gold. And others might say it's like candy. Either way, what everybody is trying to say is that they're super, super special!
We're going to learn how to caramelize onions.
There are Many Different Ways to Caramelize
- You can caramelize onions in 15 minutes, by browning their surface quickly.
- You can also use methods where you caramelize them in thirty minutes.
- It can be done in the oven, on a grill or on the stove.
- You can caramelize onions in olive oil, butter, clarified butter, bacon fat -- really most fats.
- You get my point -- there are many ways to do it, and different results can be reached with each one.
I'm going to share a method in which we'll learn how to caramelize onions very slowly on the stove. . . drawing all of their natural sugars to their surface.
I love watching a pot full of bright white onions slowly switch to contain only a slim layer of deep caramel, cooked onions. It's a little like magic!
What makes these caramelized onions special?
Although you can use olive oil, I love using clarified, unsalted butter to caramelize my onions. It adds flavor and the final result is almost spreadable.
Why clarified, unsalted butter for caramelized onions?
Butter has essentially three parts: butterfat, water, and milk solids. Milk solids can burn easily -- even at a low temperature. When butter is clarified, the milk solids (and water) are removed and all that remains is the butterfat. This creates a higher smoke point, which makes clarified butter ideal for cooking and sautéing.
For cooking, I always prefer to use unsalted butter. You have more control over the final seasoning and flavor this way.
How to Clarify Butter (Quick Method)
- Add butter to a heavy-bottomed pot and turn the heat to low to melt the butter. 
- Use a metal spoon to remove the milk solids from the surface.
- They will appear as a creamy colored foam. This is essentially a quick way to clarify the butter. 
The butter should appear clear once the milk solids are removed. It's okay if a few spots remain.
For this method of making caramelized onions, the raw onion slices are added at this point.
(More detailed instructions are below.)
Uses for Caramelized Onions
- Using this method, the onions become spreadable, making them perfect to add to a sandwich or a pizza.
- The onions are perfect to add to bite-sized hors d'oeuvres, soups, stews, and sauces, and perhaps -- on occasion -- to a spoon!
Recipes with caramelized onions:
- Mini Red Potato Appetizer
- Smashed Potato Casserole
- Stuffed Honeynut Squash Recipe
- French Onion Mushroom Casserole
- Grilled Sausage Portobello Mushroom Pizza
- Grilled Avocado with Egg and Bacon Compote
Caramelized Onions
You'll love knowing how to caramelize onions. Not only is it super easy, but they are incredibly delicious and can be used to greatly enhance hundreds of recipes.
Makes about ¾ cup / serving size: about 2 tablespoons
- large, heavy-bottomed pot
- wooden deglazing spatula
- kitchen tongs
- large metal spoon
- 3 large onions, (peeled and thinly sliced)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- salt and pepper
-
Clarify the butter. Add the butter to a large heavy-bottomed pot and turn the heat to low. Melt the butter.
Use a metal spoon to remove the milk solids from the surface, which will appear as a creamy colored foam. This is essentially a quick way to clarify the butter. (The butter should appear clear once the milk solids are removed. It's okay if a few spots remain.)
-
Caramelize the onions. Turn the heat to medium-high and add all of the onions.
The caramelization process will take about 1½ to 2 hours. During the first 15 minutes, stir the onions every few minutes (I like to use metal tongs at this early point). After about 30 minutes, they should be very soft and the bottom of the pan and some of the onions should be browning a bit.
After this point, the onions should be periodically stirred with a wooden deglazing spatula and the heat should be turned down to medium-low. Every so often the bottom and sides of the pan will begin to brown. This is what you want! Use the deglazing spatula to work that back into the onions. After about 1½ hours, the onions will have reduced in size a lot and be very brown.
-
Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Here's how to season to taste.)
Calorie count is only an estimate.
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Shef from Shef's Kitchen
I love your description of eating it with a spoon! I also haven't tried caramelizing onions yet with ghee (you doing it with clarified butter reminded me of that). I use caramelized onions in a perhaps unusual way: garnishing chicken biriyani! Great post and great step by step directions!
averagebetty
Great photos and step-by-step! I like the clarified butter tip, too! I've always used olive oil...
valentina
thanks ladies! 🙂
Diane {Created by Diane}
YUMMY! I love caramelized onions, great post!
valentina
Thanks, Diane! 🙂
Lia
Trying it tonight. Going to make some savory Bacon, onion, Ranch dip... these caramelized Onions are KEY. thanks so much for sharing!
valentina
Thank you, Lia. Oh my goodness, your dip sounds absolutely FABULOUS! Enjoy. 🙂
angiesrecipes
My favourite! I love those back to basics posts. I am going to make some with bacon fat today too. Thanks, Valentina.
valentina
Oooooh yummy! Thanks, Angie. 🙂 ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
Lovely tutorial! I appreciate that you give lots of options for both method and fat!
valentina
Thanks, David. I must say, they sure are tasty in bacon fat. 🙂 ~Valentina
sippitysup
Just like jelly. Sweet and savory onion jelly! GREG
valentina
Yep! Thanks for visiting, Greg! 🙂 ~Valentina
2pots2cook
So grateful to see how easily this delicacy can be done from scratch ... special thanks for step by step photos. Enjoy your weekend dear ! 🙂
valentina
Thanks! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, too! 🙂 ~Valentina
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
Your step by step directions are great! Making caramelized onions is such a great idea and I love that these can be done fairly quickly!
valentina
Thanks, Kathy. Hope you have a great weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
Eha
Huge smile - If one is born in Scandinavia or the Baltics learning to caramelize onions is probably the first thing a little 4-5 year old would be cook is taught to do ! With the abysmal lack of spices and only a few herbs in use, what else would bring on the flavour ?! Admittedly, as a nutritionist, one uses the methodology less often in this day and age but for me it usually is a matter of half butter and half oil . . . . smiling memory that for many years as a child I thought that 'sibulaklops', ie beef escalope topped with caramelized inions, was the only decent way to cook beef outside the meatball or -loaf route 🙂 !
valentina
Eha, I love that little kids were learning how to caramelize onions, and as a way to flavor. I often use have butter and half oil, too -- or sometimes just the olive oil. All depends on my mood. ;-)Thank you for this fun comment. ~Valentina
David @ Spiced
Caramelized onions are an amazing thing! They're such a great ingredient for soups, burgers and other comfort foods. Have you ever tried adding a tiny bit of sugar? I learned that trick from a chef friend years ago. The sugar helps kickstart the caramelization process so that it doesn't take as long. Great post, Valentina! I hope you had a great weekend, my friend!
valentina
Hi David. I have tried with a pinch of sugar, but I love the long, slow process and find them so sweet without it. Excellent tip for when you need to save time. I agree, so delicious in soups and burgers! 🙂 ~Valentina