Easy caramelized onions recipe is so simple to make that you can sleep through it. Really. Just sleep through it.
For those of us who really like caramelized onions, you know how it is. You have to babysit them so they don’t burn. What if you could have deeply caramelized onions without any of the work? Well, happy days are here again. The secret to making show-stoppingly good caramelized onions is a *slow cooker. Yes, you heard me right, a *slow cooker.
Why the Slow Cooker Method Works
As the onions in the slow cooker slowly exude their juice, the liquid breaks down the onions and makes them soft. The longer they are in the slow cooker, the softer they become. When all the juice is gone, they start to brown, and their sweetness comes out. Leave them in long enough, and they’re sweet as candy. All you have to do is occasionally stir them; two or three times during the whole cooking process.
The process is so easy, you can sleep through it. Put the onions in the cooker before you go to bed and wake up to a wonderful-smelling house, and enjoy caramelized onions.
What Types of Onions for Easy Caramelized Onions?
You can use any kind of onion, even shallots if you have the patience to peel them. Very large onions, 4.5 to 5 inches (11.43 to 12.7 cm), will yield about 4 quarts (3.78 liters) of loosely packed sliced onions. Red onions are a little sweeter than yellow onions, and yellow onions are a little sweeter than white. Wikipedia discusses several types of onions.
I Hate to Cry from Slicing Onions
Onions create eye irritation from gas that escapes when you are slicing onions. That gas is attracted to water. The closest water is your eyes, so the gas goes to your eyes, and your tear to get rid of it. There are ways of avoiding this gas other than using a hazmat suit. If you wear glasses, glasses will keep some of the gas from reaching your eyes. So, if you have a pair of readers or sunglasses that allow you to still see inside, use those. If you get a very strong onion, move your cutting board and/or prep bowl to another side of the counter and let the faucet run for a few seconds. You can also slice onions under water.
How to Use all Those Easy Caramelized Onions
French Onion Soup is probably the first thing you might think of to use those onions. Caramelized onions are the foundation of that famous soup.
But here are some other ideas for using them:
- Burgers with sauteed onions – piled high with swiss cheese are not to be missed
- Scrambled eggs and onions – add lox and a bit of cream cheese, and it’s heaven on your plate
- Steak topping – just lay them on top of your grilled steak
- Stuffing for pork roast – make it in the air fryer
- Animal Fries – no need to go to In and Out; top your fries with American cheese, 1000 Island dressing, and caramelized onions
- Alsatian Caramelized Onion Pizza – so good!
Email Me the Recipe
Easy Caramelized Onions
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 4 quarts Onion, about 4 very large, sliced
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
Instructions
- Optionally line your slow cooker with a liner.
- 4 quarts Onion, 1/4 cup unsalted butterPut the sliced onions in the slow cooker. Top with the butter.
- Set the slow cooker to low and cover the cooker.
- After nine hours, stir the onions and continue to cook them an another 12 to 15 hours, occaisonally checking and stirring.
- They will be a deep, dark brown when they are finsihed.
- Leave the top off and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 hours, or until most of the liquid is gone.
- Use the caramelized onions in soup, on burgers, etc. Store the remaining onions in the refrigerator or freeze them.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Easy Caramelized Onions Video Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to The Good Plate’s kitchen.
Today I’m going to show you a hack
to make caramelized onions.
You can use caramelized onions
for
French onion soup
You can use it for putting it on your hamburgers you can use
caramelized onions on almost anything they are just so
delicious.
And there are also
kind of a hassle to make because after your slice them, you have to
put them in a pan and then you’d have to watch them, make sure they don’t burn
Ya da da Ya da da
It’s just not worth it. Okay well this hack
makes it worth it.
In here you could see
I sliced a lot of onions.
Okay you can.
Okay first thing we’re going to do
we’re going to put these onions in this
Crockpot. This Crockpot
has a liner in it so it’ll make it really really easy to clean up.
And here we go.
There’s all my onions.
Barely fit in here.
And.
The onions are in the crockpot.
I’m just going to
break them up a little bit with the spoon.
Okay.
And then I’m going to add
butter.
I keep my butter
in a crock.
Very French,
but also really great for keeping your butter
nice and fresh.
And it can still stay
soft enough that you can spread it on bread.
It’s in this is a lot of onions I’m going to add
a lot of butter.
This is about
a quarter of a cup.
Alright, that’s done.
And I’m going to turn this on
to
low.
And that way.
Put the top on.
And we’ll come back in few
hours and have a check on them.
And then you’ll see how wonderful they are.
These are actually going to be cooking
overnight
so they will get
really really soft and really really wonderful.
Okay, and we will see you and a little bit.
Okay, we are at the nine-hour mark. Just checking in. You could see how
it’s doing. It’s been nine hours and we’re going to put the top back on
and let it cook some more.
Okay we are at twenty-four hours and we’re going to let it go another three hours
to
get some of the liquid away. I could take these in saute them off
in regular pan but I’d rather do it this way and they will be done
just in time
for dinner.
And here are my finished onions.
We’re going to put them into soup or going to put them on hamburgers.
I’m going to put them
in some scrambled eggs.
And we’ll see you next time
the on The Good Plate.
